How far does the blanket cover of free speech go? Arundathi Roy has forced us to find out by going through a whole bonanza of anti-India, Pro-Kashmiri-Independence, India-is-an-oppressor themes in a new speech.
Such speeches are made every ten minutes by the latest Kashmiri who suddenly decides to take up the 'cause'. However this time the fact that an Indian, a well-known one at that, made such comments stung a little too close to home for the Indian diaspora to ignore without comment.
While the BJP is asking for her head and liberals are tripping over themselves to elevate her as the new head-priestess to the god of 'causes' (any cause seems to do) the issues that this has raised are actually quite simple -
Do Indians have the right to speak their mind? – Yes
Does ANY Indian state have the right to secede from the Union? – No
And that's that.
Kashmir has never been an integral part of India: Arundhati Roy | Take strongest possible action against Arundhati Roy: BJP
Text: Vinayak Hegde
Images: (Photographs copyright PTI and AP)
