Shades of Gray

Remember Pratibha Nathani. For the uninitiated, she had filed a PIL in the Mumbai High Court and had asked for censorship on TV. She was against the adult and violent content shown on TV which she feared would have a wrong impact on young children. This led to an order than directed TV channels not to show such content before 11 pm. Only recently, the AXN channel was banned by the Congress-led Union Government thanks to promos for a show called World’s Sexiest Commercials, which obviously did not go down well with Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi’s information and broadcasting ministry. Interestingly, the promos for the show were aired after 11 pm, which abides by a proposed Bill that allows adult programmes after that time.

So, are we Indians not mature enough to decide what we want to see and not see? Of late, it has become a practice for people to act as moral police for the whole society and now the GoI has joined the party. Before banning AXN or demanding a blanket ban on such channels, Dasmunsi and Nathani should have seen the so-called saas-bahu soaps. What is shown in these sitcoms is far from the story of every household. Imagine one family going through everything from broken relationships, divorce, abortion, extra-marital affairs, amnesia, rape, re-marriage, and finally re-re-marriage. Is this content suitable for minors? The moral police needs to answer this question. Even if one were to watch mythological serials, the IB ministry norms would require a few cuts as these epics will have episodes that show apsaras seducing the rishis. Why cry foul against films like Neal and Nikki when RK banner’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram showcased a semi-nude Zeenat Aman? If the Government is serious about its moral policing, it should go ahead and ban Discovery channel also which shows animals without clothes doing everything that they should not, at least in front of cameras.

Every year, Valentine’s Day celebrations are targeted by the goons of Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal. The party cadre, which could have used its energy and enthusiasm to do some constructive work and rid itself and its families of poverty, goes around threatening couples, vandalizing gift shops and burning greeting cards. This year too the Shiv Sena, fresh from its victory in the municipal elections has threatened to act against the obscenity and immorality that Valentine’s Day symbolizes. Buying cards or flowers may be enough provocation for them to beat you up. After all, when it comes to our culture, there can be no compromises. As I was writing this post, news came in that activists of Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena(BVS), the students’ wing of Shiv Sena, have burnt some 500 cards in Pune. BVS city president said, “Celebration of Valentine’s Day is alien to our culture.” If the Sena were more concerned about the Great Indian Culture, it should have done something about the ‘cultural pollution’ that is seen everyday at Bandstand, Bandra. Are such brazen public displays of affection not against our culture?

But doing so would mean incurring the wrath of the local population. It is often argued that the youth in Mumbai, both married and unmarried, do not find enough privacy in the single room flats they call home. Hence, the scene at Bandstand, Marine Drive and Bandra Reclamation where it is said that anything and everything goes on.

The moral police seem to believe that our culture which has been surviving and thriving for centuries is so weak that it will get tarnished by a single event. May be it’s time that the younger population takes things in its own hands and give a nice thrashing to these useless activists. Selective targeting of channels and events is tantamount to misuse of power and is against the democratic tenets on which we Indians pride ourselves. But then neither the Sena nor the Congress is known for democracy.

Wish you a Great Valentine’s Day !

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February 14, 2007, Akola, Maharashtra: BVS activists were “forcefully” attempting to get a couple married in Akola when the police intervened and took the activists into custody. The student wing said it was opposed to the idea of celebrating Valentine’s Day as the free expression of love is an attack on Indian culture and leads to obscenity and loss of values. These guys need to see Bandstand immediately.

If out of 365 days of the year, I decide to express my love for someone on this particular day, who the hell are these Sainiks to object? If all these years, Shiv Sena had channelized its energy towards solving the problem of Mumbai’s crumbling infrastructure rather than harassing the youth, Mumbaikars would have been living a much better life.

October 5, 2006 Dehradun: A man named Avinash Sharma makes a plan and his accomplice Prem Singh executes it perfectly. The girl’s face gets burnt by the acid thrown on her. Uttarakhand police arrest the two men.

November 13, 2006: As Rangoli Ranaut receives treatment in a Mumbai hospital, the Dehradun court grants bail to Avinash and Prem. Avinash is said to be obsessed with Rangoli and the motive behind the ghastlt attack is supposedly Rangoli’s refusal to marry him.

January 30, 2007 Mumbai: Actress Kangana Ranaut lodges a complaint in the Versova police station after receiving threat calls and SMSes from Avinash. She is told to help him marry Rangoli or face the same consequences as met by her sister.

This incident shows the disadvantages of the reactive nature of our law and order system, especially the Indian Penal Code (IPC). While granting bail to the accused, the Dehradun court did not consider the possibility of Avinash trying to inflict the same pain on some other innocent woman. When the IPC was devised, probably an acid attack was not the preferred modus-operandi of rejected lovers. But in the 21st century, it is common to hear about it all over in India – in small towns as well as large cities. Yet our laws have not kept pace with the crime. The victim often suffers immense psychological trauma besides physical pain. A disfigured face may damage the victim’s self-confidence and self-respect. It may also lead to a case wherein the victim finds it extremely difficult not only to get married but also to work without evoking pity or disdain from those around her. All this while the culprits roam about freely, get little or no punishment as the case drags on for years and feel no remorse for spoiling the life of an individual. The Kangana incident actually shows Avinash using the ‘acid-attack’ as a tool to force people to fall in line. In my opinion, such people should be charged on the following counts: [1] Causing physical and emotional trauma [2] Trying to prevent the victim from leading a normal life and/or even driving her to suicide [3] Using ‘acid-attack’ as a terror tool to get things done.

By granting bail to these people and by delaying conviction (such cases can be decided in two days maximum), the system is actually sending three messages to the citizenry:

1. We cannot protect you.

2. We cannot guarantee this will not happen to your near and dear ones in the future.

3. The culprit’s right to freedom is more important than the victims’ right to lead a life of dignity and self-respect. (That’s why they are so fast in granting bails)

This is the problem in having a reactive law rather than a pro-active one. We cannot take action against a person having mala fide intentions. We must wait till the damage is done. It is true we cannot be pro-active all the time but should we not try to prevent a murder if someone publicly declares his intention to kill? What should be the right punishment for the likes of Avinash and Prem? Some argue it should be nothing less than death (See: Death sentence to acid throwers ) and it’s an option worth looking at. Who needs such psychopaths in a civil society? The pro-active system has its flaws (as in the shooting down of a Brazilian after the London bomb blasts) but the reactive one is perhaps a greater evil.