JLF concludes with thought-provoking debate on freedom of expression

Jaipur, Jan 19 (PTI) On the final day of the 19th Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), a thought-provoking debate took place on the issue of the looming threat to freedom of expression in the current situation of the country.

During a debate on 'Freedom of Expression is a Dangerous Idea', speakers on both sides of the issue, despite their differences of opinion, agreed that silence is the most dangerous situation despite all kinds of threats.

Those who strongly supported the topic included Ashish Gawande, spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), India-born British historian, senior researcher at Princeton University and author of the book 'What is Free Speech' Fara Dabhoiwala, former Rajya Sabha member and former bureaucrat Pawan K. Verma, and Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Those who expressed their views against the topic included Alice Oswald, who teaches poetry as a subject at Oxford University, British journalist, satirist and well-known television personality Ian David Hislop, former Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna, and former Indian High Commissioner to Australia Navdeep Suri.

Participating in the debate in favour of 'Freedom of Expression is a Dangerous Idea', Gawande said that if this freedom is available only to a few people, then it is a dangerous idea.

He said that having freedom of expression in the hands of only a few people leads to people like young leader Umar Khalid being put behind bars.

Author and former bureaucrat Pawan Verma said, "Today, freedom of expression is a dangerous idea." "We have to keep the context in mind while debating this," he said, without naming the former Jawaharlal Nehru University student, "Would you want to be in jail without bail?" Referring to the media, he said that speakers who present the truth are sidelined in TV debates by the anchors, who team up with the other side.

He said, "That's why I say that freedom of expression is a dangerous idea." Verma said, "I believe in freedom of expression, it's a good idea, but it is rapidly becoming dangerous, whether in America, here, or anywhere else." PTI NRS NB NB