Freedom of Expression?

Some days back Jaya Bachchan took the liberty of expressing her desire to speak in her mother tongue (Hindi) at a film function. Little had she known the repercussions of such a move in a highly parochial country like India. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) protested against Jaya Bachchan’s “anti Marathi” utterances and asked her to apologize. MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, “If Jaya Bachchan wants to speak in Hindi, she better shift to Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, she must learn Marathi. She should also learn to respect the sentiments of Maharashtra. I dare her to go to West Bengal and say that she loves Hindi.”

My only question for such sentiments is that isn’t Hindi supposed to be our national language? Is regional language superior to the national language? And more importantly doesn’t a person have the right to even choose a language to speak in, if he or she is in a state of some other regional language? Is our periphery of modernization and liberalization limited to just the blocks of concrete we are erecting in every part of the country? Will our thoughts and actions never rise above regionalism and individualism?

India is the largest democracy in the world. Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, gives us the right to freedom of speech and expression. The existence of this freedom is the cornerstone of a democracy, especially in a highly mixed society like India. But unfortunately this very freedom is denied to us. How can we think of progressing into the league of developed countries when people are deprived of their basic constitutional rights?

The biggest problem lurking underneath the façade of “patriotism towards regionalism” is the hunger for publicity and ignorance of people. Interestingly, around 30% of the world’s illiterate population comes from India. The literacy rate in India is around 60% of which the majority of the literates residue in urban areas (which does not account for more than 10% of the inhabited land). The poor and ignorant are an easy target of exploitation and socialism. They just need to be brain washed and you can have an army of people ready to kill and die. And all these politicians need is such an army and one such remark which can provide fresh fodder to feed their “anti-human” campaign.

Ask yourself how justified is a person to be able to exercise the right to express himself or herself as he or she desires and then raise your opinion against what is unfair.