Indian editorial piece leads to prosecution

Sans Serif writes a good post about what he refers to as a disgraceful assaault on media freedom.

It concerns an opinion piece which appeared in the Times of India earlier this year.

This is the part which is causing the problems

Recovering Gujarat from its urban middle class will not be easy. The class has found in militant religious nationalism a new self-respect and a new virtual identity as a martial community, the way Bengali babus, Maharashtrian Brahmins and Kashmiri Muslims at different times have sought salvation in violence. In Gujarat this class has smelt blood, for it does not have to do the killings but can plan, finance and coordinate them with impunity. The actual killers are the lowest of the low, mostly tribals and Dalits. The middle class controls the media and education, which have become hate factories in recent times. And they receive spirited support from most non-resident Indians who, at a safe distance from India, can afford to be more nationalist, bloodthirsty, and irresponsible.”

The writer Ashi Nandi now finds himself the case of a criminal action launched by the Indian government and is charged with creating amnosity between communities.