By Abhirup Bhabani
Amid a growing cacophony that claims that freedom of speech and expression is reducing in India, there also been a wave of counter perspectives from intellectuals who believe this claim is greatly exaggerated. Recently, author Bhaavna Arora wrote a strongly worded open letter on social media that called out what she saw as hypocrisy among members of India’s intellectual classes. The contents of the letter are provided below for reference.
Bhaavna argues that the issue of freedom of speech has been needlessly politicized by individuals with biased motivations. Furthermore, she makes an interesting argument stating that these individuals have gone on to attack corporate groups seen to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She argues that these attacks are political attacks by proxy. Taking the example of the Adani Group, which has frequently found itself under attack by sections of the media, Bhaavna points out the role of the corporation in providing electricity, oil refining and other services critical to nation building.
Overall, Bhaavna makes several strongly worded points that goes counter to a lot of opinions being expressed in the media.