Firstly, it must be
appreciated that neither the word sex nor the process is bad per se. It
becomes bad and illegal if committed in a wrong manner. For instance, a forced
sex can never be justified by any logic and reasoning. Similarly, when the
private moments of two consenting adults are captured without their consent
and published, it should be punished. Honeymooning couples in cheap hotels,
lovers in parks, unsuspected young women bathing in the privacy of their
bathrooms are shot either through hidden video cameras or by youngsters
through their camera mobiles. There is hardly any cost involved in it, but
each can fetch anything between Rs 50 to 500(Bonita Baruah: “Sex, lives and
videotapes”, Sunday Times of India (Delhi edition), page 6, Dated 05-12-04).
These acts cannot be justified by taking even the most liberal and broadminded
view.
Similarly, the artistic merit
or their social value of a work may overshadow their offending character. A
work of art is not necessarily obscene if it is dealing with sex or even with
nudity and a work of art or a book of literary merit should not be destroyed
if the interest of society requires that it be preserved. It should be viewed
as a whole, and its artistic or literary merits should be weighed against the
so-called obscenity, the context in which the obscenity occurs and the purpose
it seeks to serve. If on a fair consideration' of these opposite aspects the
interest of society is not adversely affected then the work of art or the book
must be preserved, for then the obscenity is overborne. If the work in
question has no social value and its culpable part is socially, legally and
morally undesirable, then the same will be dealt with stringent penal
provisions. If a work is devoid of any artistic value and is obscene or
pornographic in nature, the law will tackle it profoundly. The same will be
punished only if it has seeped in the public domain. An adult person watching
these works in the privacy of his own home cannot be held liable for any
offence. The same cannot justify the active indulgence in pornographic and
obscene activities affecting society at large. This is not a matter of “moral
policing” but maintaining a just, reasonable and cultured society. A balance
has to be maintained between the freedom of speech and expression and
reasonable restrictions imposed in public interest.
Unfortunately, the
pornography business has targeted a new segment of viewers by targeting the
juveniles and teenagers. The modus operandi is very simple. These pornographic
materials are introduced in the form of cartoon porn movies and video games.
Since the teenagers are used to of watching cartoon movies and playing video
games, these types of pornographic promotions have found a place in India.
This phenomenon has not only the tendency to eliminate the innocence of these
teenagers but equally has a potential to affect the development of social
skills among them. This happens because these teens are addicted to these
“stuffs” and their innocence and social skills are jeoparadised.
Thus,
in the name of “liberalisation” and “freedom of speech and expression”
criminal tendencies degrading the moral fabric of the nation cannot be allowed
to operate. We are custodians of “morality” for the future generation and we
cannot afford to give it a debased, immoral and perverse society as the
heritage. Thus, the bright future requires both negative form of discipline in
the form of punishment and positive form of discipline by voluntarily
following and cherishing the morality and ideals preserved by India from
numerous centuries.
Praveen Dalal
July 13, 2005
