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Expression banned…!

Freedom of expression and speech is the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. Regarded as a great concept in modern liberal democracies, its relevance in the largest democracy of the world as a significant foreplayer towards growth and greatness is well known.

Abhimanyu Kukreja
Freedom of expression and speech is the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. Regarded as a great concept in modern liberal democracies, its relevance in the largest democracy of the world as a significant foreplayer towards growth and greatness is well known. But even after 60 years of independence, there has been a showing case of assassination of ‘expression’ in this democratic nation. The victim being exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen. A life threatening attack was followed by the Kolkata Imam’s public declaration of an `unlimited reward` on her head charging her with defaming Islam and the Prophet. Taslima had described India as her "second home" and "a good place to live in". And what she ended up with is a horrifying ‘fatwa’ or in other words a ‘contract’ to kill that is absolutely illegal! Speaking openly at a rally after the Friday prayers, Syed Mohammed Noorur Rahman Barkati, the Imam of Tipu Sultan Shahi Masjid, also demanded that Nasreen be deported from the country within a month. Shocking but true, the Kolkata Police did not file any case against the imam citing that the ‘fatwa’ was not written but was just verbal! Interestingly, Majidulla Khan, a political spokesman of Mazlis Bachao committee, Hyderabad also spoke at the rally. Taslima had applied for a permanent Indian visa, but the centre went ahead and granted her just 6 months extension. A question still needs to be answered… Why did the government succumb to pressure from hardliners who issued a ‘fatwa’ against her that itself holds no relevance in the Indian constitution? Taslima’s most dreaded ghost came back to haunt her in a country that stands way above Bangladesh as far as democratic thinking and expressions are concerned. How ridiculous could it get! Earlier, a case was filed against Taslima Nasreen, who was attacked by the All India Mujlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLAs. Rather than just filing a case against AIMIM for taking the law in its hands, Andhra Pradesh Police filed a case against Nasreen on the instructions of AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi. And the irony- Owaisi is the same man who was arrested earlier in March on the charge of delivering a provocative speech at a public meeting. Just because his views are different from Taslima’s, he decided to sort things out in the street. Fortunately, an awakened India stood behind a lady who was disrespectfully humiliated in public and a case was counter filed against Owaisi. On 4th July 2007, Andhra Pradesh government reserved 4% government jobs and seats in state-run education institutions for 25 socially and educationally backward classes among Muslims. It seems that AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi targetting Taslima Nasreen was more of a publicity stunt and an extension of the attempts to garner Muslim votes. Letting such incidents pass with impunity would definitely result in more such occurrences in the future. Even this incident could have been prevented had the administration paid heed to the All India Ibtehad Council’s issuing a fatwa against Nasreen for Rs 5, 00,000 earlier this year. Writers, poets and authors have often faced the scourge of conservatism and dirty politics. But such a state of affairs in a country where the term ‘democratic’ has been the stairway to the dream of building a great nation, puts a question mark on the celebration of freedom. Or is it that we want another Taliban or Iran by allowing such ‘fatwas’ to go scot free? Salman Rushdie is a classic example of a writer who faced the wrath of hard-line religious leaders. His fault was his portrayal of Prophet in his writings. Khomeini made a villain out of Salman Rushdie just to be symbolised as the protector of Islam. The difference between thoughts and ideals led Khomeini to throttle a free voice- in the name of religion. The impact was of the fatwa that was felt in India aswell. It too banned the book- Satanic Verses. Shiv Sena was not far behind to make an issue out of James Laine`s controversial book "Shivaji - the Hindu King in Islamic India.” Their hard-line approach in the past has gone to the extent of digging the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch when Pakistan was supposed to play there against India. The ban on ‘Shivaji…’ by the Supreme Court of India was prompted by the ransacking of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune allegedly by the Sambhaji Brigade (another organ of Shiv Sena) and violent protests elsewhere in the state. Laine had done some of his research at that institute. Sadly, violence was again victorious against expression! Another fine example was Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’. The book ultimately was a smash-hit that was later turned into a Hollywood flick starring Tom Hanks. There were protests throughout the Catholic world as the book claimed that the Vatican knows it is perpetuating a lie about Jesus` bloodline and the role of women in church, but continues to do so to keep itself in power. The matter was politicised in our country and politicians debated to get the best out of people’s religious sentiments. The impact stirred India where the film was finally released after a big hue and cry. Vested interests of individuals should not barricade the way a thinker functions. There is no stopping the different views and expressions as it is human nature- as many heads, so many thoughts. The synonymous term ‘freedom of expression’ is preferred, since the right is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Be it writing a book! Today in the 21st century when our nation celebrates six decades of Independence Day, let us pledge to allow the ‘freedom’ to flow from within to without. That is the ‘freedom of expressions’.