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Bal Thackeray or communal politics is not the issue here. It is the freedom of expression of individuals. The Chairman of Press Club of India had an article on

by jasim 14y ago

Bal Thackeray or communal politics is not the issue here. It is the freedom of expression of individuals. The Chairman of Press Club of India had an article on The Hindu (a national daily) which painted Thackeray in a bad light (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/why-i-cant-pay-tribute-to-thackeray/article4108839.ece http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/why-i-cant-pay-tribute...) - but the state won't act as recklessly against him as they have against these two. Recent events in the country that sets the alarm bells ringing: - Kapil Sibal (minister of communication) doesn't understand the internet. He wants active censorship of online media - http://www.labnol.org/india/censorship-in-india/20527/ http://www.labnol.org/india/censorship-in-india/20527/. - An individual was arrested from his home at 5am due to a tweet he made alleging the son of an Indian minister was corrupt. He had 16 followers. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/iac-volunteer-tweets-himself-into-trouble-faces-three-years-in-jail/article4051769.ece http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/iac-volunteer-tweets-h... And now this - both the individual who made the post on FB and her friend who 'like'd it has been arrested. This abuse of power in a country with a lot more urgent problems to solve. This very much seems to be a generation gap between people in positions of power (politicians, bureaucrats, police) who are not used to the internet and the way it gives voice to everyone. I can only hope that as internet becomes ubiquitous across the country, people will realize the value of free speech and the need for an uncensored internet.

dm8 14y ago
>> This very much seems to be a generation gap between people in positions of power (politicians, bureaucrats, police) who are not used to the internet and the way it gives voice to everyone. Unfortunately, it is true and I fear we might have draconian laws to "regulate" Internet in India!
Volpe 14y ago
As fun as it is to think everyone thinks like americans... Does India have and promote the ideal of "Freedom of Expression"? Or is this just the US peanut gallery giving their 2 cents on other peoples' culture?
- rrrazdan 14y ago
  Even if India doesn't have a it, the question really is, shouldn't India have it. "Freedom of Expression" is not an American/French/Western concept. Shouldn't it be a natural human right? In any case, its a fundamental right, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Its not really a part of the culture, even in highly educated circles. Part of that has to do with the Indian apathy towards Humanities and pursuit of pragmatism over ideology.
  - Volpe 14y ago
    > "Freedom of Expression" is not an American/French/Western concept. Shouldn't it be a natural human right? It is a distinctly "western" thought[1] (as is "Human Rights"[2]). I actually didn't know whether it had been imported into India, given india's rather "mixed" (east/west) history. The concept of 'natural human rights' is also a western concept, so no, I don't think we should continue to talk like our (western) way of thinking is the 'right' way, and everyone else is 'wrong'. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Origins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Origins [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights#Philosophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights#Philosophy
    - Zak 14y ago
      The concept of natural human rights is, similar to some kinds of religious belief one of those belief systems that strongly implies people who disagree with it are wrong. Few people who believe in say... freedom of expression and modern democracy are going to accept that imprisoning or murdering one's political opponents is a cultural difference that should be respected, for example.
    - adityab 14y ago
      No, it is not. Wikipedia lists "western" examples because western canon is very well documented, and this documentation is reliable and extensive enough to quote from. My readings of Indian history have led me to accept that the freedom of thought and speech have existed, formally and legally, for at least a thousand years - particularly, read up on the times of Asoka's rule.
lazyfunctor 14y ago
Another event that sets off alarm bell was sedition charge (one of the most abused laws) against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi. Thankfully you can still have some faith in Indian judicial system. Full story here: http://goo.gl/evx4J http://goo.gl/evx4J

by jasim 14y ago

dm8 14y ago

>> This very much seems to be a generation gap between people in positions of power (politicians, bureaucrats, police) who are not used to the internet and the way it gives voice to everyone. Unfortunately, it is true and I fear we might have draconian laws to "regulate" Internet in India!

Volpe 14y ago

As fun as it is to think everyone thinks like americans... Does India have and promote the ideal of "Freedom of Expression"? Or is this just the US peanut gallery giving their 2 cents on other peoples' culture?

rrrazdan 14y ago
Even if India doesn't have a it, the question really is, shouldn't India have it. "Freedom of Expression" is not an American/French/Western concept. Shouldn't it be a natural human right? In any case, its a fundamental right, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Its not really a part of the culture, even in highly educated circles. Part of that has to do with the Indian apathy towards Humanities and pursuit of pragmatism over ideology.
- Volpe 14y ago
  > "Freedom of Expression" is not an American/French/Western concept. Shouldn't it be a natural human right? It is a distinctly "western" thought[1] (as is "Human Rights"[2]). I actually didn't know whether it had been imported into India, given india's rather "mixed" (east/west) history. The concept of 'natural human rights' is also a western concept, so no, I don't think we should continue to talk like our (western) way of thinking is the 'right' way, and everyone else is 'wrong'. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Origins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Origins [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights#Philosophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights#Philosophy
  - Zak 14y ago
    The concept of natural human rights is, similar to some kinds of religious belief one of those belief systems that strongly implies people who disagree with it are wrong. Few people who believe in say... freedom of expression and modern democracy are going to accept that imprisoning or murdering one's political opponents is a cultural difference that should be respected, for example.
  - adityab 14y ago
    No, it is not. Wikipedia lists "western" examples because western canon is very well documented, and this documentation is reliable and extensive enough to quote from. My readings of Indian history have led me to accept that the freedom of thought and speech have existed, formally and legally, for at least a thousand years - particularly, read up on the times of Asoka's rule.

lazyfunctor 14y ago

Another event that sets off alarm bell was sedition charge (one of the most abused laws) against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi. Thankfully you can still have some faith in Indian judicial system. Full story here: http://goo.gl/evx4J http://goo.gl/evx4J