The ‘Freedom of Expression’ brigade is forgetting one basic thing: Its constant skirmishes are tiring the people at large because it doesn’t put food on the table. The group simply refuses to learn from the past
There is a popular expression called ‘facepalm’, usually used in the context of ‘Why?’ — as in ‘Why are we even arguing about this?’ The recent debates on social media over the right of a young college student to express her opinion rapidly escalated on social media.
There is no doubt that Gurmehar Kaur has all the right in the world to her opinion. If she is a ‘peacenik’ and intentionally clueless or genuinely so about geopolitics, she is entitled to her opinion. And while ‘peace’ between India and Pakistan is a desirable thing, and anyone with a modicum of intelligence would know how hard this country has tried towards achieving that, it is also more than apparent that India has paid a heavy toll in blood, including the life of Gurmehar Kaur’s father because, evidently, our neighbour is not interested.
But yes, there have been peaceniks before, and there will be peaceniks going forward, who will consistently argue that India should be the ‘bigger’ nation. And they have the right to express that opinion. Yet, such people should be careful that their opinions do not get hijacked by those who wish to use them to run down the Modi Government. While this writer still supports the Modi Government, it is also true that the dispensation should have a credible opposition to its policies and pronouncements.
Yet, it is also apparent that those opposing Modi are hypocrites of the highest order. According to them, and their enablers in most of the English-language media feel that only their view counts as ‘freedom of expression’. This is best encapsulated by Left-wing propagandists on social media who happily dub others as trolls, whereas they indulge in what is described as ‘troll-bait’ and spread misinformation and lies. They’re usually no better than trolls themselves. In fact, many who claim to be subjugated by ‘Right-wing’ or ‘Hindutva’ trolls are trolls themselves, but because they are opposing the Prime Minister, they don’t see themselves as such. These are people who will concoct stories — the episode of the Mumbai film-maker who was ‘attacked’ by people because he had a leather bag, for example. It was a useful lie used to discredit both the Union and the State Governments. Yet, a cursory investigation exposed the lie and the liar immediately took shelter in a politician’s house.
Freedom of expression should allow for speech that some might find offensive. It must be kept in mind that India does not have the First Amendment and that Jawaharlal Nehru himself amended the Constitution, preventing ‘absolute’ freedom of speech. Also, the Supreme Court has reiterated this. That said, the simple reason the Left and the anti-Modi brigade keep on strengthening the Prime Minister’s political base is because, in their desperation to be relevant, they have mollycoddled many elements who wish harm upon the Indian nation-state. Some of these despicable people now claim to protect the ‘Idea of India’ but have previously defended the cold-blooded murder of paramilitary forces by their brethren political followers in central India.
And for these people to act surprised when the public at large rejects their arguments, and to unfortunately also begin to deeply distrust the media, is mind-boggling. To believe that the Indian public would support the right of student politicians to scream for ‘azadi’ and also happily consume reams of newsprint dedicated to such people proclaiming them as heroes, is to live in a fantasy world. Far from supporting them, it is also apparent on some networks far from the Brahmanical environs of central and south Delhi, that this disgust is waiting to explode even if some try to change the narrative to suit their agendas.
It is all well and good for such people to call the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as goons, but it would be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election in August, because there is more than a fair chance that the morons on the Left and their enablers will see a clean sweep by the ABVP. Being protected in colleges outside the DUSU, such as Lady Shriram College, is a delightful way of being ignorant of realpolitik.
The world at large is a fairly socially and politically conservative place but it is coming to terms with being a more liberal place. Yet, the moment these liberals denounce the other for being conservative, being in their opinion ‘stupid and backward’, that is when the backlash starts. One clear reason Hillary Clinton lost was because she used the term ‘basket of deplorables’ when it came to Donald Trump’s supporters when some uncomfortable questions were asked.
Similarly, a large number of people in India is silenced by media apparatchiks when they ask for a uniform civil code (UCC) and question the medieval notion of triple talaq — a practice so retrograde that many members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) have outlawed it.
By making people feel like outsiders from their cosy club and burdened with the belief of their ‘right’ to rule, not just India but countries across the world, liberals are losing the war. Sure, they can win a few battles on social media and feel happy about themselves, but by refusing to engage even with moderate people on the Right, or particularly the Right-of-Centre, they do not realise the mistake that they are making.
In India, for example, there is a large number of people even towards the Right side of the political spectrum who would support legalising same-sex relationships. By deliberately painting all who oppose them with the same brush, they just drive people into the waiting arms of the far Right.
And the public at large, an apolitical public, is becoming politicised by getting irritated with these protestors. This is a public that realises that the only way to employ the million Indians that enter the job market every month is not through plaintive cries of ‘azadi’ but through economic development. It does not take much to paint these people as anti-development and thus anti-India.
Not only do they see no answers from the ‘Freedom of Expression’ brigade on that front, they possibly will start buying arguments that such freedoms need to be curbed. For liberals, it appears, idiocy, platitudes and lies are the only way.
By Kushan Mitra
(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)
