Evolution of right to freedom of speech and expression

CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,

148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,

Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821

BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,

Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,

Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400

COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,

# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.

Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

EVOLUTION OF RIGHT TO

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

AND

EXPRESSION

KRISHNAVENI SIVAGNANAM

HEAD RESEARCH



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Freedom of Speech and Expression has often been considered a

fundamental benchmark for any liberal democracy and is inseparable

element of a democratic society.. Freedom of speech (synonym Freedom of

expression . Whether the society is democratic or not can be defined by the

factor of independent press and mass media. The right to freedom of

speech as one of the basic human rights is enshrined in main international

human rights documents -The Universal Declaration on Human Rights

(UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

which guarantee the right to freedom of expression, both in Article 19.

Freedom of expression is not only important in its own right but is also

essential if other human rights are to be achieved.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

In India it has been enshrined by out Constitution makers in

Article 19 (1) (a) which reads as

Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc

(1) All citizens shall have the right

(a) to freedom of speech and expression;

Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

Right to freedom of expression can be defined as

“Right to express one's ideas and opinions freely through speech, writing, and other forms of communication but without deliberately causing harm to others' character and/or reputation by false or misleading statements. Freedom of press is part of freedom of expression.

Some interesting quotes :

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ― George Washington

“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.” ― John Milton, Areopagitica

“This is slavery, not to speak one's thought.” ― Euripides,



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

Freedom of expression in India has come under threat on

many occasions . We shall discuss in detail several occasions

where this freedom was called under question namely the

Ashis Nandy FIR, the smothering of Kashmir’s first all girls

rock band’s music, and the removal of semi-nude paintings

of Hindu deities from an art gallery upon the police’s

‘suggestion’ State government’s ban on Vishwaroopam,

Fanna ,. Another Rushdie-banning controversy is upon us,

and yet another Facebook user’s arrest has made the news

and many more



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

Ashish Nandy, one of the finest scholars we have is caught in a mistaken

identity of argument is not the real tragedy. Nandy’s remark , “It will be a

very undignified and—how should I put it—almost vulgar statement on

my part. It is a fact that most of the corrupt come from the O.B.C.s and

the scheduled caste and now increasingly the scheduled tribes. And as

long as this is the case, the Indian republic will survive.”’ What Ashis

Nandy actually meant was that the corruption of the SC/STs and the

OBCs are visible because they have not yet developed the mechanisms of

effective social camouflage, which the elites are adept at, of course.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

“Satanic Verses” a novel written by Sir Salman Rushdie caused a huge

controversy in the Islamic community.

Numerous Muslim scholars around the world accused the book to contain blasphemous references. The novel basically comprises of a frame narrative and a series of sub-plots that are narrated as dreams seen by a protagonist. It also uses various elements of magical realism. It was honoured as the novel of the year in the 1988 Whitbread Awards and was the finalist in the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in the same year .Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a famous Shi’a Muslim scholar and the supreme leader of Iran at that time, issued a fatwa by calling out to all proper Muslims to murder the publishers of the book and Rushdie himself. Various people who were associated with the book were physically harmed while the Japanese translator of the book, Hitoshi Igarashi, was killed in the year 1991. However, Rushdie himself has not faced any sort of physical harm till date.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

Artist M F Hussein has been referred by the Forbes magazine as the

"Picasso of India". He was in fact one of the highest paid Painters of India.

He attracted a lot of controversy and wrath after painting the nude images

of Hindu Deities, .: The Kerala Government's announcement to award M F

Husain with the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award also led to a lot of

controversy. A series of cases were brought against Hussain following the

controversies and he was even issued a non-bailable warrant after he failed

to respond to summons from the Court. He also received death threats. The

opposition from Indian Public and Government resulted in the artist moving

out of India and set his base in Dubai and London.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

In September, political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested and charged with sedition for depicting the national emblem and parliament in

bad light.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

All Girls Band Muzzled

The 10th-class students – vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir, drummer Farah

Deeba and guitarist Aneeka Khalid — had formed a rock group called Pragash Band and rose to fame in December 2012 after their performance at the annual Battle of the Bands competition. –

Their music was silenced by the grandmufti’s declaring it ‘un-Islamic’, Bowing to social pressure and fear for life , Kashmir’s first all girl rock band decided to quit after a fatwa was issued against them by the head Grand Mufti, despite assurances from Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as well as other civil society organizations



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

Actor Aamir Khan whose is a social activist invited the wrath of the Gujarat Govt. It all began with people protesting against raising the height of the Narmada Dam which we in India supposedly need to meet our insatiable demand for energy particularly in this case – electricity. The protestors are demanding proper rehabilitation for the thousands of people that have been displaced because of this mammoth project. Aamir Khan joined in to give their demands a louder voice. Due to this expression of opinion. the right wing ruling Hindu party in Gujarat the BJP has banned all products endorsed by the actor including Coca Cola and Toyota cars and also his latest film release Fanaa..



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

For years, Shivsena has intimidated Bollywood with threats to

disrupt movie openings. Eager to excite its base of supporters it

pounced on a recent comment by Mr.Shah Khan about Pakistani

cricket players.

A controversy erupted after no Pakistani players were selected

in the recent draft of the Indian Premier League. Mr. Khan, who

owns a team in the league, said some should have been included,

a sentiment expressed by others, including India’s home minister.

This comment resulted in the rising against the film My name is

khan



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

India's commitment to free speech has been cast into the spotlight yet again after two women were arrested over a Facebook post this weekend.. Two girls from nearby Thane district were arrested by the Mumbai Police for posting a Facebook comment that questioned the bandh in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death While 21-year-old Shaheen Dhadha was arrested for Facebook status update which reportedly read: ‘People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that.’ The arrests of Shaheen Dhada and Renu Srinivasan sparked public outrage across the country, and drew criticism from civi society,

media ,and the government.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

In April 2012, Ambikesh Mahapatra a university professor was arrested in West Bengal for circulating an email with pictures that poked fun at the state’s chief minister.



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

Malala Yousafzai, the educational campaigner from Swat Valley, Pakistan, came to public attention by writing for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban. Using the pen name Gul Makai, she often spoke about her family's fight for girls' education in her community. In October 2012, Malala was targeted by the Taliban and shot in the head as she was returning from school on a bus. She miraculously survived and continues her campaign for education.

ACROSS THE BORDER

The recent arrest of Chiranuch Prem chaiporn, the director and editor of Prachatai, a popular online newspaper in Thailand, is a cause celebre in which lèse-majesté laws ( Comments against the royal family) She was later charged with an additional nine counts under the CCA on April 7, 2010 from the information she provided to the Royal Thai Police, and faced up to fifty-years imprisonment for comments she did not even make



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

In the above incidents the government initiated action either by

authorisation given under Article 19 (1) (a) or Section 66A of the

Information Technology Act – which deals with information that is

“grossly offensive” or “has menacing character,” or causes annoyance

or inconvenience . They have been used repeatedly to arrest critics of the

government. The law allows for up to three years in prison under this

section. The Department of Information Technology promulgated vague

implementing rules in 2011 that further required online service providers

to restrict a range of information, including content that is “grossly

harmful,” “disparaging,” “harm[ful to] minors in any way,” or that

“threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security, or sovereignty of India.”



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

THE SUPREME COURT HELD

In 2011, when Prakash Jha took a few state

governments to Supreme Court for banning his film

Aarakshan he won the case. A Hindu editorial

supporting Jha that time quoted these lines from an

earlier judgement: “freedom of expression cannot be

suppressed on account of threat of demonstration

and processions or threats of violence.” Rangarajan

v. P. Jagjivan Ram (1989



Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821



Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400



Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921

EMAIL

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.altacit.com

CONCLUSION

Our legal system needs to take a firm, consistent stand during such

exigencies . We need to stop mirroring the evils of outdated law in fresh

legislations like the Information Technology Act, and work instead to

remove law and practices that institutionalise intolerance.

Evolution of right to freedom of speech and expression

News & Politics

Transcript of Evolution of right to freedom of speech and expression