FREEDOM OF FREE SPEECH

The right to freedom of speech and expression has been recognised as the most basic human right. The right establishes the basic principle that an individual or community has a right to express an opinion or articulate his or her points of view without fear of censorship, backlash, and retribution.

Liberal democratic countries have established this as their constitutional right to protect the interest of their citizens as they understand that human beings are social animals who thrive on their instincts to express how they feel.

Soon after his book ‘The Satanic Verses’ became an international bestseller, a fatwa was announced on Salman Rushdie in 1989 by late Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini. Since such fatwas are rarely idle threats, Mr (and later Sir) Rushdie went underground, disappearing from public view. This had sent a jitter through the literary world and invoked a series of free-speech debates worldwide. Margaret Atwood, the founder of Griffin's Poetry Prize and the Writer's Trust of Canada, had remarked, "If we do not defend free speech, we live in tyranny; Salmaan Rushdie shows us that.”

In a public meeting, Sir Rushdie was recently stabbed while on the stage and remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

Background

The Salman Rushdie's incident brings into focus many micro and macro-level atrocities that have happened to several people worldwide who have decided to express their opinions from a creative standpoint.

These situations usually involve the influence of a majority community that strives to diminish the voices of those individuals or minority communities who question the traditional norms of being; while contesting a different form of belief and existence.

Writers like Arundhati Roy, Danish Siddiqui, and Taslima Nasrin are known for facing a series of backlash for sharing their sentiments through their creative intellect. To an extent, they had to seek refuge in other countries to exercise their belief system publicly. Apart from writers, reputed public bodies are also targeted for explicitly sharing controversial statements. The bloody 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo's office by Al Qaeda, as they often published emotive statements on religious and political leaders, is a well-known example.

These instances deeply jeopardise the idea of liberal world order that portrays and romanticises the existence of cooperation between contesting ideas.

Analysis

The basic idea of democracy is rooted in tolerating opinions from different perspectives and incorporating all of them to ensure that a positive culture of cohabitation exists within a community through the spirit of tolerance. Strong cultural conditioning leads to imbalance as ideas come to be perceived as offensive attacks on one's sensitive sentiments. Sometimes an individual's opinion poses a greater consequence on the community they represent or belong to, further complicating the matter.

Therefore, it is important that while exercising the freedom of expression, one should keep in mind not to target or blame people who do not align with their ideals. Articulation of creativity should, therefore, aim to be neutral and diplomatic. Correspondents can also rely on alternative discourses to express their standpoints.

Various writers are slowly bidding allegiance with organisations like PEN International and PEN America. These institutions strive to promote literature and defend freedom of expression worldwide. As they believe that being excluded from freely expressing their opinions or condescending ideas affects their personal and public identity. Moreover, the fear of facing backlash stops the people they represent from effectively participating in the decision-making process in an individual capacity.

John Reid, the former home secretary of the United Kingdom, commented in an interview in New York, "We have a set of values that accords people honours when they contribute to literature even if we don't agree with their point of view." While living in a community, it becomes important to address two distinctive roles. The first is of an individual with a strong conscience; the second is an individual who is accountable to a larger humanitarian community. Therefore, establishing a firm line between these two distinct sets of ideas becomes important.