Another free speech assault

In a shameful incident, the editor of the Statesman was arrested for publishing this article by Johann Hari. The arrests were made pursuant to s. 295A of the IPC, which Tarunabh breaks down for us here. The article itself was unexceptional in every regard, and certainly can't be reasonably construed as an attack on Islam as a religion. Rather, it criticised the efforts of certain states to put forth an 'Islamic Declaration of Human Rights', intended as an alternative to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which permitted the exercise of civil liberties only within the limits set by sharia.

One could use this as a pretext for bemoaning the loss of respect for individual liberties in India, but I'd like to make a much more basic point here. If civil rights are only available at the behest of bureaucrats (as it is in the case of s. 295A), they risk being lost forever. The whole point of a pluralistic liberal state is to permit non-conformity, dissent, and criticism of others. By placing bureaucratic restraints on speech and expression, we stand to lose the vitality and energy which makes the right to free expression so valuable and important for culturally variegated societies like ours.

Chaddi charades

Sagarika Ghosh has an article in the HT about why the Pink Chaddi campaign is a bad idea. While I don't agree with all of what she has to say (if young Mangaloreans think that wearing Shoppers Stop threads and downing Kingfishers gets them closer to Carrie Shaw, good for them. India has greater problems to worry about), I think it's fair to ask a few questions about the point of the campaign. Given the following, how effective is the protest likely to be:

a. The bunch of former Bajrang Dali-s who make up the Shri Ram Sena are no shrinking violets. Mailing them pink chaddis is not going to send them into hiding behind their wives' pallus; if anything, it's likely to enrage them even more. In any event, most of the chaddis are likely to be intercepted en route by lascivious mailmen. Initial responses to the campaign from Pramod Mutalik to suggest that he is far from blushing.

b. Perhaps it is about the principle of the matter; horrific acts of violence against women should not be permitted, and right minded individuals should express their protest in as forceful a manner as possible. Sure thing, but is the mailing of pink chaddis really the best way to launch a vigorous defence of liberal democratic values? As Ghosh points out, this is a move guaranteed to alienate many who are otherwise opposed to such disgusting displays of aggression. If the aim is to create a popular movement against vandalism, hooliganism, the colonization of public spaces and misogynistic moral policemen (and women), surely alienating potential supporters right off the bat isn't such an outstanding idea? If, however, the move is intended to sensationalise, then it's unfortunate that such a serious issue is being tackled in this callow fashion. The socio-cultural problems underlying such incidents are not going to be resolved (or even illuminated) by mere eyeball grabbing.

c. There's a more principled objection I have to this business. The whole point of the Shri Ram Sena's attack, it seems to me, is to assert that the consumption of alcohol in a pub at 3 am is somehow prurient, or sleazy. By launching a campaign which is centred around items of clothing imbued with sexual significance, the organizers risk endorsing the message of the Shri Ram Sena - that drinking in pubs is morally equivalent to being sexually liberal. Now I'm absolutely not claiming that there's anything morally wrong with sexual liberation; indeed India could well do with much more of it. All I am saying is that given the conservative nature of social mores in the country, this is hardly an effective plank on which to gain widescale sympathy for the victims of these horrendous attacks. It is also not clear to me that the campaign is a good way to educate the public about the need to respect individuality, for messages which alienate don't usually do a great job of educating.

Therefore, it strikes me that the Pink Chaddi campaign suffers from an identity crisis. On the one hand, it appears to be an effort to create a genuine mass movement against bigotry. On the other hand, it also appears to be a unique way of celebrating individual freedom, like the New York Central Park love-ins of the 1970s. The problem, of course, is that it can't do both. The latter aim, laudable as it is, contradicts the former; for it goes against the sympathies of many members of the public. And in failing to take into account the social conservatism of the Indian public, the campaign may just be falling into the Shri Ram Sena's trap.

PS: Pratap Bhanu Mehta makes a point which indirectly supports my conclusion above. In his wonderful op-ed, he argues that the Mangalore attacks indicate how poorly respect for rights is socialized in India. The solution, of course, is to launch social movements which aim at creating a broadbased rights culture in India. Sending goondas pink chaddis in the mail isn't going to get us very far down that road.