Tolerance doesn't mean accepting hate speech, say Justice D Y Chandrachud

AHMEDABAD: Justice D Y Chandrachud of the Supreme Court of India, who presided over the 11th convocation of Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) at Gandhinagar virtually on Saturday, said being accepting and tolerant of others' opinions does not mean one should accept hate speech.
"The words famously attributed to Voltaire, 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it,' must be incorporated into our being. Making mistakes, being accepting and tolerant to the opinions of others by no means translates to blind conformity, and it does not mean not standing up against hate speech," the SC justice said.

Addressing the batch of 2020, Justice Chandrachud told them not to worry about the distractions of social media that have a limited attention span as their real work is changing the persistent systems of caste, race, gender and class which only have long-term impacts.
He quoted American author Seth Godin and gave the analogy of the current and the wind. He said while the wind gets all the attention with howls and gusts, it is the current this is persistent and heavy.
"The current is our persistent systems of class and race and gender and the powerful industrial economy. And if I may add, in our context also caste. It can be overcome, but it takes focused effort," he said. "On the other hand, the wind is the breaking news, the latest social media sensation and the thin layer of hype that surrounds us. It might be a useful distraction, but our real work lies in overcoming the current, or changing it."
"It also helps to remember, especially in the world of social media with limited attention spans, that a lot of the work we do will only have a long-term impact. That you should not worry too much about the everyday distractions," he added. Justice Chandrachud said in today's world of polarizing opinions and conflicting actions, legitimizing and balancing thought is a grave responsibility of each citizen - young and old.
"Stepping into the world as fresh graduates, amid the increasing noise and confusion of political, social and moral clashes of ideology, you must be guided by the paths of your conscience and equitable reason," said Justice Chandrachud. "Speak truth to power, maintain your composure in the face of unspeakable social injustices and utilize your good fortune and privileged positions to remedy them. It may seem idealistic, but as young wide-eyed graduates, you must aspire to attain utopia - for the harbingers of change are often hopeless dreamers." He also told the young grads that it's okay to follow the heart and be driven by emotions sometimes rather than the stoic image of the law generally seen as the mark of a good judge or lawyer. A total of 247 students were conferred degrees at the convocation including 171 students of the five-year integrated UG programme, 61 students of the PG programme, 12 students of MBA and three doctoral students. GNLU conferred 27 gold medals on 16 students - 15 medals were won by eight girls.