In 1644, at the height of the English Civil War, poet John Milton called on Parliament to bring to an end the state licensing of newspapers, with the request, ‘give me above all liberties the freedom to speak.’ That notion of liberty to free speech and print being above all liberties, endured for centuries till technology upended it.
On the other hand, there is a price to pay for sponsoring and pursuing the freedom of speech and print. It is sad that few are prepared to defend the very sap that nurtures the spirit of men, society and nations. Free expression is a product of application of sane human intellect to the issue at hand. Today, intellectualism per se is sought to be branded as anti-national and deserving of being suppressed by the might of the state (Editorial, “Removing fear”, January 7).
R. Narayanan,
Navi Mumbai
