The recent arrest and subsequent release of two girls over the FB post pertaining to Bal Thackeray's death has once again brought to the fore the argument of how free should freedom really be?
While there are many that argue that a simple FB post should not warrant an arrest I for one would like to examine what actually transpired and put forth a balanced opinion. I must say that my opinion has been shaped by a number of articles which I read about this.
Was the Sena functionary wrong in lodging the complaint? Now there are reports that there were some earlier misgivings between the Sena functionary who lodged the complaint and the family of one of girls involved and that this act was to settle previous scores, looking from a legal point of view I don't think there is anything stopping anybody from approaching the police if he/she feels aggrieved.
Once the complaint is filed, it is upto the police to take the requisite action. There have been cases, where the police have been pressured to act in a certain way by various groups and there is every reason to believe that the same would have been the case here. My research led me to an article which pointed out that each police station has access to certain law officers, whose job is to interpret the laws for the police and help them out in exactly such sticky situations. It so transpired that here the police officers in charge did not sought the assistance and went ahead with the arrests prompting the public outrage. The fact that Shiv Sainiks vandalized the hospital of one of the relatives involved colored the entire situation in a different hue.
The police instead of doing what it did, could have very well used discretion and acted intermediary between the parties and looked for an out of the books apology and settled the matter amicably. There is no way to know if this was tried, however no statements regarding this have come out.
It is about time we start taking the electronic media, specifically the electronic social media seriously. The impact of this medium has already been felt in the Arab Spring. Just as we are bound by etiquettes in our daily verbal interactions, we would also need to employ etiquettes in our mannerisms on the social media. "Where is the freedom of expression in that?" you will say. If you think about this a bit more there is no country guaranteeing absolute freedom for the simple reason that as individuals we are all different and words have this incredible ability to deliver different meanings under different circumstances.
Do I sound like an advocate of censorship? These things are separated by such fine lines. No doubt 'utopia' is only an idea!!! J
6 comments:
I like the balance. You raise an interesting point about using social media and maintaining certain boundaries there..I don't think our laws will ever allow us complete freedom of speech so it will be important over time, as we continue to grow electronically, to see how we can attempt to voice opinions without stepping onto "unlawful" grounds!
Very insightful post. And I appreciate that you touched upon the broader debate on interpretation of electronic media.
I feel that the restrain has to be from both sides. We must understand that people with post stuff we might not like.
Electronic media has given us the power to communicate and post stuff and get heard. I can today post on to any of the celebrity's twitter and be heard in the news in few minutes. I believe it is an important step towards a more active and aware involvement of society. So as far as the enablement is concerened, I think it is for the good.
However, we must understand that people, no matter how educated they are, react more often with emotion than with logic. I feel that the restrain has to be from both sides. We must understand that people will post stuff that we will not like. Getting offended and trying to take it back to the originator does us more harm than good. We will see stuff that insults us. People from other countries, religions, ideologies see too. Very often; even the most advanced countries. Let's not emotion take over us and react in a way that may do more harm.
Check this - http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/human_nature/2012/09/mohammed_movie_embassy_attacks_don_t_let_internet_videos_drive_you_to_violence_.html
I absolutely agree with what you say however it is easier said than done. It almost seems like minds will have to be molded that way from a very young age :) Its a challenge worth taking up I say!!!
are we really free ?
Because I would like to believe that I am a believer in freedom of speech,I think even if you look at the entire happenstance in a sorted way, it still does not make sense that the sainiks acted like bullies.
So the real question is still the one I asked at the beginning. (Also I personally think its not at all offending when someone speaks up against a band, having felt the brunt myself over those 2 days myself).
I would say we are as free as we are allowed to be within a certain framework. As far as feeling offended is concerned the case in point was not a official band called by the political party, it was projected more of a spontaneous reaction on the part of majority of the citizens. Also dont think you can decide for someone else as to what exactly should and should not offend him/her...thts taking your freedom a bit too far :)
Response...
http://yearinlife.blogspot.in/2012/12/absolutely-unjustified.html
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