An article for the 40th-anniversary issue of Frontline Magazine assessing Indian cinema between 1... more An article for the 40th-anniversary issue of Frontline Magazine assessing Indian cinema between 1984-2024
Indian Cinema and Human Rights: An Intersectional Tale, 2024
This chapter critically examines the unglamorous dimensions of the Indian film industry, traditio... more This chapter critically examines the unglamorous dimensions of the Indian film industry, traditionally synonymous with glamour. Despite its pervasive presence, the question of labor within this cinematic milieu has, paradoxically, remained largely invisible. The discourse surrounding workers’ rights, in the context of this star-centric industry, often tends to be articulated through the lens of either distress or benevolence displayed by the luminaries. This chapter directs its focus toward the legal struggles intrinsic to the enactment of three seminal legislations during the 1980s. Specifically, it looks at the history of the passing of the Cine-workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981, the Cine-workers Welfare Cess Act, 1981, and the Cine-workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981.
Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of leg... more Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of legal interpretation and doctrine alongside the legal effects of spatial practices. It argues that spatial practices in the form of protests often constitute the exercise of ‘constituent power’ with an actual people inscribing themselves into the virtual realm of ‘we the people’. This performative exercise of constituent power often comes into conflict with the legal horizons of constituted power. The article looks at Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (‘prohibitory orders’) as well as the use of bulldozers as a part of extra-legal mechanisms to control social protest and suggests that they collectively constitute a new ‘nomosphere’ that threatens to redefine constitutional rights and limits.
Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of leg... more Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of legal interpretation and doctrine alongside the legal effects of spatial practices. It argues that spatial practices in the form of protests often constitute the exercise of 'constituent power' with an actual people inscribing themselves into the virtual realm of 'we the people'. This performative exercise of constituent power often comes into conflict with the legal horizons of constituted power. The article looks at Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code ('prohibitory orders') as well as the use of bulldozers as a part of extralegal mechanisms to control social protest and suggests that they collectively constitute a new 'nomosphere' that threatens to redefine constitutional rights and limits.
Arrest of students in Jawaharlal Nehru University and resultant police intervention has kindled a... more Arrest of students in Jawaharlal Nehru University and resultant police intervention has kindled a debate on the legal and constitutional dimensions of the right to protest and freedom of expression. It is clear that freedom of speech and expression within the Indian legal tradition includes within its ambit any form of criticism, dissent and protest. It cannot be held hostage to narrow ideas of what constitutes “anti national” speech.
For the last few decades media piracy has been the reference around which global cultural debates... more For the last few decades media piracy has been the reference around which global cultural debates have materialized. Most of these debates have been West‐centered, there has been little attempt top reflect of the international effects of this, notably in the Global South, and the emerging areas of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The obsessive focus on enforcement by global media industries, has further narrowed the discourse, much of this was without any serious understanding of the new populations coming to new media in many parts of the world..
Olina Banerji explains why digital rights and free speech activists in India believe Section 66A ... more Olina Banerji explains why digital rights and free speech activists in India believe Section 66A of the Information Technology Act to be unconstitutional.
Claims of connections between media piracy and narcotrafficking, arms smuggling, and other "... more Claims of connections between media piracy and narcotrafficking, arms smuggling, and other " hard " forms of organized crime have been part of enforcement discourse since the late 1990s, when the IFPI began to raise concerns about the transborder smuggling of pirated CDs (IFPI 2001). Claimed connections between piracy and terrorism are a more recent addition. In 2003, the secretary general of Interpol, Ronald Noble, " sound[ed] the alarm that Intellectual Property Crime is becoming the preferred method of funding for a number of terrorist groups " (Noble 2003). In 2008, the US attorney general, Michael Mukasey, declared that " criminal syndicates, and in some cases even terrorist groups, view IP crime as a lucrative business, and see it as a low-risk way to fund other activities " (Mukasey 2008). In 2009, the RAND Corporation published what is to date the most exhaustive statement on this subject: a 150-page, MPAA-funded report on film piracy's link...
An article for the 40th-anniversary issue of Frontline Magazine assessing Indian cinema between 1... more An article for the 40th-anniversary issue of Frontline Magazine assessing Indian cinema between 1984-2024
Indian Cinema and Human Rights: An Intersectional Tale, 2024
This chapter critically examines the unglamorous dimensions of the Indian film industry, traditio... more This chapter critically examines the unglamorous dimensions of the Indian film industry, traditionally synonymous with glamour. Despite its pervasive presence, the question of labor within this cinematic milieu has, paradoxically, remained largely invisible. The discourse surrounding workers’ rights, in the context of this star-centric industry, often tends to be articulated through the lens of either distress or benevolence displayed by the luminaries. This chapter directs its focus toward the legal struggles intrinsic to the enactment of three seminal legislations during the 1980s. Specifically, it looks at the history of the passing of the Cine-workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981, the Cine-workers Welfare Cess Act, 1981, and the Cine-workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981.
Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of leg... more Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of legal interpretation and doctrine alongside the legal effects of spatial practices. It argues that spatial practices in the form of protests often constitute the exercise of ‘constituent power’ with an actual people inscribing themselves into the virtual realm of ‘we the people’. This performative exercise of constituent power often comes into conflict with the legal horizons of constituted power. The article looks at Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (‘prohibitory orders’) as well as the use of bulldozers as a part of extra-legal mechanisms to control social protest and suggests that they collectively constitute a new ‘nomosphere’ that threatens to redefine constitutional rights and limits.
Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of leg... more Using the lens of critical legal geography, this article examines the spatial consequences of legal interpretation and doctrine alongside the legal effects of spatial practices. It argues that spatial practices in the form of protests often constitute the exercise of 'constituent power' with an actual people inscribing themselves into the virtual realm of 'we the people'. This performative exercise of constituent power often comes into conflict with the legal horizons of constituted power. The article looks at Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code ('prohibitory orders') as well as the use of bulldozers as a part of extralegal mechanisms to control social protest and suggests that they collectively constitute a new 'nomosphere' that threatens to redefine constitutional rights and limits.
Arrest of students in Jawaharlal Nehru University and resultant police intervention has kindled a... more Arrest of students in Jawaharlal Nehru University and resultant police intervention has kindled a debate on the legal and constitutional dimensions of the right to protest and freedom of expression. It is clear that freedom of speech and expression within the Indian legal tradition includes within its ambit any form of criticism, dissent and protest. It cannot be held hostage to narrow ideas of what constitutes “anti national” speech.
For the last few decades media piracy has been the reference around which global cultural debates... more For the last few decades media piracy has been the reference around which global cultural debates have materialized. Most of these debates have been West‐centered, there has been little attempt top reflect of the international effects of this, notably in the Global South, and the emerging areas of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The obsessive focus on enforcement by global media industries, has further narrowed the discourse, much of this was without any serious understanding of the new populations coming to new media in many parts of the world..
Olina Banerji explains why digital rights and free speech activists in India believe Section 66A ... more Olina Banerji explains why digital rights and free speech activists in India believe Section 66A of the Information Technology Act to be unconstitutional.
Claims of connections between media piracy and narcotrafficking, arms smuggling, and other "... more Claims of connections between media piracy and narcotrafficking, arms smuggling, and other " hard " forms of organized crime have been part of enforcement discourse since the late 1990s, when the IFPI began to raise concerns about the transborder smuggling of pirated CDs (IFPI 2001). Claimed connections between piracy and terrorism are a more recent addition. In 2003, the secretary general of Interpol, Ronald Noble, " sound[ed] the alarm that Intellectual Property Crime is becoming the preferred method of funding for a number of terrorist groups " (Noble 2003). In 2008, the US attorney general, Michael Mukasey, declared that " criminal syndicates, and in some cases even terrorist groups, view IP crime as a lucrative business, and see it as a low-risk way to fund other activities " (Mukasey 2008). In 2009, the RAND Corporation published what is to date the most exhaustive statement on this subject: a 150-page, MPAA-funded report on film piracy's link...
Conventional narratives of nation-building often emphasize the role of renowned figures, such as ... more Conventional narratives of nation-building often emphasize the role of renowned figures, such as politicians, lawyers, scientists, and other notable individuals celebrated for their contributions to shaping a nation's path. In the Indian context, the anti-colonial struggle featured a diverse array of voices and actors who played crucial roles in forming the nation's collective identity and aspirations. It has become almost cliché to mention luminaries like Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, and many other prominent political leaders and intellectuals as the architects of modern India. However, amidst the focus on these well-known figures, many marginal contributors often remain overshadowed or omitted from these dominant nationalist narratives. One such overlooked group is librarians, who have played a critical yet frequently understated role in the nation's intellectual and cultural evolution. The profession of librarianship in India, historically neglected in conventional discourses of nation-building, has been instrumental in the democratization of knowledge and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Libraries have, since antiquity, engaged in the practice of
controlled lending. Libraries decide ... more Libraries have, since antiquity, engaged in the practice of controlled lending. Libraries decide whom to serve, whether books circulate or not (and under what terms), how they interact with other public libraries, and other aspects of their operations. This paper provides a comprehensive update based on a survey of the copyright law, laws governing operation of libraries, as well as the constitutional underpinnings in Indian law, and in international law and practice. The paper has a focus on public and publicly- supported libraries, particularly libraries in public academic institutions such as law schools.
Uploads
Papers by Lawrence Liang
controlled lending. Libraries decide whom to serve, whether books
circulate or not (and under what terms), how they interact with
other public libraries, and other aspects of their operations. This
paper provides a comprehensive update based on a survey of the
copyright law, laws governing operation of libraries, as well as the
constitutional underpinnings in Indian law, and in international
law and practice. The paper has a focus on public and publicly-
supported libraries, particularly libraries in public academic
institutions such as law schools.