Shhh!!!

Long gone are the days when someone actually has to commit a crime to get arrested. There is cyber-crime where one need not commit it physically. But, how will you feel when you get arrested for a status update in a social networking website? If you have been following the news, you will know that am not just contemplating.

A week back, one of the polemical Indian politicians passed away. The city of Mumbai was shut down throughout the day of his funeral. A young woman expressed her unrest in the form of a facebook status update. We know what happened next.

India boasts as the biggest democratic in the world and its people enjoy certain basic rights and amongst those comes the freedom of expression and free speech. The actions which took place seem to contradict the above stated rights.

Within a day of the arrest, there was a lot of criticism directed towards the police and the government. Also, the woman’s account was hacked, several fake accounts were created along with fan pages under the woman’s name. I am wondering if these are methods of showing support or exploiting the situation. Bottom line – The public or more specifically the Virtual Public felt that the police action on the women was harsh and uncalled for.

“Respect is earned, not given and definitely not forced. Today Mumbai shuts down due to fear and not due to respect. People like ________ are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that.’’ These were the lines that lead to the subsequent events. Let’s forget the laws and the rules. Does it lie within human morals to defame a person who had just died? While I strictly condemn the arrest made, I believe the woman could have shown her dissent in a different way without directly attacking the deceased man.

Even before this incident, there has been a raging debate going on about the increasing number of hate speeches that are alleged to happen in this world. On one hand, freedom of expression has given a loud voice to a lot of minorities who fight for their cause and on the other hand, it has been used intentionally to hurt and insult the sentiments of certain minorities. Where to draw the line between free speech and hate speech?

Certain countries have laws against hate speech. Even our Indian government spearheaded by Kapil Sibal tried to censor the contents of social media. If it does happen at any point of time, it will have a good start for sure. People with heinous intentions will think twice before posting dubious content. But, on the longer run it has the potential to be used as a tool to curb or silence the critics and oppress the minorities.

Decades back, only the writers and orators had the power to reach the masses and convey their ideas. Now, thanks to social networking, everyone with access to the internet has become a proponent. It’s a good thing that people have found a way to voice their opinions but, they must also realize the power of ideas. When someone gives an opinion about you, it’s going to stay in your mind for a very long time; also it’s going to have an influence on your actions henceforth. Ideas have the same effect when it reaches more than one person.

Laws and censorship are not the answers to the problem of Free Speech Vs Hate Speech. Ethics and moral values should be realized by the humans themselves. If we have to protest against something let’s voice opinions for our own cause and not to insult or hurt someone. Free world and free speech doesn’t mean that one can take everything for granted.

Swasthika Sang