The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 27th August 2025 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Imagined Righteousness

Why in News?

 Protecting citizens’ rights should be the courts’ priority, not empowering the state without limits. 

Introduction

The Supreme Court’s push for guidelines to regulate social media speech highlights a tension between freedom of expression and state control. While aiming to curb derogatory or harmful content, such judicial encouragement risks empowering an executive already prone to weaponising regulations, potentially undermining constitutional rights and fostering a climate of censorship that stifles democracy, creativity, and open discourse.

Supreme Court and Social Media Regulation

• The Supreme Court of India has urged the Union government to draft guidelines for regulating speech on social media.
• This move aims to empower an executive that is already actively using legal limits on freedom of expression to its advantage.
• The Court’s instructions came in response to a petition by a non-profit challenging derogatory online remarks targeting disabled persons.
• Such judicial interventions risk encouraging the state to extend statutory restrictions into legally grey areas, potentially undermining constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Risks of Policing Speech

Treating offensive or distasteful humor as a problem to be solved by courts or executive rulemaking is misleading and potentially harmful.

Expanding powers to police speech carries inherent risks:

• Partisan authorities may monitor and suppress art, political speech, or dissent they dislike.
• Citizens may self-censor, constantly checking what they can safely express.
• A climate of censored expression stifles essential truths and ideas crucial for a functioning democracy.
• Creative professionals—filmmakers, directors, and journalists—face legal and regulatory pressures that limit their work and social progress.

Government Overreach and Legal Concerns

The Union government has increasingly expanded control over online speech through:

• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• Amendments allowing social media platforms to be held accountable for flagged user content.
• Recent Supreme Court instructions (August 25, 2025) could further extend these powers.

Hate speech and incitement to violence against minorities are already criminalized, offering legal recourse for legitimate grievances.

Giving an executive with a history of weaponizing speech and media regulations even more power is highly risky.

Role of the Judiciary

•  Judicial pronouncements citing “misuse of freedom of speech” as a justification may misunderstand the Court’s institutional role. 
• The judiciary’s duty is to protect rights under a clear constitutional framework, not act as an unchecked authority.
•  Empowering the state excessively under the guise of regulating speech risks undermining the balance of rights and liberties that define a democracy. 

Conclusion

Judicial and executive overreach in policing online speech threatens the core principles of democracy. Protecting freedom of expression while addressing legitimate grievances is crucial. Excessive control can suppress dissent, art, and journalism, eroding social progress. The judiciary must act as a guardian of rights, not an unchecked authority, ensuring a balanced framework for a free and open society.

Protecting Citizens’ Rights Should be the Courts’ Priority, not Empowering the State Without Limits

 Why in News? 

U.S. tariffs jeopardising millions of women in labour-intensive sectors highlight the urgent need to empower women as economic agents.

 Introduction 

India’s economic growth, now at $4.19 trillion, has established its role in the global economy, with expectations to become the world’s third-largest economy. However, this progress is threatened by proposed 50% tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump on Indian exports, targeting $40 billion in trade. These tariffs could reduce India’s GDP by nearly 1%, impacting labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems, leather, and footwear, which employ a significant number of women and are vital to the economy.

 Tariffs and Women's Workforce Imperative 

• Vulnerability to Tariffs: Unlike China, which has navigated U.S. tariffs through its manufacturing scale and diversified exports, India is more vulnerable to such measures.
• U.S. Trade Impact: The U.S. accounts for 18% of India’s exports. Increased tariffs could create a 30%-35% cost disadvantage for Indian exporters compared to competitors like Vietnam.
• Economic Empowerment of Women: Empowering women economically is not just a social issue but a strategic necessity for India. Tariffs threaten jobs for millions of women in sectors like textiles, gems, leather, and footwear, which collectively employ nearly 50 million people and could see export declines of up to 50%.
• Female Labour Force Participation: India’s female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) is between 37% and 41.7%, significantly lower than the global average and China’s 60%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that closing the gender gap could boost India’s GDP by 27% in the long run. However, cultural barriers, policy inertia, and systemic obstacles limit this potential.

 Demographic Dividend and Women's Workforce 

• Demographic Dividend: India is approaching the peak of its demographic dividend, a phase where the working-age population exceeds dependents. This advantage, likely to close by 2045, previously fueled growth in countries like China, Japan, and the U.S., which are now experiencing slower growth.
• Integrating Women into the Workforce: To leverage this demographic advantage, India must integrate women fully into the workforce. While rural women’s participation has increased, it is mainly in unpaid and low-productivity family work. Urban female workforce participation remains stagnant.
• Barriers to Workforce Participation: Women face several challenges that hinder their participation in the workforce, including safety concerns, unreliable public transport, poor sanitation, and the heavy burden of unpaid care work. These issues push women out of schools and jobs, mirroring the experiences of Southern European economies like Italy and Greece, where low FLFPR has resulted in long-term growth stagnation.
• Urgency for Inclusive Economic Action: The need for inclusive economic action is immediate. India must act now to avoid future missed opportunities and to ensure sustainable growth.

 Global Examples and Local Solutions 

• Global Examples of Women's Economic Empowerment: Countries like the U.S., China, Japan, and the Netherlands have successfully increased female labour force participation and boosted GDP through various measures such as equal pay, childcare support, and flexible work arrangements.
• India's Focus on Structural Reforms: India should prioritize structural reforms that empower women as economic agents, moving away from short-term populism or blanket cash transfers.
• Karnataka’s Shakti Scheme: This initiative offers free public bus travel to women, significantly increasing female ridership and enhancing mobility for work, education, and entrepreneurship, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas.
• Targeted Programmes for Women: Initiatives such as tax incentives for female entrepreneurs, digital inclusion drives, and gender-focused skilling platforms can provide sustainable benefits.
• Formalizing Gig and Part-Time Work: Updating labour codes and social protections to formalize gig and part-time work can integrate millions of women into the formal economy. Urban Company, a leading gig platform, exemplifies this by onboarding thousands of women service providers with fair pay and benefits.
• Public Sector Initiatives: Programs like Rajasthan’s Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme, which offers flexible jobs in sanitation, greening, and care work, can help women enter the workforce, particularly those restricted by domestic responsibilities.

 Conclusion 

The potential impact of U.S. tariffs should serve as a wake-up call for India, highlighting the need to harness the capabilities of working-age women for economic growth. Empowering women is crucial not just for social reasons but for utilizing the demographic dividend, enhancing export competitiveness, and ensuring equitable development. India stands at a pivotal moment where investing in women can lead to resilience and inclusive growth, while neglecting them could result in missed opportunities and economic instability.