Free

Once there lived a beautiful princess. She was very fond of birds, every morning a little bird used to come to her palace and sing for her. The princess was very happy to see the lovely bird and listen to its music. The bird visited the palace daily and the princess waited eagerly for its visit every day. She was almost in love with the bird. She wished that the bird should keep company with her all the day.

One day the princess put the bird in a golden cage and served it the best type of food. But the bird felt sad. It did not sing and eat anything. In spite of the best food the bird began to grow weak day by day. It did not sing as before. One day the princess asked the bird the reason for all this. The bird said, “I want to be set free.”

The kind princess set the bird free. The bird flew happily to its freedom. The next morning the bird was back again with its usual song..

The story tells us that even the birds do not want to live in captivity, however well they are fed. This shows us the importance of freedom.

Even your pet dog or cat does not want to be fettered in chains. Man is born free. He does not want to be kept in prison. He loves to lead a free and independent life. This is the reason why our freedom fighters fought bravely, suffered heavily and even faced death for the sake of freedom of our country. They preferred death than to a life of slavery. This is the important they gave to freedom, to liberty, and the freedom of speech.

 A great Indian leader Bal Gangadhar Tilka said, “Freedom is my birth right and I shall have it.”

Ok.. let's take a free trip to the timeline of history of free speech.
The following correction was printed in the Observer's For the record column, Sunday February 10 2006 via http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/05/religion.news

399BC Socrates speaks to jury at his trial: 'If you offered to let me off this time on condition I am not any longer to speak my mind... I should say to you, "Men of Athens, I shall obey the Gods rather than you."'

1215 Magna Carta, wrung from the unwilling King John by his rebellious barons, is signed. It will later be regarded as the cornerstone of liberty in England.

1516 The Education of a Christian Prince by Erasmus. 'In a free state, tongues too should be free.'

1633 Galileo Galilei hauled before the Inquisition after claiming the sun does not revolve around the earth.

1644 'Areopagitica', a pamphlet by the poet John Milton, argues against restrictions of freedom of the press. 'He who destroys a good book, kills reason itself.'

1689 Bill of Rights grants 'freedom of speech in Parliament' after James II is overthrown and William and Mary installed as co-rulers.

1770 Voltaire writes in a letter: 'Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.'

1789 'The Declaration of the Rights of Man', a fundamental document of the French Revolution, provides for freedom of speech .

1791 The First Amend-ment of the US Bill of Rights guarantees four freedoms: of religion, speech, the press and the right to assemble.

1859 'On Liberty', an essay by the philosopher John Stuart Mill, argues for toleration and individuality. 'If any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.'

1859 On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin, expounds the theory of natural selection. TH Huxley publicly defends Darwin against religious fundamentalists.

1929 Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, of the US Supreme Court, outlines his belief in free speech: 'The principle of free thought is not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought we hate.'

1948 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is adopted virtually unanimously by the UN General Assembly. It urges member nations to promote human, civil, economic and social rights, including freedom of expression and religion.

1958 Two Concepts of Liberty, by Isaiah Berlin, identifies negative liberty as an absence or lack of impediments, obstacles or coercion, as distinct from positive liberty (self-mastery and the presence of conditions for freedom).

1960 After a trial at Old Bailey, Penguin wins the right to publish D H Lawrence's sexually explicit novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover.

1962 One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describes life in a labour camp during Stalin's era. Solzhenitsyn is exiled in 1974.

1989 Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa against Salman Rushdie over the 'blasphemous' content of his novel, The Satanic Verses. The fatwa is lifted in 1998.

1992 In Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky points out: 'Goebbels was in favour of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favour of free speech, then you're in favour of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise.'

2001 In the wake of 9/11, the Patriot Act gives the US government new powers to investigate individuals suspected of being a threat, raising fears for civil liberties.

2002 Nigerian journalist Isioma Daniel incenses Muslims by writing about the Prophet Mohammed and Miss World, provoking riots which leave more than 200 dead.

2004 Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh is killed after release of his movie about violence against women in Islamic societies.

2005 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act bans protest without permit within 1km of the British Parliament.

photo taken by me

There are various types of freedom. Political freedom means the freedom from foreign domination. It empowers a nation to form the government of it sown people and to govern them independently. Freedom of religion means that an individual is free to practice, profess or propagate any religious rites according to his religion. Individual freedom means those freedoms which are necessary for an individual to improve and develop himself. One cannot feel happy without individual freedom. Economic freedom is the most important aspect of freedom.

Every country allows certain types of rights or freedom to its citizens. These are known as fundamental rights. Some of these rights are freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, right to equality, right to justice, freedom of forming association and freedom of living or settling anywhere in the country.

These rights and freedom are not absolute. There are certain limitations to it. We cannot do anything whether right or wrong at our will. If there are no limitations to our freedom, it will become a rule of the judge. The strong would do as they like and the others will be at their mercy. The people will behave like animals.

We need liberty or freedom to develop, improve and grow to the fullest extent. It is not possible for us to enjoy absolute freedom. There must be some reasonable restrictions on our freedom in order to allow others to enjoy their rights and freedom. The limitations are a necessary safeguard for our freedom so that we may enjoy our freedom and allow others to enjoy theirs. Unlimited freedom is a dangerous thing. It will bring about confusion and ruin our freedom.