<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Shamelessness is paraded as Modern
R Vaidyanathan
13 September 2009
There has been an explosion of Modernism or, to quote a TV anchor, "the sublime
assertion of modern thinking" in the last few weeks. One was the celebration by
homosexuals after a Delhi high court ruled that homosexuality is not a criminal
activity. As if society anytime considered it criminal. Society considered it a
mental case or perversion, but never criminal.
But the queer crowd had their parades; they re-christened themselves as LGTB
[Lesbian - Gay - Trans-Gender and Bi-sexual, dragging in even the bi-sexual as
fellow travellers. They claimed to belong to a minority and demanded human
rights. Our 24 hour 'breaking news' TV mafias and main stream media [MSM] jumped into the fray. Incidentally, gays are called MSM, Men having Sex with Men, the same abbreviation for our incredible main stream media.
For a few weeks, it was made to appear that being gay is the most virtuous
thing, and if a girl is not lesbian she is missing out on something profound. I
do not know how many TV anchors or MSM of the news variety editors would
encourage their children to belong to that exalted category of LGTB.
Enter the dim-witted Celina baby, who positioned herself as an equal to the
great yoga guru Ramdev, and had the audacity to suggest debate with him. Her
claim to fame is the amount of skin she can reveal; her two minute bytes were
peddled by 24 hour non-news channels since for them it was hot copy and might
enhance their TRP's. One anchor even suggested that she is a "graduate,"
implying that she is "highly educated." That perennial rebel without a pause
with zero intelligence Mahesh Bhatt was conspicuous by the inane
inconsequentials he mouthed on "freedom."
It was bizarre to the core and revealed the slow but sure development of putting
shamelessness on a pedestal and worshipping it. Shyness is a virtue and
shamelessness is Adharma; it is completely turned upside down by our mindless
media.
Homosexuals were always present in India even before Macaulay made them
criminals by Section 377. But who cared? People may giggle, but nobody was
arrested for being gay. Society treated them with the indulgence appropriate to
such a category.
Shyness prevented society from castigating them. Nor did it punish them.
Christopher Isherwood was alleged to have been a homosexual. He was not beratedfor it. One of his friends in Calcutta reputedly jocularly commented to him notto entice young Bengali boys. Christopher was an erudite scholar associated withthe Ramakrishna Mission; his works on the Upanishads are highly rated. The point is that he was neither glorified for his sexual orientation nor berated.
Savita Bhabhi
The second case is more bizarre. There was a cartoon pornographic portal which
portrayed a lustful and ever sexually indulgent lady called Savita bhabhi. She
was always having sex with assorted groups like door to door salesmen to
neighbourhood kids to fashion show referees; the site was located in London. Its
owner came out from his assumed name of Deshmukh to the real name of Puneet
Agarwal. When his real identity became known, his family and community were
aghast and he was forced to stop it.
Pritish Nandy, writer and film producer, wrote in a national daily that "Savita
Bhabhi is a symbol of freedom, of empowerment, of the sexuality our women can
wield if they are allowed to escape the sham world we Indian men trap them in
because of our own fears of sexual inadequacy masquerading as machismo."
Adman and TV commentator Suhel Seth added that "the fact that she was called
'bhabhi' indicates a perverseness that always existed [in India] but we were in
denial about." This is the level of our mental bankruptcy and moronic approach
to any social issue. There are many more of this type parading as intellectuals
and social activists. These vultures are for the philosophy of anything goes. It
is for the TRP and not for any value system.
An assorted group of "freedom fighters" jumped into the fray to defend the right
to pornography, when the family of Puneet Agarwal itself felt that he cannot do
just any business just to get a return on investment. That man was shamed by his
family and community, but the TRP crowd was in a nauseating brawl with
government, regulators and all types of societal values, oblivious that they
were shaming themselves.
This trend started with the former Minister of Child Welfare [Renuka Chowdhary]
starting a movement to fill up pubs with young girls as some girls were attacked
in a pub in Mangalore by some fringe elements. The print media and TV,
particularly the MSM variety, made a big issue of it and encouraged young boys
and girls to go to pubs and drink. Drinking was made a virtue in the name of
freedom and right.
Page 3 has taken over the papers. It is time that all pages be numbered Page 3,
perhaps as Page 3a, 3b etc. These whiners who hardly pay for their drinks - they
are freedom fighters since they always want things free - have the audacity to
suggest what is good for the women of this society. They are arrogant, abrasive,
and absurdly self-indulgent.
Indian society is accommodative and understands the complexities of human
nature. It does not insist on linear behaviour. But the wretched and the crooked
among our media want to pitch a war between modernism and antediluvians, and
between rights and suppression. They have made a grave error of superimposing
Western debate on Indian society.
We think that when shamelessness is equated with freedom and modernity, there is
a need for transparency and full disclosure. The denizens, anchors, editors, and
correspondents who parade such shamelessness as sacred should disclose whether
they belong to such category? Whether they are from happily married families or
from broken families? Whether they will encourage their wives and Bhabhis to
behave in such fashion since it is a symbol of freedom?
They should also disclose their love life, family life and children who go to
school. And provide information if such "freedoms" are encouraged and provided
to them. If not, others will put it in the public domain. These anchors and
editors cannot get away from personal responsibility and personal behaviour when
they speak of societal norms.
It is high time some sections of our media at least expose these vermin who are
out to peddle poison as freedom, and perversion as sacred. Let us understand the
importance of shyness in some situations, and appreciate silence in many
situations. There are still concepts of virtues and perversions, and let it not
be forgotten in the TRP race.
The author is a Professor of Management; the views expressed are his own
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