Use & Abuse

Freedom of speech and expression is the soul of democracy and to rob an individual of that fundamental right is to undermine the basic tenets of democracy.

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Freedom of speech and expression is the soul of democracy and to rob an individual of that fundamental right is to undermine the basic tenets of democracy. But, does that give a carte blanche to a citizen to articulate in public what she or he thinks and feels about issues pertaining to public life?

It is often said freedom entails certain responsibilities and one must exercise restraint while speaking one’s mind so as not to hurt or disrespect other’s feelings and sentiments.

The question, however, is where lies the borderline between freedom of speech and restraint in exercising that freedom. In fact, no one on earth has yet been able to decipher what exactly may be construed as ‘freedom’. Each person has to demarcate and draw the line or limit. It is like walking up to a precipice and then deciding whether to go forward and fall or to step back and stay within limits.

It surely is a grey area and individuals and state powers often tend to make use of it by either misusing the licence that the right to free speech gives or muzzling a voice the ruling dispensation perceives to be too critical of government policies and actions. India has been experiencing the phenomenon for decades, but the situation has become far more complex now in the digital age when one can reach a wide audience by a single post on social media.