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ShareIf Priyaranjan Dasmunsi were the minister for information and broadcasting in the United Kingdom, he would have by now shut down Celebrity Big Brother, the notorious show that has, apart from alleged racism, bad language, bad behaviour and -- gasp -- nudity.
He isn't, and in case this bears pointing out, Britain, like many other democratic countries, does not have a portfolio like this, that smacks of George Orwell and old East European socialistic regimes. We are also a democracy but still have to suffer this ministry and its somewhat hamhanded ways.
In recent times, it has shown itself to be overactive, trying to ban a website here and shut down a channel there. Das Munsi's latest diktat is to ban AXN channel for two
months for not complying with the Cable Television Networks Regulations Act. The offending programme, 'World's Sexiest Advertisements', was broadcast on the channel last June. This is the second time that AXN is facing a ban for violating "public order, decency or morality".
AXN on its part has insisted that the world's sexiest advertisements programme "a study of the brilliance behind the creative minds that could make everyday products into exciting properties through witty, humorous copy lines and execution." Whatever the point is, surely, it's for the audience to decide what they are. Further, it may be pointed out, most channels have begun getting their programmes, especially films, in line with the censorship and social codes of their bigger markets; they wouldn't want to offend their viewers beyond a point.
Moreover, if indeed there is a law or a code of conduct, due process has to be followed. Banning the channel for two months has the air of an ad-hoc decision, taken without hearing the other side of the story. Dasmunsi is now said to be watching other channels which could be broadcasting adult
content like a hawk.
If the minister is so keen to protect public morality, we invite him to see film clips from Bollywood and the south, all of them passed by his own censor board. Indeed, the censors are becoming more and more liberal of late.
Continuing with such ministries, rather than setting up independent regulatory mechanisms, is a sign that reforms notwithstanding, we are still stuck in an old mindset. We cannot truly call ourselves globalised if we persist with archaic practices run by even more old fashioned people.
