Noted Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, a victim of vigilantism, on Monday rued that those who were muzzling free speech enjoyed substantial support from sections of society inasmuch as there was support for free speech.
During a discussion on ‘Struck Dumb: Why states seek to muzzle freedom of expression’ at The Hindu ’s Lit for Life event here, Mr. Murugan said, “While there are supporters in this hall for free speech, when you walk out of this hall, out there, there is a crowd, which is against freedom of expression.” He contended that there was no space for debate in society.
Former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu and Chairman of Kasturi & Sons Limited N. Ram said the “reasonable restrictions have been wrongly and unreasonably interpreted” and the enforcement of such limitations has been “quite appalling”. The situation was such that “you cannot escape from the climate of intolerance” in the current times which has also witnessed the “rise of majoritarianism”.
The judiciary, which came up with very fine decisions on free speech in the past, had now let us down, Mr. Ram said, pointing to the “hugely disappointing Supreme Court judgment on the law of criminal defamation.” He added, “We cannot possibly agree that we are in good shape.”
Former Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, however, had a different take. She said freedom of speech was “alive, well and will never be muzzled in India.” Disagreeing with some of the comments made during the discussion, she asked, “But what if someone makes a hate speech against women or minorities or Muslims..? Are they not to be stopped?”
Editor of The Hindu Mukund Padmanabhan pointed out certain sections of the Indian Penal Code and said they were being misused by law-enforcing agencies only because of the pressure exerted by some social, religious and caste groups. Referring to Section 295 A of the IPC, he charged that it was “basically the equivalent of a blasphemy law”. Elaborating on the pressure on free speech by these groups, he asked, “Why should we be so sensitive to such religious and caste groups?”
Countering Ms. Natarajan’s contention that Mr. Murugan’s presence in the event only indicated the presence of free speech, moderator of the discussion and noted journalist Salil Tripathi pointed out that a court order was in his favour and the ideal environment would be when anyone would be able to speak freely without the issue going to court.
Publishers’ problems
Explaining the issues faced by publishers in the context of freedom of expression, publisher Karthika V.K. said while depicting nudity and the body, it was surprising to note that while Kamasutra pictures were considered all right, similar content in prose format was opposed. Sharing her experience, Ms. Karthika said there was hesitation over publishing a naked woman with a cow.
