Article
Silenced voices: unravelling India’s dissent crisis through historical and contemporary analysis of free speech and suppression
Information & Communications Technology Law
(2023)
Abstract
In India, the world’s largest democracy, the right to express dissenting opinions has come under increasing pressure due to governmental reactions to violent and non-violent activities and opposition. As well as direct suppression, a concerning trend has arisen whereby individuals and groups may choose to self-censor rather than risk the consequences of speaking out. These outcomes are related in this paper to the treatment of social media, where official policies and laws regulate and censor content on social media on the dubious basis that it is ‘offensive’ or ‘objectionable’. These restraints often lack clear guidelines and are applied arbitrarily, leading to a chilling effect on free speech and the expression of dissenting views. Furthermore, India lacks a comprehensive legal framework to address hate speech, resulting in a patchwork of provisions within the Indian Penal Code that inadequately define and circumscribe hate speech. This article contends that the ‘freedom to criticise’ should be legally better protected to ensure that diverse opinions can be safely held and expressed in order to maintain and reflect the pluralistic nature of Indian democracy.
Keywords
- India,
- Freedom of Speech,
- Indian Constitution,
- Social Media,
- Right to dissent,
- Indian Penal Code
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer August 30, 2023
Citation Information
Subhajit Basu and Shameek Sen. "Silenced voices: unravelling India’s dissent crisis through historical and contemporary analysis of free speech and suppression" Information & Communications Technology Law (2023) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/subhajitbasu/112/