Is Democracy killing Democracy?

Sometime ago during a speech, Arundhati Roy had said that Kashmir was never an integral part of India’ and this statement evoked many question – question on freedom of speech, question on reacting to such provocative statements, motive of such unrealistic statements etc.
Right now let’s not discuss whether Kashmir is an integral part of India or not, instead, lets address the more simple yet fundamental issue- Freedom of speech. In a country where media plays an important role in its development, freedom of speech is the heart of the media but at the same time it is important to draw a line between this freedom and speech carrying communal and social sentiments. Freedom of speech cannot be treated as a blank cheque which can be filled by the whims and fancies of the user, instead before using this freedom one should judge their own moral liability towards the society. No one has the right to exploit democracy in the name of Freedom of Speech.
Then again the second question comes as how does mass react on such statements!! I agree, the mass too have the freedom of reaction on such statements but again where is the limit. Bajrang Dal said that she will be treated the same way as the painter MF Hussain has been treated. Normally in such a situation mass tend to get violent and do whatever they want, in the name of democracy. So, be a party or an individual, everybody has a responsibility towards the society for not using such statements that could with no reason evoke the emotions of mass to react violently. As is rightly said ‘the concept of democracy is that of self government by the people’.
Though, there is another argument saying that freedom of speech helps to provide a balance between the outburst and the calmness. It acts as a safety Valve to let off steam when people might otherwise become revolutionary. Having said so, there are certain factors which should be kept in mind before applying the freedom of speech and they are, the motive, duration, the volume of people that can get offended, the velocity of the offense, conflicts with other values and rights, social value and the benefit of the community on whole.
Press regulation is almost non existing in India. Media has all the freedom whether it be crime or corruption, but when it is the case of religion, these self proclaimed religious leaders influence the mob is such a way that they can virtually bring the city to a standstill and forces the authority to react as per them. There will, of course, continue to be disputes on the limits of this fundamental right but we all are mature enough to know what is provocative and what is on social interest and hence should act accordingly. Let’s not misuse the power of democracy.
Enough has been talked about on freedom of speech by many learned and now it’s time to impede the swing of pendulum…