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Those who champion free speech bear a duty to protect it. If you believe that words have power, then you must be prepared to exert power to safeguard people's right to speak freely in the face of critics who seek to intimidate them into silence. The organisers of literary festival and the state government of Rajsthan have, between them, disappointingly failed this test.

What Muslim activists were hailing last night as a triumph stands as a stain against the festival's organisers and state authorities, who proved themselves to be not up to the task of allowing Rushdie'svoice to be heard. The fiasco heaps shame, too, on political parties who worried that openly supporting Rushdie might offend Muslim voters before a key state election in Uttar Pradesh next month.

With life in India already pinhed by corruption, the authorities' failure to guarantee free speech raises new concerns about the vigour of its democracy. India has poor record of freedomm of expression. That record just got worse. William dalrymple, the organiser said he personally felt disgraced. We Indians feel the same.

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Permalink Reply by Ram Prakash on January 28, 2012 at 9:45pm

Its not that. the current Rusdie affair has blown everyone away. All the skeletons are now out of the closet.

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Permalink Reply by Shalu Sharma on February 6, 2012 at 1:23pm

This is India not Saudi Arabia and people can express their views without fear. I am shocked no one opposed this thing.

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Permalink Reply by R Singh on February 6, 2012 at 2:31pm

Congress is making an elephant out of a rat and will use it for political benefits. There are far more important issues in this country to focus on.

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Permalink Reply by Munna Lal on February 6, 2012 at 4:25pm

Very true Singh Saheb. God knows where our country is being led to by our political parties. I think we all now follow Allah Miah. See how every political party listen and act when Allah speak. Bhagwaan seems to have lost out to Allah.

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Permalink Reply by R Singh on February 6, 2012 at 5:24pm

I think it's about time Google and Facebook should either take a tough stand against any censorship or just quit India all together and let India live in their own primitive ways.

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Permalink Reply by Shalu Sharma on February 6, 2012 at 8:15pm

If the government continues doing what they are doing, these giants might as well leave India. But they won't do that as there are millions to be made in India. That is why Kapil Sibal is arm twisting these companies. That is why Facebook will either make up or break up. If I can receive an email from the cyber branch of Delhi police asking me to remove an image, just imagine how much stress major companies would be going through thanks to the Congress policies.

Freedom of expression was never absolute in India.

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Permalink Reply by R Singh on February 6, 2012 at 10:11pm

The banana republic is now becoming a taliban state. Speak the truth and never surrender your Freedom of Speech.

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Permalink Reply by Rohini on February 7, 2012 at 12:09am

lets talk just make sure push dosent becomes shove.

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Permalink Reply by R Singh on February 7, 2012 at 3:37pm

Those who are complaining about Facebook, Google and others should be barred from using internet at all.

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Permalink Reply by Ragini Bhatiya on February 7, 2012 at 3:55pm

Today the media and the Congress sponsored NGO's and acitivists are the biggest threat to the communal harmony of this country. They keep prodding the wound again and again and try to fan communal hatred among one another - all for a bounty from the Congress. Both the sides (Hindus and Muslims) have had heavy causalities where precious human lives were lost and outright communal parties like Congress and the Communists try to make a political life out of these riots and killings. If the majority and the minority community come together, we progress together and co-exist peacefully. Development is the only key to achieve that.