The recent issue surrounding content creator Ranveer Allahbadia, aka BeerBiceps, has raised a crucial question about the limits of expression in the Indian society. After a controversial comment on one of his YouTube episodes of India’s Got Latent, Allahbadia is now at the center of a social media storm. The internet is demanding an apology or even legal action against him.
Here, the question is not whether Allahbadia’s comment was wrong or not but whether the state should intervene in this matter. This forced me to ask a fundamental question, how far should freedom of speech be protected? Well, in a truly free society, freedom of speech is nonnegotiable. Every individual has the right to speak without fear of government reprisal.
In this case, while his comment may have hurt some people, it was a form of expression that should not be stifled by government interference. Freedom of speech should be protected even when it makes others uncomfortable or unpopular. Restricting speech will get us on a dangerous path to government intervention and further erode individual liberty in our country.
The problem with the government intervening in free speech is not just about one individual’s comment but the example it sets for wider censorship. If government agencies start policing speech in online spaces we will see an ever-growing erosion of individual rights where any statement can be taken to court. The standing committee on Information technology is now considering calling him in for questioning. Although the government has not asked for immediate action against him the growing involvement of parliamentary bodies in policing online speech is worrying. This is not their business. Government regulation of speech is not only problematic but also fundamentally impossible. What one person may find offensive, another may not find offensive. Any attempt to legislate speech means the government would need to define what is considered “acceptable” and “unacceptable”. But who is going to decide the boundaries?
Moreover, as we look at social media platforms and other digital forms of communication, it is clear that regulating speech is impossible. The sheer volume of content generated on these platforms makes it impossible for any government agency to effectively police. The government cannot and should not regulate the freedom of speech. A society that compromises on free expression will eventually create a dangerous example. We can not sacrifice our individual rights for the sake of convenience.
