From Dissent to Dialogue: The Constitution, Courts, and the Evolution of Public Protest in India
Kirti Sharma
Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwvidalya
Abstract
This study examines how protest helps in shaping the country which can include policy-making and also a way of demanding justice and showing opposition on matters that are against the public interest. This study revolves around the idea of protest and its elements such as dissent and dialogue. This study used mixed research methodologies along with the longitudinal research methodology and examined objectives laid down such as understanding dissent, the evolution of protest and dialogue, and legal framework. The influence of media and social media and how governments and courts play an important part in such cases. How the protest has evolved about the constitutional framework followed by a comparative analysis with the foreign countries along with that this study focuses on other aspects too such as small-scale protest including regional protests, and analysis on the basis of gender.
Introduction
“I have treasured the best of Egalitarianism and the society in which all persons live together in synchrony and with equal prospects. It is an example which I hope to dwell for and to accomplish but if we desire to be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to face the reality that life can expire unexpectedly”. These lines by Nelson Mandela tell about many things but the core idea or theme running behind these lines is not about anything else, but it's the idea of democracy itself. How far we have come as a nation, where there was a time when our people used to think and imagine living in a nation with pride and calling it “Bharat” or “India”.
The struggles and movements for demanding a nation that is free of all the external forces implementing the idea of democracy, secularism, socialism, and the republic are worth fighting for. Taking the same idea forward today we are going to talk about one such aspect of a democratic country like India which is Dissent in the form of protest whose reflection can be seen in the Freedom of Speech and Expression provided under Article 19(1)(a) is a right in the Constitution of India which provides right to the people of India to raise their voice against any political, social and legal decisions and challenging existing norms and policies.
This research paper will also talk about the evolving pattern of protest in recent years and raise many questions like why governments and courts remain silent on such protests, whether the time has come when these protests will no longer work which once helped India in making their country free from the British or there is need of making changes in the existing pattern. Whether the demands in such a protest are for gaining views or they are true in their sense and are justified. Sometimes the actual issue is hindered or gains less attraction due to the so-called media house which only wants views and to earn money. This research paper will discuss all the aspects deeply which have not been touched including the methods and the historical background to the recent trend, objectives of the study, significance, and literature review.
Definition of Terms:
Dissent is an unwillingness to cooperate with an established source of authority and it is associated with questioning accepted norms and policies of the society both politically and socially. According to Plato, it helps in comparing one's life in comparison to another. The reflection of dissent in India can be seen in Article 19(1)(a) Right to freedom of expression, thoughts, and speech whereas dialogue is referred to as a conversation between two or more people sharing ideas and perspectives in the form of either debate or discussion helps in resolving disputes and coming to the conclusion whose implication can been seen in Mahatma Gandhi movements for India freedom who believed in the ideology of non-violence. And peaceful communication for bringing change in society, Protest is a public display of the expression of disagreement, and discontent regarding public policy, and authority. Protests are generally seen as a mass movement to raise awareness and fight for change.
Purpose(s) of the study:
The aims of this study are as follows:
1. To understand dissent, dialogue, and evolution of protest in a democracy like India.
2. To analyze dissent, dialogue and protest vis-a-vis fundamental rights under article 19(1)(a).
3. To understand the role of government and judiciary.
4. To understand and examine the impact of social media and the news media.
5. Analysis of recent protests.
Significance of the study
This study is significant as it talks about the increasing widespread protest in various parts of society and helps in addressing gaps in the literature review by analyzing the role of government, and judiciary and showing the relationships between the government, judiciary, and public dissent. It also talks about the conflicts in the democratic society including the non-responsive nature of the government. Which will help citizens use their power to decide the government provided in Article Right to Vote (326). of the constitution of India and how the internal factors influence the protest. This study will give us insight into various ongoing protests and will also make us think about whether these demands are right and what actions should be taken by the government and judiciary which will later help in shaping the policies and legal framework regarding the protest and the security concerns of the people.
Literature review
There are abundant resources on Dissent, dialogue, and protest however there are some gaps in their studies. The sole purpose of this study is to fill the gaps and give a thorough understanding of the topic such as why these studies are limited to bigger protests, not about the regional protests and protests which are small in their origin, the censorship and shutdown of internet, the negligent and nonresponsive behavior of the government and from the gender aspects and the impact of social media and changes in press on the protest. Many resources are lacking in talking about the long-term effect of these movements and we found nonsegregated data on recent protests. The scope of this study is broad.
1. Dissent and protest in the early tradition.[1]
2. Patterns of Dissent and the Celebration of Difference: Critical Social Theory and International Relations.[2]
3. Protest Movements in India.[3]
Research Methodology
Different methodologies have been used to gain a thorough understanding of the study involving mixed research methodology in collecting data related to the number of protests and how much media coverage along with that longitudinal research methodology and doctrinal consists of case study and how a variable factor such as protest has evolved with the time. The cases, legal journals, and research papers used to do a deep analysis.
Hypothesis
The following are the hypotheses of this study which is followed as:
1. Protests help in shaping the policies of the country.
2. Protests are not against fundamental Duties.
Understanding Dissent, Dialogue, and the evolution of protest
In the modern socio-political landscape, dissent plays a crucial role in shaping the dialogue which has been a catalyst for social and political change as a result it opens a door for the dialogue which helps people who are affected in raising their voice against the unjust. The dialogue helps us in questioning the established norms and policies in democracy. The dialogues serve as a medium for sharing thoughts, perspectives, and debates which helps in making a more inclusive discourse. Talking about the evolution of protest it will comprise historical context and the recent change and the interplay among three of them. Sometimes the law and order are so powerful that they suppress dissent. Various criticisms were given regarding dissent and raised questions like whether an advanced stage of dissent can be civil disobedience when the laws evade the rights of an individual. Our constitution empowers every citizen to stand against the wrong but the question of expressing opinion against the policies will help in solving the problem. Sometimes our silence could be taken for granted and may be mistaken for approval. Although the Constitution provides the right, the question is are we exercising our rights? Or just a fantasy? In continuation of the above text now let us discuss the broader aspect of this study.
● Changing pattern of dissent in a democracy
In Democracy, dissent has acquired a more radical form and has negative implications which are non-conformist and can be replaced with words like vibheda, vimati, asamati, viparita, and annkula. Dissent results in protest. Dissent is the first stage of change in society followed by dialogue and protest. The expression “dissent” becomes more complex and multifaceted with time. As per preconceptions of idealist philosophy dissent required materialistic underpinnings. Dissent is implicit which sometimes is symbolic and overt, which may not be explicit.
● Evolution of protest in India
A Large number of people are not satisfied with the existing pattern in a democracy where some people find a particular thing concerning the social, economic, and political spheres. They just find them one-sided. One such example could be seen recently when farmers of Punjab protested in support of minimum support prices where the government is not agreeing to do so. Initially, they protested against the three-farm bill in 2021 which was repealed by the government later on. The protest has characteristic features and follows patterns such as dissatisfaction with the formal political institutions, increased violence within the civil society, failure of the state to deliver public goods and services, the emergence of new social and political forces, and states’ response in the form of coercion, accommodation, and repression.
Historical context
In the early Indian tradition, the evidence of protest is limited but the expression of dissent could be seen through questioning or even disobeying the norms. Sometimes the dissent shape of opinion in the religious books and sects but after all of this the reflection of protest was symbolic by nature one such symbol is the salvation which can be seen with the example of lord Buddha who renounced the world in response to his opposition to the social norms another could be migration now moving forward to the era when the protest didn't get limited to the symbols but took the shape of religious movements and reform movements against evil in the society one such example is Bhakti movement in which was not a religious movement but also a social movement fighting against hierarchical structures organized by orthodox brahmin from 7th to the 17th century. In the late 18th century the local protest could be seen against the feudal lords against the high taxation, oppressive and exploitative nature (Sannyasi Rebellion) then came to the post-colonial era various reforms and protests were performed and the first biggest movement was the revolt of 1857 followed by various protest by Gandhi who gave transformation to the movements of the struggle for freedom of country in nonviolent large scale mass movement such as Non-Violence Movement, Civil Disobedience movement against the Britishers. Like Gandhiji, other leaders also contributed to the struggle through protest resulting in the formation of an independent India.
Post-Context Development
Post-independence several labor and peasant movements happened followed by the movement inspired by the Maoist ideology; the protest spread to the area where government policies were challenged such as for the rights of women, marginalized groups, and the tribal people. Anti-Mandal protest (1990) which was in response to the Mandal commission for extending reservation in government jobs for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Another example of protest is The Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) which exposed the interface between governance and civil society highlighting the differences between the so-called upper class and lower class which in sociological language referred to as “haves” and “haves-nots” as a result of this protest many bonded workers got release from the bond, provided basic amenities like education, heath, establishment of Shahid garage, and the rehabilitation of slums.
Contemporary Developments
Protest movements are forms of social movements that have different versions such as self-determination movements which are set up to oppose the principle political and constituent unit which can comprise separation by assuming autonomy movements. By separation we mean a separate political unit from the existing one. For example, as of 2002 three new states were created named Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand. Another type of movement is Anti- The anti-development Movement is a broader set of social, political, and environmental movements that oppose certain forms of development, one such example is Narmada Bachao Andolan which was supported by the government but opposed by many people, politicians and government of MP and Chhattisgarh. There are various ongoing protests which will be discussed in the next parts of this study. Before discussing them, it was important to understand the interplay between dissent, dialogue, and the protest including its evolution with the time.
Dissents, Dialogue, and protest vis-a`-a-vis fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(a).
Indian democracy is like a woven thread of dynamic patterns, the right to dissent arises as the important thread that interlaces the expression and demonstrates the grievances, and hopes of the citizens of India. During the British colonial, (1858-1947) there were many restrictions on people’s freedom of speech, and the most significant ones are the contempt of court, hate speech, and defamation.
Freedom of speech has been a debatable topic raising the question of whether this right is absolute and exercisable or just a text in the constitution, the reason this question is being raised because if we see through the eyes of a prism it should be exercised by all types of bodies in the country, one such example is freedom of the press although it is given implicitly in the constitution a major involvement, suppression and manipulation could be seen from which can assume just a theoretical framework paper policies which rarely deemed to be absolute right however a thorough examination of freedom press is not in the scope of this study. Another example where the Indian government started a campaign to prevent its citizens from watching a documentary based on the handling of religious riots in 2002 by Prime Minister Modi which was claimed to be an anti-government agenda. The right to speech is subject to political manipulation.
Fundamental right to freedom of speech, and expression 19(1)(a) grants the right to every citizen of India in an implied manner which grants the right to protest if the policy by the authorities goes against your rights. Various judicial interpretations were given by the court about the same such as Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) a landmark case that emphasized the importance of fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and expression which also established the basic structure doctrine. Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras (1950) in which the Supreme Court held that the freedom of speech and expression includes the right to express dissent. However, it doesn’t mean that we misuse the right to protest against the fundamental duties no law states that while using your right you can go against any other law.
Comparative analysis of foreign laws on freedom of speech
The American Constitution did not contain any fundamental rights in the first place. It was the force and various illustrations given by the American press in the form of the British Magna Carta considered to be the book of rights and the French declaration that compelled the American government to pass a bill for the rights. In England, the law for protecting the right of freedom of speech and the interest of the person is defamation law even the U.S. has this law too.
Limitations
The right to freedom of speech has a reasonable restriction under 19 (2) in which if a speech contains any defamatory words it can amount to severe consequences and the law applied to such cases is Sedition Law governed by section 124 of IPC. As the right to freedom of speech, expression implies the right to protest such as before any protest it requires official permissions in public places to ensure that not that much disruption can happen in traffic and public services including the time and place restriction.
The role of government and judiciary.
The government must strike a balance between upholding the rule and protecting the constitutional rights of the citizens. It is the responsibility of the government to facilitate a peaceful protest and ensure they can express their views without getting suppressed with the help of agencies and with the help of regulatory bodies such as policies to regulate if the event or protest takes a violent turn resulting in damaging public property by restricting public movements so that minimum loss whereas in case of judiciary which is not in equal responsibility as compared to government but a complementary to each other to balance and check each other. The sole responsibility is to ensure whether the protest is happening in the sphere of legal framework or not and one special power of the judiciary is Suo moto through which it can take up the important matter on which urgent action has to be taken or else it could take dangerous turn such as on Delhi’s Anti-CAA protest (Citizenship Amendment Act), Farmer protest (2020-2021), Migrant Crisis during Covid. Sometimes the government fails to address public grievances.
The impact of social media and the press.
The interaction of social media, the press, and the protest has evolved activism in this digital which has both positive and negative impact on the protest. So social media and the press have somewhat helped in bringing the news to the households which allows individuals to form opinions and express themselves if we talk about the press a new trend can be seen where debate shows can be a good initiative to form a radical thinking among the audience and with the help of social media people can share their grievances and reaching out to larger number audience and help government to know what citizens of their country wants which later can help in changing policies which no longer serve to its citizens and it can help in solidifying a network.
If we talk about the negative aspects of social media, it sometimes can affect the protest in a negative way such as misleading the people about important information which can result in provoking violence and escalating protest which can go against law and order. If we take the help of the prism technique which allows us to examine the issue from multiple angles, we see a repeated version of issues coming up and people protest and share their experiences and again normalize things like nothing happened. The Geist and enthusiasm for demanding which people had in old times have somewhat lost.
Analysis of recent protests in India
Various protests are happening in one part or the other as we know India itself holds historical significance when it comes to protests which are seen as weapons for radical change in both political and social change. In this part of this study, we are going to study even the protest which was organized on a small scale, demands, and through the perspective of gender like how much participation we see in different genders with a glimpse of the past protests with similar demands.
1. Farmers' Protest
Facts: The farm law was passed in September 2020 for showing disagreement with the farm law, and a protest was arranged. Farmers from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab demanded the revocation of these laws. Three farm laws, also known as the Farm Acts, named Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Issue: farmers thought it would lead to the privatization of Agriculture.
Through the lens of Gender:
Thousands of women raised their voices not only against these laws but also against gender discrimination and gender-based violence. The percentage of women was 70% to 80% as compared to men. Children were also a part of the protest which Stressed the fact that these laws would not impact the current generation but also the future generation.
Small-scale protest:
A recent protest was organized in 2024 for MSP. This was a small-scale protest only limited to the border area as the border was sealed by the government so that it could not hamper the peace of the country however there were certain deaths could be traced as a result of the protest resulting in the blocking of Haryana and Punjab border affected the life of people in that area decreasing the mobilization in states lead to decrease in availability of food items and also many people lost their jobs and its effect can be seen till now it also resulted in shutdown of internet for many months.
2. Shaheen Bagh Protest (2019) facts: This was a large-scale protest organized in the Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) led by women across the country on December 15, 2019. A non-violent protest demanding the national register of citizens excluding Muslims. A peaceful resistance could be seen as no violent action recorded as such.
Issue: whether citizenship should be given to people from refugees from countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Another issue was that it was discriminatory against Muslims. Questioned the constitutional values, secularism, freedom of speech, and right to protest.
Through the lens of gender:
The women were highly involved in it as compared to men highlighting the discrimination challenged the stereotypes about the participation of women in the protests.
R. G Kar Medical Protest (2024)
Facts: The protest started in September about the rape and murder of a female doctor from R. G Kar medical college and the failure of administration and mismanagement from the end of the college concerning the safety of the doctors especially females in the workplace. No such response and action of the government could be seen other than the CBI probe and it was taken up by the Court as a Suo moto case but not as such changes were made in this regard.
Issues: mismanagement and administration failures. Questioned the safety of women in the workplace and also questioned the rules and regulations regarding safety measures.
Through the lens of gender:
Equal mass participation has been seen since the protest began. Even people of all ages participated in this protest, especially in West Bengal. This resilience of the people takes us back to the era when people from the same region demanded their rights and brought a fire in the protests for freedom.
Conclusion
Protests help in changing the dynamics of the country. With the help of this study, the researcher has highlighted various themes and tried to bring the different aspects related to the same idea. The Constitution strikes a balance between the people, politics, and judiciary so that no one enjoys extra power by giving the rights in part 3rd of the Constitution which is also known as the Magna Carta, the first book on rights giving the right to freedom of speech, expression, and thoughts under article 19 (1) (a) and also limiting them under article 19(1) (b) so that no can misuse the rights.
References
1.Dissent & Civil Disobedience https://www.britannica.com/topic/dissent-political
2.Evolution of Public Protest
3. Comparative analyses of freedom of speech expression in USA and India
https://www.aequivic.in/post/comparative-analyses-of-freedom-of-speech-expression-in-usa-and-india.
4.Speaking Liberties: A Comparative Study of Freedom of Speech and Expression in India, USA, and UK https://www.jstor.org/stable/26959401?seq=1.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13600834.2023.2249780
5.farmers’ protest 2.0: On the difficult road to MSP - Frontline
[1]Thapar, R. ‘Dissent and Protest in the Early Indian Tradition’, Diogenes, 29(113–114), pp. 31–54. , (1980), doi:10.1177/039219218102911302.
[2] George, J. and Campbell, D., Patterns of dissent and the celebration of difference: Critical social theory and international relations. International Studies Quarterly, 34(3), pp.269–293.(1990) https://doi.org/10.2307/2600570
[3] Singh.D, “ Protest movements in India. The Indian Journal of Political Science”, 52(4), pp.448-457, (1991) http://www.jstor.org/stable/41855582 [Accessed 14 Oct].