In a digital age, it is hard to regulate what can circulate on the Internet and what cannot. It gets into a legal gray area of how much is considered freedom of speech, and how much right do people have to say whatever they want on their public platform. It becomes a heated discussion.
Damaging conspiracies always seem to plague India, and the results are often harmful. Many people aspire to the idea of conspiracy theories, but more often than not, nothing comes from them. It is not wrong legally for a person to believe in them, but there is an issue when people act upon them. This is where the gray area raises its head. Should people be allowed to publish false information as fact if it incites violence and prejudice?
Their government is doing nothing to stop the panic or violence. The law cannot aid the victims if the it is not enforced. In many ways, their actions are encouraging it. Police were ordered to track down Muslims that had gathered in large numbers at the start of this virus because they suspected of caring it and spreading it. These claims with no facts to back them is what started the prejudice hysteria against Indian Muslims, and it appears government officials are in no hurry to aid them in this manner.
But regardless of which side of the coin you lean towards, there is no denying the problems that arise from the spread of false claims. Should there be legal repercussions for spreading lies and inciting panic among people? That is the issue that India is running into currently.
Damaging conspiracies always seem to plague India, and the results are often harmful. Many people aspire to the idea of conspiracy theories, but more often than not, nothing comes from them. It is not wrong legally for a person to believe in them, but there is an issue when people act upon them. This is where the gray area raises its head. Should people be allowed to publish false information as fact if it incites violence and prejudice?
There is currently a conspiracy circulating that Muslims are responsible for spreading the COVID-19 to Hindus in India. This has led to series of hateful acts towards Indian Muslims during this time of global crisis including: boycotting of their businesses, signs made banning Muslims from certain neighborhoods or places, beatings of Muslim individuals, and even mobs attacking religious gatherings. Rumors have been circulating all over their media saying things like contaminated Muslims are spitting in food and infecting the water supply to spread the virus.
Example of the atrocities committed due to these lies spreading is the beating Mehboob Ali. Ali was on his way home after a religious meetings when he was brutally assaulted. The group drug him out into a field to beat him with sticks and shoes until he was bleeding out his ears. All the while screaming, "Tell us who else is behind this conspiracy!" They then took him to a Hindu temple and forced him to renounce his religion and convert to Hinduism before they would take him to a hospital.
It is instances like this that make people question, should there be stricter laws to stop the spread of false information to prevent acts like this? In the case of India, they technically do have a law against acts such as this.
"Section 505(1) of Indian Penal Code, 1860: The punishment for making, publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report which may cause fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public... Punishment: Imprisonment which may extend to 3 years or fine or both." Source
So if this is the case, then why are these acts against innocent Muslims happening? And furthermore, why does there appear to be no control over the lies being spread and the acts being committed? The answer may be more complicated.
In the case of Ali, he and his family were fearful to go to the police, "If we file a police case, the Hindus will not let us live in the village," said one family member, who asked not to be named." Source. The fear for going to the police is the same as one would see in a gang war. They fear the retaliation of the Hindus and that the people will not be able to protect them. And government officials there are not aiding the situation in curbing the spread of these condemning rumors.
After the attack, Ali was sent to a hospital and is being held there as a "corona suspect" and being kept in an isolation ward. He had no previous symptoms, and clearly his reason for being there has nothing to do with him being sick from this virus.
Their government is doing nothing to stop the panic or violence. The law cannot aid the victims if the it is not enforced. In many ways, their actions are encouraging it. Police were ordered to track down Muslims that had gathered in large numbers at the start of this virus because they suspected of caring it and spreading it. These claims with no facts to back them is what started the prejudice hysteria against Indian Muslims, and it appears government officials are in no hurry to aid them in this manner.
It is instances like this that raise the question, how much liberty should people be given to spread their speech? Should there be more laws in place? Should those laws be more strongly enforced? This is not the first time rumors in the media have incited a mob mentality against a group of people, and India is only one example among the thousands of countries that are guilty.
This is where the debate of media law, what should and should not be allowed, comes into play. It is very much a legal debate because legal action is needed to resolve this matter. Could these acts of violence been avoided if the rumors had not been spread across their media? In the case of India, it appears their laws were not enough to stop the violence that followed the lies spread against Muslims. There is no simple solution, and it is a delicate balance of how much freedom should be allowed in the press.
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