Offend, Shock, or Disturb: Free Speech under the Indian Constitution

by Gautam Bhatia

Offend, Shock, or Disturb is a comprehensive examination of free speech under the Indian Constitution. It explores Indian free speech jurisprudence from a doctrinal, comparative, and philosophical perspective.
Taking as its point of departure the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of speech and expression-Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(2) of the Constitution of India-the book discusses, clause by clause, the development of law from colonial times to present-day controversies.
Issues relating to public order, sedition, obscenity and pornography, hate speech, film and online censorship, privacy and defamation, the contempt of court, the nature of speech and the relationship between free speech and economic structure, and the inter-relationships between them have been comprehensively examined.
As free speech campaigns gain intensity by the day, the book presents the myriad understandings and limitations of the free speech law, and suggests possible pathways for the future.

Genres: India, Nonfiction, Law, Politics, Legal, History

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Gautam Bhatia is an Indian science fiction writer.

He is the author of the SF Duology, The Wall and The Horizon, both of which featured on Locus Magazine's Recommended Reading Lists in 2021 (Best Debut Novel) and 2022 (Best Science Fiction Novel). The Wall was a finalist for the 2021 Valley of Words Best English Language Novel Prize. Bhatia was long-listed for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer at both the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon), and the 2022 WorldCon.

Bhatia is also the co-ordinating editor of Strange Horizons, a weekly online magazine of fantasy and science fiction, which won the British Fantasy Award in 2021, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Awards every year since 2013. In 2022, he was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for his work with the magazine.

His reviews and essays on science fiction and fantasy have appeared in Strange Horizons, The Hindustan Times, Scroll, and The Wire.

In his spare time, he is a lawyer.

Reviews

[Karthik Govil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Offend Shock or Disturb is a book that is a lot of things. It's one that sticks to facts. It's a book that attacks the issue of free speech from all angles. It's a book that holds a lot of weight, and explores many topics from the underlying philosophy of free speech to its use as a tool in history. It's modern enough to have a realistic conversation on internet and its role in free speech. And it is written from the point of view of India, first and foremost. No more mental gymnastics of trying to adapt western situations to indian contexts, this book was written by an Indian for Indians.
The book tries to highlight the major flaws and drawbacks in Indian free speech laws, such as sedition and hate speech, and how these laws have been historically misused to censor the indian public in various ways. Gautam Bhatia pulls from the free speech laws of South Africa, Canada, and the UK, amongst other countries, to show how our own legal framework could be structured better, and also questions the constitutionality of each speech limiting article. He also consistently plays devil's advocate, making sure that there is no angle left untouched or not attacked from. This book might be a bit too neutral to be "a free speech advocate's bible", but I think that is exactly where the beauty of it lies. It's meant to make you think about where you are before you rush to take a position on where you want to be. To know what you're dealing with before you go deal with it. I'm definitely inclined to read more books by this author as well.

I give this book a 5 fatwa seditions out of 5.

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[Siddhartha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a not an easy read. The author has unnecessarily complicated things which he could have explained in simple and cogent language. Despite this, the erudition of author is par excellence. This book will widen your horizon and would help you in understanding jurisprudence of free speech by referring to various jurists and rulings by foreign courts.
Remarks: Should only be read by law graduates

[Sanjay Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book offers a comprehensive examination of free speech under the Indian constitution and issues relating to public order, sedition, obscenity and pornography, hate speech, film and online censorship, privacy and defamation, contempt of court etc.In today's context as free speech campaigns gain intensity, the book presents the various understandings and limitations of the law and suggests possible pathways going forward.

[Debopriyo Moulik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and descriptive analysis of free speech jurisprudence in India. It's not easy to read but well worth the time.

[Vivek Anandh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best justification for free speech I have read so far. Apart from developing an equality based argument in favour of free speech, the uniqueness of this books lies in the importance that is given to the foreign precedents from democracies other than USA and UK that are traditionally relied upon. A must read for any student of free speech jurisprudence of India.