Political Science,
One law taken by colonial laws in Indian Constitution
Answers
ANSWER : Sedition
(Photo: The Quint)
The law of sedition is criticised on the grounds of stifling freedom of expression, but in the country that introduced us to the law, it was abolished in 2009.
In the 1870s, the purpose of the law was to arrest and convict revolutionary nationalists who spoke against the legitimacy of the colonial government. Interestingly, the colonial government amended the law in India to make a case of sedition against VD Savarkar to ban his book and “seditious” pamphlet.
One of the most famous cases of sedition in recent times was the one against the then JNU Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar in 2016, for allegedly raising “anti-India” slogans.
In the UK, the law regarding seditious libel was considered arcane in a society where freedom of thought and expression was a protected right under the Human Rights Act of 1998. It was considered to be a relic of an era where freedom of expression was not considered a right, and as a result sedition was no longer considered an offence.
Many of the early colonial laws were aimed at keeping the servants, slaves, and youth in line. ... Other laws punished colonists for not properly observing the Sabbath (Sunday, observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians) and skipping religious services. Some colonial laws even banned traveling on Sundays.