Freedom of Expression and Values

In a powerful account that draws on personal experience, this chapter explains how traditional “values” have relentlessly crushed freedom of expression not only in caste-ridden Tamil society but also in Indian society as a whole. It reflects on the meaning of the term, and considers how these “values” have impinged upon the chapter’s author’s own life and development. The chapter notes the lack of freedom of expression that we have in our dealings with parents, elders and teachers, and how rigid the Indian value system is with respect to caste, government, and gender relationships. The glaring inequalities in everyday life must be addressed, and the social values that underpin them, Only then will freedom of expression be possible, on the basis of equality.