Women, and often men, being stripped and paraded is a depressingly familiar headline in India. In religion, caste, or family conflicts, a woman's body becomes the metaphor for the "honour" of an entire community, caste, and clan. And when that "honour" is seen to be endangered, women are publicly shamed. These are crimes perpetuated by disruptive elements, mostly in regions that are perceived as backward.
Therefore, it is shocking to hear a chief minister threaten two women with that sort of violence. Speaking in the Telangana assembly on March 15, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy warned that anyone "commenting on women in my family" will be "stripped and paraded".
The Chief Minister's open threat is also a violation of free speech. What led to this Taliban-like outburst, that too on the floor of the house?
Crass comments
Chief Minister Reddy made the comments in the context of Revathi Pogadadanda and Tanvi Yadav, two journalists arrested on March 12 over a video they had posted on their YouTube channel. Apparently, in the video, they abused Mr Reddy and his family members, including women. A furious chief minister declared that he would not tolerate abusive content against him or his family on social media, in the name of 'journalism'.
He asked the journalists' unions to provide a list of accredited journalists, asserting that they would be treated 'differently' from those engaged in online journalism without official identification.
Mr Reddy also accused the opposition BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) of inciting the two journalists.
Not long after, the BRS and BJP criticised Reddy and drawing comparisons with the Emergency of 1975. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla posted a video in which he referred tp the Congress's DNA and the 'Emergency'. "Is this the language of a chief minister from the Congress party? Rahul Gandhi talks about press freedom, love, and democracy. Is this the definition of democracy? Is this the muhabbat ki dukaan (shop of love)? Is this what promotes press freedom, Rahul ji?", said Mr Poonawalla.
The words of vengeance uttered by the Chief Minister on the floor of the house were unparliamentary. Targeting political rivals is par for the course, but when a Chief Minister publicly puts his family above people of the state, it is a matter of concern.
Not so long back, Reddy was a firebrand opposition leader taking on the previous BRS (earlier TRS) government head-on. In October 2021, Reddy had accused then chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his son KT Rama Rao of acting like the 'Taliban' and abusing power. It is ironic to see the same leader misuse government machinery to gag critical voices.
The party in power in a state has control over the police, which enables it to frame rivals in frivolous cases.
State - the protector
The government of the day is supposed to provide security to its citizens. However, when the Chief Minister issues open threats to suppress free speech and Taliban-like diktats to quieten dissent - it is a mockery of democratic institutions. A judicial review is time-consuming, and the remedy comes late. By then, the damage to the physical, financial and psychological state of the victim is done.
By threatening citizens for their opinion, Mr Reddy is guilty of scuttling free speech. The Indian constitution guarantees free speech to its citizens. There are certain limits, but it is best decided by the judicial process.
On March 17, the two journalists were granted bail after five days in custody. However, they face serious charges, including criminal conspiracy, promoting hatred and publishing obscene material under Indian law. If convicted, they may be sentenced to jail, which seems harsh. One can understand defamation cases but arrest and intimidation?
The Chief Minister wants only government-approved journalists to be recognised. He suggests compiling an official list of journalists, and treating those not on the list as criminal.
Does it imply that common citizens have no freedom to voice their opinion? Isn't it contrary to Article 19 of the Constitution?
Hopefully, Revanth Reddy's outrageous comments are a one-off.
One hopes the outrageous comments of the CM is an impulsive frustration. The Congress leadership, which has been critical of the BJP government at the Centre, and accuses it of muzzling free speech, needs to set its own house in order.
Abuses, trolling is part of public life in the age of social media. But in a democracy, voices cannot be silenced. For that, there is law.
There are lessons in history. Be it the Behmai massacre - allegedly Phoolan Devi's revenge for her rape and humiliation by upper caste men - or in Manipur, instances of stripping and parading women have had dire repercussions.
(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
