"Jailed Indian tribal rights activist Stan Swamy has died of cardiac arrest in Mumbai city. He was 84," BBC. "Swamy, the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India was arrested in October 2020. He was among 16 renowned activists, academics and lawyers, who were charged under a draconian anti-terror law." The charges date back to 1 January 2018, when violence broke out at Bhima-Koregaon as Dalits were celebrating the 200th anniversary of victory against Marathas, Business Standard. The violence was apparently precipitated by incendiary speeches at an event Elgaar Parishad held on 31 December to commemorate the event. "It was organised by a coalition of 260 non-profit organisations at Pune's Shaniwarwada Fort, and had approximately 35,000 people in attendance, wikipedia. The BBC reported how Stan Swamy, who suffered from Parkinson's Disease, was not allowed drinking straws and a sipper to help him drink water, 68-year old Gautam Navlakha was denied a new pair of spectacles after his old ones were stolen, and pregnant student Safoora Zargar spent 74 days in Delhi's Tihar Jail where she was not allowed to keep her shoes, toothpaste, soap and shampoo. The irony is that the BBC is confused that Indian citizens are being tortured under the law of sedition which was enacted by the British in 1860 to subjugate Indians, Library of the US Congress. In greater irony, Abraham Lincoln was elected US President in 1860 which resulted in the start of the Civil War in 1861, which in turn led to freedom of black slaves, History.com. "A new report from a US-based digital forensics company has said a hacker planted 22 'incriminating' files in activist Rona Wilson's computer, days after violence in the Maharashtra town of Bhima-Koregaon in January 2018," Scroll.in. "The files were never created, opened or used by anyone who directly handled Wilson's computer, but the hacker used a software to plant them, said the new report from Arsenal Consulting." A new report finds co-accused Surendra Gadling's computer was also hacked. "In its June 21 report, the US-based consultant said, 'Arsenal has connected the same attacker to a significant malware infrastructure which was deployed over a course of approximately four years to not only attack and compromise Gadling's computer for 20 months, but to attack his co-defendants ... and defendants in other high-profile Indian cases as well'," Times of India (TOI). "The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has invited public comments on the draft Cinematography (Amendment) Bill 2021," which gives the Centre absolute powers to pass any order on a pending film, even after it has been passed by censors, wrote Radhika Roy & Surbhi Karwa. "What will happen if it becomes law is this: Unsure of what is safe for release, every film will be self-censored; many things that make a film delightful may go, all risky topics will vanish," wrote Manu Joseph. "Any further strangulation could kill commercial cinema. India should not take its film industry for granted." "The proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020, have proved controversial, with new statements of concern coming in everyday. However, one issue that has garnered less attention is how it would expand the government's powers to access data of consumers, raising fears regarding expanded surveillance intruding into consumer data and the right to privacy," wrote Namrata Maheshwari & RJ Singh Chima. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the list of 37 heads of state or government that the global body Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has identified as 'predators of press freedom'," The Wire. Ominously for us, a new Ministry of Cooperation has been created under the Ministry of Home Affairs which is supposed to be for law and order, NDTV. Apparently, this new ministry will form cooperatives, but what if someone refuses to cooperate with a cooperative? Hope there is no department of kneecapping in the new ministry. Just to help people cooperate. Like Stan Swamy.
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