What you need to know:
- FIR released against rapper Hard Kaur.
- She posted comments against Yogi Adityanath on Instagram.
- Some online users supported her, others criticised her opinion.
Dubai: UK-based Taran Kaur Dhillon, popularly known by her rapper name “Hard Kaur”, has been charged with sedition in India, after she posted comments on social media against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
What are the charges?
According to a report by newspaper The Times of India, the celebrity had a First information report (FIR) lodged against her under sections 124A for sedition, 153A for promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, 500 for defamation and 505 for statements conducing to public mischief of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66 of the Indian Information Technology Act (IT Act).
This happened after a complaint was filed against her in Varanasi by local lawyer Shashank Shekhar, who is an RSS member.
According to the report, Shekhar told the police that as he was an RSS volunteer, he felt deeply hurt to see such remarks against Bhagwat and Yogi on social media.
On June 18, Kaur posted a picture of Yogi Adityanath from her official Instagram handle @officialhardkaur with the caption: “If this guy was a superhero his name would be – Rapeman Yogi. You call him when you want your sisters, mothers, daughters raped. National hero. I personally call him #OrangeRapeMan …”
Her comment received many likes. People started trolling her in the comments of her post. Kaur later uploaded Instagram stories where she criticised the RSS and posted a few hate comments and explicit messages she received after uploading the post.
The matter is currently being investigated.
Online reactions
The news outraged social media users. Many people praised Kaur for her stance and commented on how today, getting arrested was the price one paid for being honest.
Tweep @WinPawar said: “Well done Hard Kaur.”
@fakeDemocracy1 tweeted: “When someone from your family will be dying out on the road and you won’t get a bed in hospital, you’ll cry and curse the government. They’ll put you behind bars with sedition charges...”
And @pcytotoxic said: “What she said doesn’t compare to the kind of profanity used by men against women on this website. Is she being targeted because she is a woman? Men are so threatened by women who give it back!”
Others found her comments offensive.
Tweep @YashHRatanpal posted: “Okay there is a difference between criticising and calling someone a rapist.”
And @PankajSingh_UN tweeted: “Glad to see this rapper be booked. She was spreading communal disharmony and hatred. She has nothing to do with any grievances ... she has nothing to do with politics. She did [this as a] publicity stunt. She was abusive.” Not the first time
Recently, many people have been targeted for posting against the ruling party on social media.
In India, a journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested in the first week of June 2019, for remarks he had made against UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on social media.
Who is Mohan Bhagwat?
Bhagwat is the chief of the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation, the RSS, based in India. He was chosen as the chief executive of the political party in 2009.
The RSS, is now considered a political party and has been accused of fuelling divisiveness between the Hindu and Muslim communities in India.
