Free speech, democracy & an epidemic of hurt feelings

It's rightly proclaimed that you are the product of what you think.

- Nishtha Gautam

uktabhimani mukto hibadho baddha-bhimanyapi | Kivdanteeh satyeyamya matih sa gatirbhavet || (Freedom is the function of feeling free; the bondage of feeling bound.)

It's rightly proclaimed that you are the product of what you think. Ashtavakra Gita, one of the founding texts of Indian philosophy, underscores the importance of freedom in these lines. Freedom manifests itself only when the subject believes in her ability to be free. Unfortunately, many recent events have negated this foundational idea of human endeavour.

Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was arrested for a social media post expressing his thoughts on the duplicitous attitudes surrounding the Operation Sindoor debate. The oral observations of the Supreme Court, while granting him bail, suggested that he indulged in "politics" through this post, which contained some words that "have double meaning".

It appears a little incongruent that an author is accused of indulging in politics when governments, past and present, have repeatedly proclaimed that not just indulging in politics but even critiquing and questioning the government is a sign of India's healthy democracy.