Indian TV channel’s hate speech ecosystem and what the SC gets wrong about it

Justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy of the Supreme Court have rightly flagged what has become a disquieting routine on the airwaves not only at prime time but almost all the time: Talking heads spewing hate, nutcases passed off as experts as long as they can froth on a Hindu-Muslim issue, each one locked in a race to the bottom, and all this while, anchors provoking, cheering from the studio. Of course, switching off the TV is the best answer to this trash but the bench has a point when it suggests this erodes the social compact, deepens the divide.

Unfortunately, the court’s prescription is problematic.