India so-called a multicultural diverse country, is a place where billions of
people resides and of all sorts of ethnicities, ideologies, mindsets,
communities, etc., but contrary to belief, a diverse country is bound to face
repercussions and drawbacks whilst having all sorts of tools to fight the
attackers and the invaders of peace to the society.
The people sometimes burst out onto the scenes either to get recognized or while
delivering any sort of information, circulating messages, obscene messages to be
precise, that is oftentimes regarded as aggressive, and many people take it as
an insult to themselves or they get agitated. This is now becoming more common
with the help of social media platforms. These crimes are not only a violation
of an individual's rights but also a threat to the entire community.
Hate crimes are those crimes that are committed against someone because of their
race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or any other
characteristic that defines their identity.
Introduction:
Hate crimes confer with violent or abusive acts dedicated against individuals or
organizations based on their religion, caste, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or
other identities. These crimes frequently contain acts of violence,
intimidation, or threats, and they goal individuals or agencies who are
perceived as being one of a kind or marginalized.
The Indian Constitution guarantees equality and prohibits discrimination on the
grounds of faith, race, caste, intercourse, or vicinity of the beginning,
(Article 14) however notwithstanding this, hate crimes continue to be a
continual hassle inside the Indian Laws Against Hate Crimes:
Hate crime is neither well defined within the Indian criminal framework nor can
it's without difficulty decreased to a preferred definition due to the myriad
bureaucracy it can take. However, hate speeches are dealt with under the Indian
Penal Code (IPC) under Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, 505(1), and 505(2) which
claim that a phrase, spoken or written, that promotes disharmony, hatred, or
insults based totally on religion, ethnicity, lifestyle, language, area, caste,
network, race, etc., is punishable. These crimes in India originated based on
the different sets of class divisions that have been created in society.
Equality can only be a dream for the people as the laws and policies are
themselves trapped in turmoil. We have faced this enmity but we tend to neglect
it as a literate person, but now this showcasing of truth under the aegis of
Freedom of Speech goes out of control as people do anything that can enrage
other groups which tends to cause conflict and violence is created along-with
the bulk of nuisance.
Reasons for Hate Crimes:
- Political Hypocrisy
- Religious & Ethnic Tensions
- Casteism
- Social Media Influence
Although we shouldn't restrict the factors, the massive number of
contributions are made by these which ultimately lead to disharmony and
disturbing the internal peace of the state. The authorities may argue that there
are all sorts of regulations and guidelines that control and put reasonable
restrictions on what sort of information can be circulated These are all just
fake promises as there never goes a day that we don't see any page, news, paper
article, any post/video, etc., that doesn't target any particular group and
instigate the sentiments related to religion, caste, community, economic status,
personal interest, and others.
Political Hypocrisy:
The evergreen intriguing Indian politics which never seems to disappoint the
public at large plays a major role in the spreading of this agenda. The politics
of India are devised such that the locals are always influenced and they act as
puppets of all the leaders who say anything and command them to follow their
rules. As a result, when the people visualize them in the acts, they will do
what will benefit them and help them to stay above the minorities.
This may sound disturbing but the truth is that most of the locals don't like
when people of ethnic groups and reserved communities surpass them in any sort
of field or give them a chance to have their word. An example can be taken as
the interview of the then BJP Lok Sabha member Subramaniam Swamy which
ultimately directs to the hate speech that is indicative of the destruction or a
warning that can happen to the people of "that" particular community[1].
Religious & Ethnic Tensions:
The dominance of a certain community in one region and one in another causes a
lot of trouble, especially in rural areas. Hate crimes targeted at people or
corporations primarily based on their religion can take various office work,
which includes bodily violence, property harm, harassment, and discrimination.
These acts may be perpetrated with the aid of humans, extremist agencies, or
even of an actor.
In India, tensions among religious communities, specifically Hindus and Muslims,
have brought about instances of violence and discrimination. The Indian
government and several civil society companies have taken steps to cope with
these troubles, which encompass implementing legal suggestions and rules aimed
at selling religious concord and protecting minority rights. However, disturbing
conditions stay, and incidents of spiritual-based absolute hate crimes continue
to occur.
It's vital to the world that addressing hate crimes calls for a multifaceted
approach, consisting of criminal measures, social interventions, and efforts to
sell interfaith communication and know-how. Additionally, addressing underlying
problems together with economic disparities, political marginalization, and
social prejudice is vital for fostering a greater inclusive and tolerant
society.
Casteism:
Articles 14 to 18 talk about equality, equal opportunities, prohibition of
discrimination, untouchability, abolition of titles and not being partial
towards any person(14) or citizen(15-18) in regards to religion, caste, creed,
race, sex, place of birth, disability, etc. Despite the presence of these
articles and their provisions, there is still the presence of active disparities
and differences amongst the society who are abnormal and fall under any sort of
categories described. Cast is one of the hot topics that has been prevalent for
the past 40 to 50 years or more.
People tend to explicitly show their emotions and are reluctant for others to
understand that they cannot stand a who clears a sewer a woman who works at a
construction site or a child who begs at a roadside because either he lost his
parents or they are doing the same.
Social Media Influence:
Being in the age of AI and constantly developing advancements in the
technological world also render us to advance as well. This implies not only to
the technological domain but also to the real-life logical presence where we are
civilized and live in a peaceful society where all of us are sensible and
respectful to each other. The dignity and modesty of every individual have to be
maintained along with paving a way out of the complexities present between the
people.
Then we'll be able to call ourselves as the advanced society of the new aged
civilization. Social media has the "primary" responsibility in the propagation
of hate crimes or any sort of information. Platforms are often criticized and
struck down sometimes because of this false representation. Whenever any person,
group, company, etc., posts or circulates any information or comments on any
social issue there is instant reflection by many users who utilize these
platforms and do whatever they desire to ignite the fire among the people.
Socio-Legal Review:
The complementary capabilities of the detest crime concept additionally offer
massive benefits over other similar training of description. Take the evaluation
with the often-used categories of communal riots or communal violence, which
have regularly been used to denote and record hate-encouraged crimes, especially
primarily based on religious identification.
While scholarship has regularly targeted the function finished through
ideologically pushed organizations, students have continually pointed out that
maximum documented hate crimes are dedicated via the manner of ordinary human
beings in everyday times. 36 Such crimes are frequently low in depth like verbal
abuse, and perpetrated in ordinary scenarios via human beings recognized by the
victim.[2]
For example, criminologists Walter and Hoyle have studied times of homophobic
and racist harassment which have passed off inside the context of ordinary
neighborhood issues like noise and rubbish. 37 Such incidents do now not
correspond with the stereotypical hate crime that includes heightened violence
amongst strangers. They occur due to strained interpersonal relationships no
longer completely associated with prejudice, even though the alleged
perpetrators.
Conclusion:
Thus, we can say that hate crimes have multiple actors that create an enigma in
society and cause a lot of violence when all those other factors are dominant.
These cannot be dealt with until there is a change in the mindset of people and
their ideologies regarding the social customs that have been prevailing from
time to time.
Raising awareness campaigns might be a device to solve the issue. Bringing
certain laws that can punish the propagators of these offenses, but again, there
can be a violation of Fundamental Rights under this. We need to be very fragile
and secure about these social issues and find a way to come out of this loophole
that we have been locked by the stalemate character of the problem.
End-Notes:
-
https://myvoice.opindia.com/2020/04/the-un-vice-news-article-14-and-subramanian-swamy/
- https://www.sociolegalreview.com/
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