Democracy and Freedom of Speech & Expression

Abstract

Freedom of expression is the spirit and soul of democracy in the world and it forms the basis of democratic rights and freedoms. Democracy and Freedom are often used interchangeably and without Freedom, democracy cannot exist. Democracy in no way can ever be detached from the term Freedom and it is a fact that the first pre required for declaring a state as a democratic, is its status of Freedom, whether its subjects are sufficient free to use their basic unchallengeable human rights or not. Consequently, it has been correctly said that, Freedom of expression is the inseparable element of a democratic society. Whether the society is democratic or not can be by the factor of independent press and mass media. Freedom of speech and expression is no doubt significant for any self-governing society. Expression is a substance of freedom and right. The liberty of deliberation and right to know are the sources of expression. Free Speech is live lead of the democratic system. Freedom of expression is fundamental to the development and fulfilment of individual personality. Freedom of expression is more essential in a democratic setup of State where people are the Sovereign rulers. Iver Jennings said, without freedom of speech, the plea to reason which is the basis of democracy cannot be made.

The freedom of expression has been measured as obligatory stipulation for a democratic polity. According to Kant, The fundamental postulate of liberty is that, no man can be used as a means as man is an end to him as well as to the others. Free speech is interchange in crucial service namely ideas.  Hocking has said that if an idea was born in a man, it was not an item of capital stock. He has a whim to give it away, to spread it everywhere in the knowledge that what he gives he keeps. According to Hocking, “The destiny of private consideration is to expand power and outcome through determining public behaviour or public performance. Nothing could more describe a human failure than a man physically prolific whose ideas should count for nothing to his group or his time. A suppression of speech, in its more painful consequence, would be the mental sterilisation of the community.

Key Words: freedom of speech & Expression; Democracy; Constitution; legislative privilege