The ‘Roast’ of Free Expression

“We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavouring to stifle is a false opinion; and even if we
were sure, stifling it would be an evil still.”
- John Stuart Mill

The latest to walk the tightrope of freedom of speech and expression are a group of stand-up comedians called the All India Bakchod (AIB). Amidst raging controversies and the whopping 8 million views garnered by the infamous AIB roast video before it was taken down, the dichotomy between the right to free speech and the right to be offended stood exposed.

It holds true that the program contained language that was offensive and abusive but it also carried a disclaimer at the beginning about the nature of its content. The AIB’s argument that no one was forced to watch it also stands correct in its place. Thereafter, the filing of a criminal conspiracy case makes sense, of course, because a group of comedians would indeed resort to a conspiracy to crack admittedly offensive jokes with a warning!

Also, who decides what constitutes Indian values and culture? Seemingly, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. While the Maharashtra CM ordered a probe into the matter, ironically even the parliament seems to be in want for parliamentary language these days. Perhaps the question we SHOULD be asking is that when the usage of expletives and sexual innuendos is so common and even accepted in conversational language, why do we get so uncomfortable when it is broadcasted in on a supposedly free forum where all those who choose to witness it do it out of their free will? Perhaps the self-proclaimed sanitizers of the Indian value system should resort to washing the filth right out of the everyday Indian’s mouth in order to safeguard what they think constitutes the Indian culture.

Offense too has the right to be expressed, but should the fact that power lies with the offended party in this case be allowed to the extent where it starts dictating and defining what constitutes the correct thought for a nation AND the consenting adults for participating in a show? Maybe what tolerance has come down to in the Indian dictionary is what appeases to those who hold power and perhaps free thought is limited to what can be expressed in 140 characters.