Amidst the voices that tend to protect free speech in our nation, my sole contention is to desist from harping on the usual rhetoric and concentrate on the mechanics of free speech as an instrument of nation building. While free speech is a basic human right, somehow in the illusion of freedom that we all seem to have, slaves as we are, let us try to consider what free speech can do for the process of nation building. Considering that we live in a free society, where people have all the necessary ways and means to express their viewpoints, everyone would have a say. But consider the point, do we all have an equal say? I tend to disagree with this assertion. Not everyone of us is free. Except for the neo rich, who don’t seem to care, everyone is an economic slave in our society, and we are slaves of money. This is the truth of the debt society. This is more so pertinent in a society like India where there are deep inequalities of caste, class and knowledge.

When we are talking about free speech, are we taking into account such classes of people who are not having a say. And for all others, who feel that they may have a say through the democratic process of elections, feel themselves let down at every juncture. While democracy has done a great deal in promoting an equitable distribution of rights and wealth, this is just a nascent stage of human development where in a totally new system of societal ethics need to be formulated in order to achieve freedom for everyone. When we protest that our free speech is being hampered, do we consider that we are not at all free in any sphere of life, be it economic or social, so why cry over split milk when the whole system is at fault. I am not talking or advocating a class war here, for every form of political system has let us down and there is nothing to look forward to in a world order which feeds the few micro rich and leaves everyone else starved.

So, in such dire circumstances, how do we talk about nation building and free speech? We also need to consider nation building in what sense? What are we building, where upon the edifice of such a structure would lie, and where would the super structure arise and in what form? These all are critical questions to answer, for in a situation where blind are being let by the blind, a flicker of light is needed so that we can meditate on the subject more clearly. All these leads us to idea of a nation, where people lead secure lives, where economic freedoms and nourishment of every kind is guaranteed, if we are willing to work for them. Then where does unemployment and wars and anarchy come from. Take a look at the world these days, and one is forced to think that sadly each and every nation is disintegrating into a dark abyss.

Syria is in turmoil, there is the quasi state of the ISIL, the entire African continents except a few oasis of relative stability is in turmoil, and be it of hunger or of economic servitude. America is collapsing under its own inequalities, China was never free and North Korea is a disgrace. Now let us come to India. Why even after more than six decades of independence is the nation still grappling with poverty and corruption? Who is to be blamed for it? When we consider the concept of nation building, it is not something that is inanimate and lifeless in the form of a nation state, but nation means and is represented by its people. It is the people who should be building and developed in the form of nation building and development.

The people of India, who want to free the shackles that have kept them prisoners since centuries need emancipation. Free speech or no free speech, first and foremost we need to feed the hungry stomachs and give people basic security and opportunity to develop themselves. But sadly, we are very slow in this regard. Still we see deep divisions and inequalities in the Indian society as well, and these inequalities are threatening the very existence of nation, not something as abstract as the idea of free speech, which comes a far second priority amidst the pressing problems of abject poverty and social degradation, that we see everywhere.

So coming back to the idea of nation building, we should all try to create an equitable society amongst all the limitations that we face. There is scarcity of money, but resources are not scarce. If we can manage the needs of a billion plus people, then surely there is a way out. But one has to be wary, for the system can feed a billion plus mouths, but cannot satisfy the greed for power of even individual. Hence, one has to comprehend what sort of nation and people we need to build. A fearless race that can think beyond the petty gains of a particular community, caste or religion and be the savior of entire humanity, such a kind of people should be building and is the need of the hour. Sadly, at present, we are only slaves of the system that assumes us the ordinary people as beasts of burden and treat us like waste and with abject contempt. And the exploiters are amidst us all, feeding upon whatever is left of us. Recognize your vices and you shall conquer yourself. Recognize what is rotting this system and you shall make the entire society aware of the need of setting itself free.

Nation building is a gradual and an incremental process. One cannot help those people that are not able to or wanting to help themselves. First and foremost, we need to establish a system that reduces the sharp inequalities that we all face, make us slaves and make us animals. Once we have recognized this, we would be able to start the process of rooting out this evil from the very being of our society. Money is not evil, it is the means that it is used with that makes it good or evil. Power is not evil, it is the extent of moral corruption that comes with it and real leaders know how to deal with such corruption. Rich are not evil, for they are just a part of this rotten system, where let alone the poor people are no evil as well. The evil lies in our servile attitude that tends to overpower us every time people want to fly. Give people of any nation the ways and means to make themselves free from such evils, the society would automatically work for the betterment of everyone and in the process the process of nation building would be started.