Hard Kaur Booked for Defamation, Offensive Messages Against Right-Wing Leaders

British-Indian rapper and singer Hard Kaur invited the ire of right-wing activists in more than one way when she recently took to Facebook to express her views on Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its leader Mohan Bhagwat and — in a separate post — against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

On June 17th, Hard Kaur posted a photo of Bhagwat and wrote (in all caps) that he was responsible for “all terrorist attacks in India” and (incorrectly) claimed that the RSS is banned in India. Less than a day later, Kaur uploaded a photo of Yogi Adityanath and added the hashtag #IndiaStandUp. While commenters were somewhat divided over her comments in these posts, as well as her views on the murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh and the death of police officer and Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, Kaur seemed ready to take on trolls and naysayers.

As she continued to post screenshots and reply to people taking on her views, Times of India reported yesterday that Kaur was booked by Varanasi Cantonment Police on the basis of a complaint from a local lawyer and RSS volunteer. The police lodged an FIR against Kaur under section 124A (attempt to excite disaffection or hatred), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), Indian Penal Code sections 500 (defamation) and 505 (intent to incite) and section 66 of the I.T. act (sending offensive messages). Inspector Cantt Vijay Pratap Singh told Times of India that the matter is being investigated.

For her part, Kaur responded via a story post on Facebook and Instagram with a screenshot of the news, adding the caption: “When they say they’ve booked me, is it like for a club night or a collage (sic) gig?”