A lot of brouhaha was happening last week concerning the ban on pornographic sites. Our paper had spoken to various correspondents and netizens on their views about this topic. One journalist stated that several soft porn movies are being made and the stars of those films are being promoted. One of the interesting ones was when Amandeep Saini an RJ from Punjab said that he would love to see the government demolishing the Khajuraho temple. This is where my moot point begins. This temple which is renowned all over the world for its artistic sculptures is a site which has inspired many and is one of the highest tourist attractions and revenue generating spots for the country. Our country has given the world the famous “Kamasutra” which I’m sure remains the highest selling graphic books yet. That erotica, which was written by Mallanaga Vatsyayana in 2nd century CE is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviour. It’s about the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, how and when it is good or bad. Not just Indians but people from across the world refer to the textbook. It is a part of their collection with all other intelligent books and may also include D.H.Lawrence’s Lady Chatterlys lover which also fits in the genre of ‘erotica’ and first published in 1928.
‘Kama’ implies sexual desire while ‘Sutra’ means a thread or line that holds things together. Together, Kamasutra is a manual that contains a set of rules and advice for fulfilling sexual needs. Only 20 per cent they say is about postures. So the question isn’t perversion in the mind rather than being triggered by watching pornography, the answer is yes.
Perversion is when in a crowded train a woman enters the men’s compartment and in that crowd one particular man is trying to grope her or brush her physically to titillate himself. It is when in an isolated lane four goons pass lewd comments against women. Perversion is when a man is trying to strip you by looking you from top to toe and mentally stripping you instead of looking you into the eye. This is what my second moot point is all about. Not all students can afford to buy the book ‘Kamasutra’. Why not impose a charge for an application that is specifically known to display only pornography. Some kind of dynamics should be in place wherein the person has to be of a certain age, 21 years and above perhaps to watch it. There must be verification of his age proof and an application for his snapshot or of his pan card for veracity.
In England certain X-rated films are shown after 12 pm. People who want to watch that movie have to pay a price of 15 pounds which would otherwise cost 4 to 8 pounds for a normal film. So couples who watch it for boosting ecstasy, valid or no valid reason pay extra charges. Like Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria said “What people do in their bedrooms is not government business”. Counselling and educating the students wisely about sex in these times becomes important with girls and boys having separate classes to avoid embarrassment and free debates be it school or wise parents. That is what democracy is about and like the government’s proposal stands to curb and remove the child pornography websites and to consider some other suggestions which have come to our paper to ban those that promote heinous acts in these films.
Allka V Aswani
