India is a diverse country, with hundreds of languages spoken and cultural groups all living within the same national border. We are governed by a government at the centre that makes and executes laws for a population of 1.3 billion people spread across the nation. It is, therefore, the government’s responsibility to ensure that peace is maintained among these diverse groups of people and that there is no outbreak of violence because of a comment or an act that can disrupt peace. While the Constitution of India recognises freedom of speech and expression as a Fundamental Right and guarantees to all its citizens the right to express themselves freely via written, spoken or printed material, we don’t have to go too far to realise that this right is not absolute.
A major socio-political challenge we face today is the intermingling of religion and politics.
These two have taken precedence in every conversation, in real life and over the internet today and people are very vocal about their thoughts on this. With such volatile topics floating around, if people had the freedom to say absolutely anything they wanted, there would be no control over how the narratives would be spun later; it might blow up, leading to serious consequences - unrest, violence, cyber-attacks or even harm to one’s life.
A difference of opinion and clash of ideas is quite common in India, considering the fairly large percentage of youth and middle-aged individuals who belong to diverse groups and want to express their views. And they are allowed to do so too, via editorials, blogs and posts on the internet. However, the written word is very powerful. One’s opinions may not sit well with another and certainly does not represent the opinions and views of their respective communities - although it can be misconstrued that way - and thus, what starts off as a mere expression of opinion can get heated very quickly. This is why our Freedom of Expression comes with certain restrictions for there is a large population’s safety and wellbeing to be kept in mind.
These restrictions are in place as preventive measures as it is understood that total, no-holds-barred freedom can turn very harmful very quickly. Citizens are held accountable for their words and actions, and rightfully so. There are laws in place to check people who misuse this freedom of expression to defame others, violate public order or publish blatant misinformation that can incite violence and hatred.
Even journalists and media persons, who work in an industry that is considered the fourth pillar of democracy, are truly not free to do their jobs without restraints. Even while they report unbiasedly, their reports can be taken differently by different people, invoking anger from groups that do not agree with them. Biased media houses are a whole other issue - total freedom for them might mean more divisive news production and distribution, which can polarise communities and incite violence too. In such situations, it is necessary to ensure there is some control over what is being said publicly, whether one is a media person or a common man.
Expression in India can never truly be free and certainly not something we can afford now because of the very reason India’s lauded - it’s diversity.
The freedom to express is power, and as it is said, with great power comes great responsibility.
In a country like ours, considering the challenges we already face, even being able to express ourselves as much as we can now, might be the most we can ask for. Total freedom of expression in India might be too far in the future and also, rather impractical to hope for.
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