The regulation of speech is constitutive of democracy. Together, the protection of speech and its limits create the possibility for citizens to participate in collective deliberation without intimidation. Questions about freedom of speech are often framed as a choice between regulating speech and leaving it alone. The actual tension, however, is about how to regulate it and on what terms. Do words carry an intrinsic legal character? If you have been paying attention to some of the recent pronouncements of the Supreme Court of India, you might think that some words are merely expressive, others are inciting, and still others fall outside protection altogether. It might appear that speech comes under legal scrutiny with these qualities already fixed, but that is not the case. Speech becomes legible as “incitement” or “disorder” only through acts of interpretation. The neutrality of the law appears to lie in applying objective standards of incitement, public order, and harm without regard to the speaker.…