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Malayalam Writer Kamal C. Chavara Charged With Sedition For Facebook Post 'Mocking' The National Anthem

The police also raided his house based on a complaint lodged by Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP.
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: A supporter of the Indian cricket team waves the Indian national flag during the second day of the first test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Galle August 13, 2015.
Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: A supporter of the Indian cricket team waves the Indian national flag during the second day of the first test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Galle August 13, 2015.

A writer and theatre activist in Kerala was taken into custody and charged with sedition for allegedly insulting the national anthem in a Facebook post in Malayalam -- an excerpt from his novel 'Smashanangalude Nottupustakam'.

Kamal C Chavara alias Kamalsy Prana, was on Sunday taken into custody by Nadakavu police from Kozhikode after a case was registered against him at the Karunagappalli police station in Kollam, reported the Malayala Manorama.

This is the chunk he posted on Facebook, as translated by The News Minute:

"In a school in Kerala, there were 44 students who were named after 44 rivers of Kerala, which had all dried up. The teacher never bothered to meet the requests of those students, including the request to go to the toilet to urinate. At 4pm every day they had to stand up for the National Anthem. Since urinating was more important for me than 'Jana Gana Mana', I was the most indisciplined student."

According to media reports, the Facebook post was a part Kamal's protest against a Supreme Court directive that has made it mandatory for cinema halls to play the national anthem before screening a movie and for people to stand up when it plays.

He has been charged under Section 124 (A) of IPC (sedition) and will be handed over to the Karunagapalli Police, Kozhikode north assistant commissioner of police, Prithviraj, told the Indian Express.

The News Minute report stated that two days ago the police also raided his house and allegedly threatened his parents. Recently, a group of 12 people refused to stand up when the anthem played at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).

The complaint against Kamal was lodged by Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP.

A group of eight persons, including three women, were assaulted inside Chennai's Kasi theatre last Sunday for refusing to stand up while the anthem played before a screening of the film 'Chennai 28-II'.

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