Freedom of Speech, Salman Rushdie and Fundamentalism

An op-ed piece in Pakistani daily Dawn by Anwar Syed exposes hypocrisies of those protesting the Knighthood for Salman Rushdie. Iran's Ayatollaha Khomaeini issued a fatwa on Rushdie after the publication of his Brooker prize winning novel Satanic Verses, which Khomeini considered blasphemous.

Here are some excerpts from Anwar Syed:

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Government of Pakistan gave no thought to foreign reaction when it decided to honour Ahmad Faraz, a distinguished poet, and awarded him a “Sitara,” even though he has all along been a harsh critic of western policies towards the Third World. Why then do we feel entitled to condemn the British government for its failing to consider our possible reaction to its honouring of Salman Rushdie?
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British Catholics reject Protestantism and the Jews reject all of Christianity. Yet many Catholics and Jews have been awarded knighthood and even higher titles. At least one British Muslim sits in the House of Lords. If this is how they feel about their own religion, how can we expect them to have developed the kind of sensitivity about Islam and its heroes that we do?
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Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God. They also believe in his resurrection after he had been lifted from the stake. Muslims say, no, he was not the son of God, and that the reports of his resurrection are false. Christians may view our rejection of their most fundamental doctrine as an attempt to belittle their Lord, and one that is intended to hurt their feelings. Nor should we be surprised if they mounted retaliatory movements against us. At the instigation of the popes in Rome, their knights and soldiers did fight crusades against Muslims in Palestine, but their object was to take Jerusalem, not to change Muslim beliefs about Jesus.

Hindus believe that their Lord Krishna was divine. He is often portrayed as surrounded by a whole bunch of young women (“Gopies”) and dancing with them. Muslims reject the claims of divinity for him, and many of them think he was inclined to be excessively romantic. Hindus might regard these Muslim assessments as an insult to their religion. Lucky for us that they do not think much of us or our views.

They have fought wars with us to consolidate their control over Kashmir, but not to change our views of Krishna. It is true that some Hindu extremists hope to change the Indian Muslims’ views by converting them to Hinduism, but note that we condemn their efforts on this front.

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The entire article is available here

Freedom of Speech is an important aspect of The India Manifesto. As the India Manifesto takes shape, it is important to ensure that India allows true freedom of speech and expression. Under the guise of various laws, the Government of India impedes up on this fundamental human right. For example, India was the first to ban Satanic Verses so as to not offend the Moslem sentiments. However, the same Government would does not see it fit to ban the nude and offensive paintings of Hindu Goddesses by M. F. Hussain.

The First Amendment to US Constitution guarantying absolute freedom of speech (except commercial speech or "shouting fire in a crowded theater" type speech) is a good model for India.