Loyalty, Liberty, and the Law: Analysing the Juxtaposition of Nation and Citizen in the Indian Sedition Law
| Author | Ayesha Pattnaik |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09646639221086859 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Loyalty, Liberty, and the
Law: Analysing the
Juxtaposition of Nation and
Citizen in the Indian
Sedition Law
Ayesha Pattnaik
London School of Economics, London, UK
Abstract
This article examines the Indian sedition law laid out in Section 124(A) of the Indian
Penal Code (IPC) which criminalises expression of disaffection towards the govern-
ment. It analyses the functions of the sedition law in colonial and constitutional
India. Rather than taking a legal approach to examine whether the sedition law is inimi-
cal to democracy, this socio-legal analysis studies the media and political discourse
around sedition cases to evoke an underlying pattern of the use of the law across
time and politi cal regimes. It reveal s how the law has been use d in contempora ry
India to weave a narrative of the nation-state and national interests, often pitted against
human rights and individual liberties. It goes on to argue that in post-colonial India, the
law has simultaneously been critical in building a binding national identity while also
enabling nationalism to be used as a political instrument that can subversively monitor
and discipline citizens.
Keywords
sedition, citizenship, India, dissent, nationalism, democracy
Corresponding author:
Ayesha Pattnaik, London School of Economics, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
Email: ayesha.pattnaik@gmail.com
Article
Social & Legal Studies
2022, Vol. 31(6) 829–846
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/09646639221086859
journals.sagepub.com/home/sls
Introduction
Post-independence, India was confronted with a crisis of nationalism, as the withdrawal
of colonial rule led to the unravelling of a binding identity holding Indian states and com-
munities together. The socio-legal analysis to follow shows how the continual use of
Indian sedition law can be understood largely as a response to the perceived danger of
not having a unifying image of the nation in post-colonial India.
India’s sedition law, enshrined in Section 124(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and
first introduced in colonial India, has repeatedly been called into question as an infringe-
ment on rights of free speech and expression. Data from the National Crime Records
Bureau revealed a 160% increase in sedition cases filed in 2019, while the rate of convic-
tion dropped to 3.3%. (Crime in India, 2019) Used in colonial India particularly to thwart
the dissent of nationalist leaders against colonial rule, in independent India its use is jus-
tified on legal grounds of compromising national security. However, charges under this
law have rarely entailed serious national security threats, for instance when a case was
filed against supporters of non-Indian cricket teams (Dwyer, 2017).
The use of the sedition law has led to polarising debates as sedition charges are
increasingly filed against journalists, activists, and students. Challenges to the validity
of the sedition law typically draw on arguments of individual rights, particularly high-
lighting how the law impedes rights of ‘freedom of speech and expression to all citizens’
outlined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. In contrast to this language of the
citizen and their individual rights, defences of the sedition law rely on arguments of pro-
tecting the nation.
In light of the upsurge of debate and rhetoric around the misuse of sedition and other
anti-terror laws in India, a sociological analysis of the sedition law is particularly import-
ant to understand the functions it serves in democratic India. Using three case studies of
sedition cases in India, this study compares the colonial and contemporary implementa-
tion of the law. It goes on to challenge assertions that the use of the sedition law is a per-
petuation of colonial forms of governance. Instead, this study finds that the law has been
repeatedly used by the post-colonial Indian state as a tactical instrument to build a dis-
course of nationalism and strengthen state power. The central thesis of this research is
that the sedition law is not just used for stifling moments of dissent, but is critical in
manufacturing narratives of nationalism that in post-colonial India have been vital to
maintain support for the Indian state.
Defining Sedition: A Review of the Legal Discourse
The Colonial Sedition Law
The sedition law was introduced in colonial India by the British government to curb
nationalist dissent against colonial rule. Laid out in Section 124A of the IPC, it was intro-
duced in 1870 (Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, 2011: 9)
after the British parliament passed a bill enabling the British Crown to take over admin-
istration of India from the East India Company. The law was specifically inserted in the
IPC as the British government recognised the need for a specific provision to deal with
revolution and dissent in light of the increasing ‘Wahabi’revolts (Stephens, 2013) that
830 Social & Legal Studies 31(6)
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