Opinion | Future of Free Speech in India: However Great The Pressures May Be, It Will Survive
The closing debate of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is hugely popular, and is, in a sense, the finale of the five-day event, with an audience in thousands. The topics for the debate are deliberately provocative so that, in the best spirit of debating, the audience is both interested and involved. This year, the topic was – ‘Free Speech Will Survive Surveillance Technology and Privacy Invasions’.
I have participated in these closing debates several times in the past. For the subject this year, I had originally opted to speak for the motion. However, my good friend and director of the JLF, Namita Gokhale, called me to make a request. She said that more speakers (each side has three) wanted to speak in support of the motion, and would I please agree to speak against it. Having been a debater, both in school and university, and the President of the St Stephen’s Debating Society, I agreed, since this is not a political event but a stage to test the argumentative skills of the speakers.
Vir Sanghvi, as always, was the moderator. Those speaking for the motion were Pinky Anand, former additional Solicitor-General of India; Amia Srinivasan, professor of social and political theory at Oxford University; and Mohit Satyanand, chairman of Teamwork Arts, entrepreneur and angel investor. Those against included me; Varghese K George, resident editor of The Hindu in Delhi; and Marcus du Sautoy, professor of mathematics at Oxford University.
The rules for the........
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