Culture police crush hope for free speech

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“Freedom of speech is a big lie in our country,” said director Karan Johar referring to controversy around movie Vishwaroopam. Sociologist Ashis Nandy is still fighting for the remarks he made at the Jaipur Literary Festival. The latest blow has come in the form of attack on an exhibition that featured works of some legends of Indian art as certain sections of the society found them to be ‘provocative’ and ‘insulting’ to women.

Speaking your mind often leads to foot in mouth situation, feel many intellectuals.
Writer Advaita Kala says creativity has come under attack because of this. “After the recent cases, creative people are shying away from sharing their opinions as their views are often misconstrued. Even on social media, often your comments take their own shape and then you have to apologise for them. But it does not mean that you can go about saying anything to anybody. There are certain do’s and don’ts and those are to be maintained to live in a society,” says Advaita.
Cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, strongly feels that authorities often misunderstand things. “I personally feel there is no point expressing your views in today’s time. In the last one year or so, authorities have become more oppressive. Mamta Banerjee got a professor arrested for sending an innocent cartoon on e-mail. In Mumbai, two girls write something on Thackeray and they are howled up. In Puducherry, a boy makes a harmless comment against Chidambaram’s son and he is arrested. People with vested interests have turned India into a battlefield divided on religious, communal or political grounds. It has become difficult for people to express their views because the fear of being taken otherwise always hangs in the air. If things go like this, there will be no Kabir, no MF Husain, no Pandit Ravi Shankar, no Ghalib or R.K. Laxman in our country,” says Tailang.
Disillusioned by the recent cases, Kartik Bahl, area manager with a multinational, feels freedom of speech should not be misused.
“Why don’t people realise that we all have our own opinions. Just that speaking your mind should not be confused with having freedom to say anything. Respect others, and you’ll never have to take back your words,” he says.
Ad guru Piyush Pandey feels people should be cautious enough to avoid being caught in a foot in mouth situation. “People should be sensitive to what they are talking about and should not hurt anyone. When I make an ad, I ensure it doesn’t hurt anyone’s sentiments. I would want to walk the edge but don’t fall off the cliff,” he concludes.