Censorship in the name of saving our
sensibilities is an old ruse we Indians use to stop anyone whose views are
different from our own. Forever the ostrich, we feel that if we can’t see the
objectionable views, they don’t exist in the minds, hearts or art of others.
M.F. Hussain, Salman Rushdie, and Tasleema Nasreen all know how it feels to be
censured, exiled, banned, threatened to shut down, or even threatened to kill
in the name of protecting the public’s ‘sensibilities’
The internet is a wonderful way to
come together to share views. It is a wonderful way to learn what the other is
thinking, even if we find it slightly jarring or distasteful. The beauty of
Facebook is that you create your own content. If your friends are all dog
lovers, your Facebook content is going to be a lot about dogs. On the other hand,
if you and your friends are racist bigots, most of the post will be about
related content – and you will not disapprove.
We are not in Communist China, but a democratic India and it seems neither feasible nor fair to pre-screen data – for one man’s poison is another man’s daily dose of humour. Pre-screening all data seems not only impossible but also violating an individual’s right to expressing their thoughts.
Google India, which along with 20
websites is facing criminal case for allegedly hosting objectionable material,
on Monday told the Delhi High Court that blocking them was not an option as a
democratic India does not have a “totalitarian” regime like China. Trying to
turn India into anything like China is not only a bad idea which might affect
the voters’ mind in the next polls but also against our right to freedom of
speech.
“Unity in Diversity” cannot just be a
token phrase but the feeling should seep into the everyday fabric of the
Indian. To keep India the way it is and then move forward without diminishing
our diversity, we need to keep moral censorship at an arm’s length. We should
toughen up and accept that we live in a varied, dichotomous society where every
member has their own wonderfully individualistic views on politics, religion,
art and life in general. This heterogeneity should be encouraged as this is
what holds us together.
We don’t need a moral watchdog to
save our sensibilities. We should instead self-censor if the need be and remove
unwanted content from our Facebook accounts by ‘removing’ it or ‘blocking’ it
and even Reporting Abuse - Pornography, hate speech, threats, graphic violence,
bullying, and spam are not allowed on Facebook. We can report abuse
and keep off unwanted content even off our T.V screens; even on our Google
search pages we can tighten filters if the need be. The bottom-line is that we
the general public have to take a stand and keep the politicians from taking a
decision on what we want to watch or say or do.
