.jpg)
Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public
communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive or
inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by government, media
outlet or other controlling body.
I was watching Sir Salman Rushdie’s speech at the India
Today Conclave 2012 in India. This is an excerpt from his speech –
“Many essential freedoms in our times are in the danger of
defeat. Not only in totalitarian or authoritarian states but also in a combination
of religious fanaticism, political opportunism and public apathy. It is
damaging that freedom upon which all other freedoms depend which is the freedom
of expression. Freedom is not a tea party. Freedom is a war. You get to keep
the freedom you fight for and lose the freedom you neglect. If you don’t defend
it you will lose it.”
Late Mr. M.F. Hussain, the internationally celebrated
Indian painter was driven out of his own country. Some lesser know political
parties who consider themselves to be the guardians of Hindutva said that his painting
of Indian Goddesses were not in the good taste.
Rohinton Mistry’s book – Such a Long Journey, which was
nominated for the Brooker pirze was forcefully withdrawn from the Mumbai
University’s syllabus as some parts in the book did not go well with the
political party in Maharastra.
Three hundred Ramanyans – written by A.K. Ramanuja was
dropped from the syllabus by the Delhi University Academic Council, largely due
to the pressure from the right wing organisations.
These days the politicians have taken it upon themselves
the job of policing the writers and their writings.
As Rushdie says, when things are banned, they become more glamorous.
I completely agree with this. You can curb our works but,
you cannot curb our creativity and our voices.
Agreed that freedom of expression is one for one and all. Everyone
has the right to their opinion. So, if you don’t like some book don’t read.
This holds true for other fields of art too. This is my point of view and of course
this open to debate. I am not against censorship, but they should be applied
where necessary.
“Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is
allowed to read any books except the books nobody reads.” – George Bernard Shaw
This is absolutely true, Janaki. I fear in this nation that we, too, are losing our fundamental right to free speech even though it is guaranteed by our Constitution. Mr. Rushdie is right - freedom is NOT free, and we must be willing to fight to keep them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great article!
Blessings!
Thank you so much Martha.
DeleteHere in the States, the right wing conservatives give themselves the right to judge art, thoughts and ideas even. It is a dangerous road that leads to civil unrest. Bad for all!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jana!
The politicians think it is their right to get into the lives of people, into the places where they do not belong. They make every thing an issue just for the sake of publicity. Thank you.
DeleteI agree that freedom is not free and we must continue to fight for it. And, I LOVE that George Bernard Shaw quote - made me laugh & smile. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel.
DeleteVery true. Indeed and something many people in the Uk forget. There has always been lots of noise over creativity whether it's art writing or video games.
ReplyDeleteThanks Baldychaz
DeleteHello Janu.
ReplyDelete"You can curb our works but, you cannot curb our creativity and our voices."...how true this statement is. My creative voice is the voice of love speaking and love will never be stilled! Nice post! Thanks for sharing.
I forgot to add: All the best with the contest! ♥
DeleteLove is the language of all...thank you Andy.
DeleteI always find and fight nearly everyday sometimes silently and sometimes bltantly against the hypocrisy in our country and ironicaly it is everywhere.
ReplyDeleteLord Krishna has said-" Jis bhaav se dekhoge ussi bhaav se vo cheez dikhegi" so it all depends on our thoughts and outlook.
Even I agree if u don like somethin then jst do not form an opinion abt it n if u even have then keep it with u coz someone else too has an opinion. Ehh! So true..
Good article janu!
Thanks Mani...and these are just a few examples.
DeleteWonderful words here. stopping someone's art is like trying to stop the oceans waves. you are so right.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how intolerant we Indians, who used to pride ourselves on tolerance, have become in recent years, Janaki. It's a sign of insecurity and it's sad for a nation that is growing in so many other ways. You have put this across very well.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is just the tip of the iceberg...thanks.
Deleteoh this is great....i agree and i am happy to read the thoughts of others on this as well...it is a scary time in the US honestly...our leaders are def seeming to care little for our rights and more in the establishment of a strong central government...we wont be long from having a king or ruling party...
ReplyDeleteAs I said this is just the tip of an ice berg. Politicians are creeping into every crevice of our lives. Reminds of the Era of Dictators.
DeleteI too have a point to make. Ma'am, you say that censorship should be applied where ' necessary'. Who will decide this? Why this ' moral policing'?Tomorrow they will set sleuths upon us!
ReplyDelete-ELLE
Thanks for making your point Eliza. Any responsible writer will exercise some self restraint/censorship while writing. But, you can't force a person not to write about her/his views.
DeleteI beg to differ.Self-restraint ,yes, but it can't be termed as 'censorship'.I think here we are talking about external and imposed censorship which must be opposed!
Delete-ELLE
Elle, I am highlighting the censorship of the Government and other political factions. They have to opposed but, are we really able to, that is the question. Many writers are still hiding in exile.
DeleteI couldn't agree more with this post! I've always been against censorship. It inhibits the free flow of thoughts, ideas and dialogue. Well written!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jessica.
DeleteA great post, keep up the fight against the apathy! They'll only take our freedom if we let them...
ReplyDeleteWe have been censored so much and so often that we censor ourselves automatically.
ReplyDeleteLoving the dialogue flow here. Thank you for sharing! Janaki - great, relevant examples.
ReplyDelete