Freedom of Speech

Published on 4th September, 2022, in Mid-Day. What is the opposite of freedom of speech? It is the right to get offended. Recently, Nupur Sharma commented about the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage on national television. She stated it in a debate and it was not meant to flatter. The Arab elite, otherwise mute spectators to global Muslim misery, took exception. The Indian government had to calm frayed nerves. Here, speech was the problem. Long ago, Salman Rushdie wrote a work of fiction called Satanic Verses inspired by a story of the Prophet Muhammad. It offended some Muslims who demanded his death. A fatwa was issued, and ..