> > In India, of course, "free speech" carries terms and conditions. A cartoon > like that could land one in jail. > Read: http://eastwords.blogspot.com/2006/02/publish-and-be-damned_06.html
Free speech carries "terms and conditions" everywhere. There is no such thing as an absolute right to free speech, and there shouldn't be - the only question is how far the restrictions should go. In particular, with a bias against what the Americans call "prior restraint", or preventing speech before it is made, as opposed to letting people speak knowing that their words may have consequences (such as a libel suit). I know the author of that blog above - one thing his blog post doesn't mention is that all those IPC provisions which restrict speech were drafted in the 1860s when the world was different - some of them may even be unconstitutional for infringing on the right of free speech in the Constitution, only they haven't been challenged yet. (The famous section 377 of the IPC criminalizing homosexuality is only now being challenged, 150 years after it was written). The point I'm making is that although Indian free speech laws aren't quite as broad as the American First Amendment, they are pretty broad, and it is a strong right which has been repeatedly upheld by the courts, with the odd exception. The real threat to free speech in India is NOT governmental action or laws, it is the possibility of a mob rolling up to your house and burning it, or lynching you, and having a hundred "public interest lawsuits" filed against you. (See eg Nikki Bedi's talk show after Ashok Row Kavi - Nikki Bedi didn't even SAY anything and she was hounded..) B
