Freedom of Expression ?
Recently the social networking site www.orkut.com was in news when the Bombay High Court ordered the state Government to initiate legal proceedings against it in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Yugant R Marlapalle. The website is a host to a “We Hate India” Community by a Russian Miraslov Stankovic. It states that the community is against all those people who are against Pakistan. The community has a picture of people burning the Indian Tri-Color. It reads “The Sole purpose of the community isn’t meant to offend India; it’s against those people who are against Pakistan.” It also talks about India’s oppressive and hostile approach. After the news of the High Court was out the number of members of the community went down from 100 to 91.
Marlapalle, a lawyer by profession claimed that he was in for the freedom of speech but not at the expense of the rights of the people of India. On the other had, a Google Official said that just like offline world, there are some people who may object to some things in the online world too. One has to agree with the Terms of Service in order to post comments and communities Orkut. Google has taken the issue seriously and might remove the community if it is not complying with the Terms of Service. The Orkut case is a reminder of the blog banning controversy in India where in the backlash from the masses resulted in Government waiving off the ban off the blogs.
India which is already grappling with the terrorist menace needs to regulate the content to some extent as it is suspected that the community has been started by some terrorist groups and sympathizers based in Pakistan. In such cases, websites like Orkut can very well be used to spread hate and propaganda. This again comes under the incitement of violence, keeping this in mind; the community should be taken off.
This case raises lots of questions, some for the order and some against the order. Terminating or banning a community would mean curbing the Freedom of Expression [Article 19(1A)]. But the freedom of expression is subject to reasonable restrictions when it comes to the Sovereignty and Integrity of India. “We Hate India” community targets India on behalf of Pakistan. This targets the friendly relations between the two countries.
This can also be taken as a case under 124(a) that deals with the Sedition, which targets one who by words or by expression of any kind or attempts to bring or provoke a feeling of hatred, contempt or disaffection towards the Government established by law.
The Indian Constitution provides little protection against the banning or censorship. Although it professes to give all citizens “The freedom of speech and expression” that is qualified by so many exceptions which are called reasonable restrictions. These include the sovereignty of India, security of the state, public decency and morality etc. These restrictions make almost all protections meaningless. It falls upon Government bureaucrats to decide what falls within what exceptions. It is because of the reason that India had a long period wherein the government was allowed by the masses to regulate the content that citizens can watch.
Where once censorship was taken for granted, it is now debated, and the army of news websites that have recently opened shop regularly feature debates on the subject. Such voices are still few, and these protests not yet loud enough to counter the regressive forces that routinely stifle freedom of expression in India. But they are growing, and offer hope for India’s future.
Marlapalle, a lawyer by profession claimed that he was in for the freedom of speech but not at the expense of the rights of the people of India. On the other had, a Google Official said that just like offline world, there are some people who may object to some things in the online world too. One has to agree with the Terms of Service in order to post comments and communities Orkut. Google has taken the issue seriously and might remove the community if it is not complying with the Terms of Service. The Orkut case is a reminder of the blog banning controversy in India where in the backlash from the masses resulted in Government waiving off the ban off the blogs.
India which is already grappling with the terrorist menace needs to regulate the content to some extent as it is suspected that the community has been started by some terrorist groups and sympathizers based in Pakistan. In such cases, websites like Orkut can very well be used to spread hate and propaganda. This again comes under the incitement of violence, keeping this in mind; the community should be taken off.
This case raises lots of questions, some for the order and some against the order. Terminating or banning a community would mean curbing the Freedom of Expression [Article 19(1A)]. But the freedom of expression is subject to reasonable restrictions when it comes to the Sovereignty and Integrity of India. “We Hate India” community targets India on behalf of Pakistan. This targets the friendly relations between the two countries.
This can also be taken as a case under 124(a) that deals with the Sedition, which targets one who by words or by expression of any kind or attempts to bring or provoke a feeling of hatred, contempt or disaffection towards the Government established by law.
The Indian Constitution provides little protection against the banning or censorship. Although it professes to give all citizens “The freedom of speech and expression” that is qualified by so many exceptions which are called reasonable restrictions. These include the sovereignty of India, security of the state, public decency and morality etc. These restrictions make almost all protections meaningless. It falls upon Government bureaucrats to decide what falls within what exceptions. It is because of the reason that India had a long period wherein the government was allowed by the masses to regulate the content that citizens can watch.
Where once censorship was taken for granted, it is now debated, and the army of news websites that have recently opened shop regularly feature debates on the subject. Such voices are still few, and these protests not yet loud enough to counter the regressive forces that routinely stifle freedom of expression in India. But they are growing, and offer hope for India’s future.
posted by pukhraj @ 10:14 PM
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