One of Pakistan's more remarkable journalists,
Shahzad, was tortured and murdered, probably by Pakistan's
ISI.
-
one of the article, in Asia Times Online that got him
killed.
-
in the shadow of Massoud by Chan Akya, also in Asia Times
Online, tries to ask why this would make sense. And once you
start thinking about this, was it coincidence that
was killed shortly thereafter?
- I haven't yet read the book
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which was released only a few
weeks ago.
In one view of the world, freedom of speech is something that you
are gifted by your founding fathers. As an example, if you have the
good fortune of having a well drafted Constitution, it would say
Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press;. This would block the ability
of politicians to enact legislation that is inimical to freedom of
speech. Then, as long as rule of law prevails, we get freedom of
speech. This seems like a palace coup, it seems rather easy, as long
as you have the right intellectual capabilities in the hands of those
who draft the Constitution of a country.
We in India or Pakistan are not blessed thusly. The Indian
Constitution is not clear-headed about freedom of speech, and
anti-defamation law of colonial vintage continues to be on the
books. This is an important tool for harassment and intimidation. And
then, there is the question of rule of law. What is going on in
Pakistan is way beyond questions of how the Constitution should be
drafted.
It is, instead, more useful to think that democracy and freedom are
made of a million battles, small and large. Freedom of speech is won,
piece by piece, through a million mutinies. It is important to
constantly think, and speak, and write. Each little act of writing
about troublesome issues pushes the envelope of freedom of speech, and
creates a culture of honest discussion and discourse.
I feel the media in India has become
quite complacent
about the tawdry condition of free speech in India. All too often
journalists can be warned off a seamy story by a tiny exercise of
power or influence. All too often, the crooks are able to buy the
loyalty of a journalist quite easily. There isn't enough
intellectualism going around, among the men and women in the
media. Eshwar
Sundaresan, writing in Dawn, says that India badly needs
more journalists of the character of
Pakistan's Najam
Sethi. This is one of many areas where India's success in the
last 20 years is leading to an erosion of the very foundations of
that success.
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