Vertigo,
If we say we are a tolerant nation, we have to let people speak their minds without fear. Criticism should not be taken as a personal affront, unless the ego is weak or we are insecure. How many times have BJP fringe spewed venomous rant? Too many to count. And all this while the top BJP leaders remained silent. Oh yes, once they did get called in and got a tap on the knuckles.
What makes India great, is that we are a democracy. It is only in places like North Korea, or Turkmenistan that there cannot be any criticism of 'great leader' or such. Come to think of it, is there no wrong happening in the country? Atrocities against dalits, communal incidents, corruption etc are realities. If one says (irrespective of the fact that it is true or not) that intolerance is increasing, it cannot be seen as criticism of the country, but it is made to seem so. Rather one can accept the fact that person X has the freedom to express his or her views, even if it does not agree with yours. But that is great. We are all not similar in thought, only robots or people living in absolute dictatorship would make a case (atleast publicly) that they all have similar thinking.
And it is amusing to see BJP spokespersons saying that the country is being 'insulted' when one makes a statement. That I felt happened when Modi went abroad and washed dirty linen in foreign soil - repeatedly. Somebody forgot to mention to him that election got over, and it was time to get the country together and work on promised development and remove the ills that afflict us.
And just to add, people have the same right as Amir Khan (as he said) to speak their mind. It would be a sad day indeed if people lived in fear of political leaders or reprisals from thuggish elements.
Oscar Wilde had said this : I may disagree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to speak. And the great Benjamin Franklin had this to say : When freedom of expression is taken away, society is destroyed and tyranny is erected on its ruins.
My 2C.
