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Freedom Of Speech In India

Freedom Of Speech In India

The Political Power is no doubt the highest among all!
Political Leaders enjoy the highest power while sitting in their mansions. You ask about Freedom Of Speech In India? No one can speak anything against politicians because of their highly recognized image. Indian politicians talk all the time about democracy, but indeed, they cannot deal with criticism against themselves.
There are many countries in the whole world where there is not 100% freedom to speak or in other words, no Freedom of Speech. But when we compare this to countries like America, Indians find that the People of America enjoys the real freedom or “Democracy”. Democracy consists of two things. First of all end of dictatorship rule and second is the freedom of speech which the citizens of a country would enjoy.
There are many counties which are democratic, but its citizens don’t have the freedom to speak or express their views like Americans who can mock their political leaders. Americans can say anything about their political leaders which is a great thing but also very rare. In most other countries, like India, it is considered as a crime if you speak any terrible thing against a political leader. You could be prosecuted and severe action could be taken against you.

Freedom Of Speech: India Compared To America

India Location On Globe via WikipediaIn India, you cannot even put a single Tweet against the ruling party or any other prominent political leaders. Because if by any chance that tweet or post would go viral or picked up by any media around the country then be ready for prosecutions against you. Yes, it might sound weird but it’s the truth, and only this much democracy Indians have.

Where on another hand, in America, people can post anywhere “anything” either in contradiction of their political leaders or in favour of them. On YouTube, Indians have seen thousands of videos where American people are somehow cussing and weirdly talking bad things about their President and other leaders, but nothing has happened to them. It is what makes America different from other nations around the world because people can discuss anything either good or bad about anyone because it is their right to be freely speak anything.
There have been many incidents in India in which citizens of India have posted any post on Facebook or tweeted something against any political party on Twitter and which resulted very badly for them. Either they got prosecuted or they have been put directly in jail. I would like to share two incidents that happened in India. Where ordinary people shared their views over the internet or through newspaper which resulted in a legal action against them. Afterword you will know how much of a democratic country India is?



Examples Of Freedom Of Speech In India

The first incident is from 2012 involved a political cartoonist named Aseem Trivedi. Aseem, who is a social activist as well as also known for his work against corruption through cartoons, got arrested and put in jail due to the content of his work. He was charged with allegations of disrespecting national emblem, Parliament, flag and constitution through his anti-corruption cartoons as well as also got accused of sedition. He actively works against internet censorship which is a much-needed aspect in India. After Aseem was released from jail, he said that “free speech is in danger in India” which was true then and still now it is true.

The second incident is a YouTube channel name AIB’s co-founder, Tanmay Bhat. Tanmay is a stand-up comedian and scriptwriter. In 2016, a complaint was lodged against him when he posted a video on his YouTube channel mimicking Sachin Tendulkar (Cricket Legend) and Lata Mangeshkar (Music Legend). The video went viral, and fans of these two personalities got hurt, and a group of people filed a complaint against him in the local Police station. Tanmay avoided prosecution, lucky for him! These two incidents shows the current vulnerable situation in India where an ordinary person can’t even express their views in public.



It Is Written But Is Not So

According to Article 19(1)(a) of Indian Constitution, all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of Speech and expression means the right to express one’s convictions and opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode. However, with Freedom Of Speech In India, the ground reality is far away from this amendment. In fact, responsible citizens of India would think a hundred times before putting a comment or a post against any political leader or against any person who has a huge fan following. Indians have to think about the consequences which can happen after that.
But the scenario in democratic countries like America is different. People of America are free to speak or express their views in public and by any means possible. They should be thankful for that because they enjoy their rights to the extent which other countries citizens, like India and many others, cannot enjoy. Freedom of Speech plays an essential role in creating the overall image of any country. The citizens of countries where there is free speech tend to grow exponentially in every aspect than other countries where there is no free speech.

The American Model

Americans are fortunate because Indians have seen on Twitter and YouTube many times that they speak and express their views openly. They are not afraid of anyone; They are not worried about circumstances or any legal actions against them because the People of America are well aware of their rights and they know what they are doing. But in India even after knowing their rights, a person cannot speak anything immoral against any prominent person because there is no full freedom of Speech at to that extent which Americans have.

Other than these two incidents, which we have discussed above, scenarios like these are very common in India. But as people are getting educated about the concept of freedom of Speech in India and have also started to walk in the footsteps of nations like America and others. Indians would never enjoy the freedom of speech as Americans experience, but yes, it is true that India is also moving towards giving its citizen full freedom of Speech.

World View On American Freedom Of Speech

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World View On American Freedom Of Speech

Silencing Free Speech

World View On American Freedom Of Speech

Operating a website like PresidentialPaper.com without fear of prosecution is an honor. As an American I enjoy the freedom to speak my mind via any media I choose. As a result, freedom prompted me to start this series of articles to give my American Brothers and Sisters a window looking in at themselves. The article series “World View On American Freedom Of Speech” will feature articles written by people in other countries around the world. Countries that do not have the same liberty that we Americans enjoy. Countries that inflict persecution against people that exercise freedom of speech.

My Fellow Americans … Lest We Forget

World View On American Freedom Of SpeechIn our comfortable American environment it is becoming clear that, for the most part, we take our freedom for granted. Facebook post bashing a politician? Americans do not have to think twice about stuff like that. We have a mindset that is open for debate without recourse. In fact, we are encouraged to debate opinions. Americans are taught in grade school to think critically. To challenge that which is outside of your beliefs. Hence this series World View On American Freedom Of Speech. I challenge you to read the articles from those in countries unlike our United States. I invite you to share your ideals compared to the viewpoint of the rest of the world. Involve your friends and family, share this information with them. Talk about how the articles make you feel and what you are going to do to protect your freedom. Consequently you will be protecting our freedom of speech.

Realize Your Freedoms

Articles written by regular people around the world make up the World View On American Freedom Of Speech series. By invitation they are sharing their experience of living in a country without open free speech. The articles have not been re-written so you may find the language to be rough outside of the American English you know. I have purposely left the content in as much of its original format to make it easy for you to appreciate your native speech. After you read the articles take the time to realize your freedom here in America. Particularly when it comes to freedom of speech.



Protecting Our Freedom

Above all, protecting our freedom is the focus of the World View On American Freedom Of Speech articles. You will read cases where freedoms were stripped away. The widening political divide only removes freedom albeit at a snails pace. Americans should be coming together with one voice. Banding together will protect our freedom. A voice of basic necessity. Active and peaceful agreement is the start then projecting that unified voice to the American government.

Prepare To Be Shocked

The stories that follow may shock you. Countries that you thought had freedom of speech actually do not. As I read the submissions I was shocked. They have a pseudo freedom of speech which only applies on paper. In real life these people live in fear of their government. Together we can ensure that Americas future generations do not live in fear.

List Of Articles For World View On American Freedom Of Speech

As submissions come in I will add to this list the list of articles. Bookmark and revisit this page weekly to check for new articles. Please share these articles with your friends and loved ones. Moreover, opinions expressed in these articles are that of non-American citizens. Freedom means something entirely different to them. Appreciate their voice. An opportunity to partake in American Freedom of speech does not come often for them. Lastly, all contributors will remain anonymous to protect them.

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The Power of Satire

American Freedom Of Political Humor

The Power of Satire

Most Americans don’t recognize how lucky they are to be living in a free country where they can make jokes about their leaders. The power of satire shows when entire TV stations and various media outlets are solely dedicated to making fun of presidents. It is something that never happened and probably will never occur in any other country on earth. Even laws are set in place to prevent prosecution of any media personality who would mock the president. Everybody is welcome to say whatever they want, and no one could force them into silence.
The crucial role that satire plays in the political scene is its ability to humanize those who are in power, so it is easier to stand against them. In some way, satire brings down influential political figures to the level of everyday people. Therefore, those leaders are no longer god-like people who live in ivory towers, after all, they are just public servants albeit with tremendous amount of power.

What these “public servants” don’t understand is that their power comes with a lot of responsibility. It is not much of a privilege, but they must be prepared for heaps of criticism all the time because they are elected to do a certain job. In many countries in the third-world, and it looks like America has caught the flu, people who come to power think it is a privilege, and they insist that people must love, respect, and fear them. Satire is the complete opposite; it’s on a mission to expose that fake respect. It downplays that air of fear, it pisses them off and they hate it for doing that to them.

The Rise and fall of Bassem Youssef

In countries like Egypt, mocking the leaders is not just forbidden, but it is outright blasphemy. Sure, those leaders are supposedly “democratic,” they encourage free speech. However, that’s all just an outer layer hiding a much more horrible reality.
In Egypt, there is always a limit to satire. Nobody has ever managed to cross that limit because they either end up in jail or worse, killed. Nobody can really make jokes about Egyptian leaders, those who dare will be harassed by the government into submission or just flee the country altogether. Like Dr. Bassem Youssef who is considered the “Jon Stewart of Egypt,” the host of the most popular TV show in the history of the Arab world.

He started with a satirical YouTube channel during the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Just at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and the Arab Spring broke out, Youssef fiercely satirized the Islamists and the military which took power and his show ignited. Around 30 million of viewers waited for his TV show every week to watch him satirize the cosmic conspiracy on Egypt.

Bassem’s detractors belittled and ridiculed him, but the joke was on them all along. Ultimately, Youssef was censored and forced to flee Egypt. His collapse was triggered by a segment mocking Islamist president Mohamed Morsi’s hat in 2013. In March, a warrant was issued for his arrest because he insulted the president and Islam because, of course, the president is the representative of Allah on earth. Islamists cannot handle criticism; it is not in their playbook. They are hiding behind a religious ideology that demands strict submission and obedience.



Political Intolerance

Youssef turned himself in as he already knew it was just a matter of time, the funny thing is that prosecutors and security forces were his fans, taking selfies with him as he went willingly to the public prosecutor’s office. However, Bassem was released on bail, but his days were numbered because just three months later, the military removed and jailed president Morsi, deactivated the constitution, and enforced martial law.

He found it hard to continue his show, with the new regime taking over. In Egypt, the military is even more sacred than religion, more sacred than Mother Egypt herself. He wanted to stop the show but decided to go on with it as his fans supported him. However, it didn’t last long; he was crippled by a flood of lawsuits and abusive legal verdicts. The final blow arrived in the form of a whopping 100 million EGP fine, the largest penalty in the history of Egyptian media. He had to flee before he is jailed and put on no-fly list.

It’s all about the People

In third-world countries, whether it is under the military or religious rule the leaders are put on a pedestal. They are equated with God, religion, and homeland. Their pictures are put on everything and everywhere, the national media praise and portray them as saviors, and the thought of rebelling is bombarded by a general sense of futility. A futility that nothing make a difference, and all you can do is submit to the status quo.

It is up to the people to take the power of satire beyond the theater and TV set and translate into action in the real world. While satire is the most powerful antidote against dictatorship, if people don’t act then it remains just a healthy exercise of blowing steam. Satire, alone, is not potent enough to make a change. Of course, it can funnily expose the truth, but ultimately, the change comes from people taking action.

American Political Comedy

Finally, people in America are lucky because their leaders can take a joke. There’s a difference between waging war against satire and comedy that is not ill-intentioned. You only need to look at the recent case of Kathy Griffin to get the point. With all that said, there are still barriers to bring down, and more jokes to be told. Because people just need to lighten up.
Today, the authoritarian threat in America is quickly becoming a reality and one of the best ways to fight it is making fun of it through the power of satire. That’s what makes America different than any other country on earth, you can laugh at your leader, and it is something to be proud of.

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