It looks like that those in government who are to deal with the tricky issue of what passes muster in the world of entertainment and on social media are confused, to put it mildly.  Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore has just admitted that some of the re-tweets on the All India Radio Twitter handle after the Indo-Pak cricket match, went overboard. And that there was need for “certain grace to be maintained”. One of the offensive tweets in question used the ‘ghar wapsi’  language against the  losing side — Pakistan — in the first World Cup cricket match between the two teams, in Adelaide on Sunday. In the eye of an outrage over the list of 28 banned words in the censor lexicon, its chairman Pahlaj Nihalani, a film producer himself, went on the backfoot. He clarified that the list of banned words was already in existence and he did not create it. His defence: he was  to only implement the existing censor guidelines and not to impose new codes. Equally controversial in recent days was the FIR filed against the producers of AIB Roast, the politically incorrect comic show. There is simply no getting away from the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) archaic cultural baggage. The party’s lack of sense of humour seems to be further compounded  by overzealous patriotism as testified by the tweets in the cricket  match. 

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The party, as well as its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), are not quite at ease in matters of artistic expression and the nuanced debates around the now increasingly complex issue — freedom of speech. They tend to view the world through the black-and-white prism and the vulgar/ decent binary. Complex issues are reduced to a simplistic formula. The BJP-RSS combine will, however, have to learn to come to terms with the changing world with its demographic shift towards the youth. The young are willing and eager to experiment with different forms of cultural and political expression. Some of which could well be regarded as unsavoury and whacky one moment, and conservative the other. Those who provide entertainment, like the hosts of AIB Roast, are most of the time responding to the shifting tastes of the audience. 

That as the guardians of culture in government, they cannot indulge in offensive remarks themselves — is the challenge they face. The All India Radio cannot associate itself with anti-Pakistan tweets. At the same time, the government cannot censor expressions that  may be regarded by some sections as vulgar and provocative. At least as long as these expressions do not disturb public peace. Even for the most liberal-minded censors, it is a tightrope-walk. The right-wingers in the ministry of information and broadcasting are likely to commit mistakes. What they will have to do is learn from those mistakes as suggested by Rathore on the AIR re-tweets. More is expected from the Censor Board chief than his bureaucratic statement that he is there just to implement the existing rules. Nihalani cannot respond to such controversial issues mechanically. He will have to exercise his judgment and argue out his case. The public may not always agree with him and his colleagues on the board. Nihalani should encourage a debate in cultural issues rather than declare that these issues are settled.