In the normal course of things, Ekalavya should have had the freedom to learn whatever he set his mind to. Perhaps you think that is a modern idea, perhaps it is unfair to apply it to events from a time when standards were entirely different. Still, for all his great learning and wisdom, Dronacharya's treatment of Ekalavya shames him. But it matters little. Throughout the Mahabharata, he is a revered father figure, an example to us all.
Freedom of expression has several facets.
One is that people like Arun Shourie must be able to write whatever they set their mind to. Another is that people like you and me must be able to read whatever we set our minds to. Nobody stood up to Dronacharya when he made Ekalavya hack off his thumb. That's fine for an ancient legend. For the freedom we woke to half a century ago was only partly from the British.