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"Well,
I'd like to take you, as I find you
Imagine our clothes are on the floor
Feel my caress so soft and gentle
So delicate, you cry for more"
The stage Performance
Scrutiny Board in Maharashtra went through these lyrics from the
song Universal by the Australian pop band Savage Garden with a fine-tooth comb,
mulled over them twice and (sigh!) finally gave the group the go-ahead. So, the
concert happened in Mumbai on May 3 but not before the board had viewed videos
of the band's live performances elsewhere to ensure there were no lewd steps or
'dirty' dancing. However, it was not only the performers who were expected to
observe a moral code. Out went behavioural guidelines that audiences to the show
were expected to observe: no hugging, no kissing, no stripping and no intimate
body contact while dancing!
The conditions could become even more stringent for two other rock concerts by
foreign artists scheduled for this month, that by heavy metal act Iron Maiden's
Paul Dreamo and that of Jess Cox of Tygers of Pan Tang. Perhaps it is a lucky
coincidence that pop superstar Madonna, who is expected to tour Indian cities
later this year, has turned all spiritual and more importantly, Veda oriented
(she even sings a Sanskrit song about spirituality Shanti, Ashtangi in her
latest album Ray of Light).
Hardly one month into governance in New Delhi, the BJP dispensation aided by the
other parivar compatriots, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and comrade-in-arms the Shiv Sena, has begun
to enforce a moral code, which smacks of RSS ideology. While the BJP is being
subtle, for the others the power to enforce this seems to be flowing from the
barrel of threats, persuasion and plain old goonda gardi.
There have been a spate of incidents reflecting the bigotry and intolerance of
powers that be to anything or anyone that does not conform to their standards of
decency, morality and what is appropriate for the Indian milieu.The Vajpayee
government was just a few days old, but its parivar organisations the Bajrang
Dal and the VHP were emboldened enough to break up a beauty pageant in Ahmedabad.
On the eve of the show goons confronted Himangshu Shah, managing director of the
SOI group, a herbal beauty products manufacturer, who was organising the show,
and forced him to cancel the contests for the titles Miss Gujarat and Man of
Gujarat besides the swim suit round. Activists even occupied the front seats
dislodging invitees and monitored the show.
 | On May 1, activists of the Bajrang Dal stormed the south Mumbai
apartment of artist M.F. Husain, vandalised his house and tore down several
priceless paintings. The activists were incensed at Husain's painting 'Sita
Rescued' which depicted a nude Sita riding on the tail of Hanuman. Bal
Thackeray reportedly said that "We have let Husain enter Hindustan, why
can't we enter his house."
| One of the first steps taken after BJP-supported students groups
took control of Lucknow University last fortnight was to declare a blanket
ban on fashion shows on campus and beauty pageants.
| The irrepressible S.S. Gill, the endangered CEO of Prasar Bharati,
banned the telecast of the Miss Universe pageant. Denying that he was under
orders from Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, he said
such contests were not in keeping with the profile of India's national
channel. | |
Even as the BJP has been subtly making fundamental changes, its ministers shy
away from accepting that there is any link between the "moral code"
for preserving of the "normative moral order" mentioned in the BJP
manifesto and their actions. They insist their moves are purely a response to a
public outcry against moral degeneration and the growing influence of western
culture.
Soon after taking control of the information and broadcasting ministry Sushma
Swaraj attempted to cleanse the small screen. She put together a video cassette
of all 'offensive' ads that were being beamed by satellite channels. Showing her
concern at ads that promote the American way of life instead of the Indian one,
she said, "Wherever I go, people urge me to do something about obscene
advertisements. Now that we have come to power, they expect us to do something.
They have faith that we will address ourselves to this."
Even during her first, though short, stint as information minister in 1996,
Sushma had made the headlines with her remarks that women news readers on
Doordarshan "zaroorat se jyada dikhate hain" (expose more than they
should). This was followed by a blanket ban on condom ads and some other ads
which she found 'objectionable'. Minister for Human Resource Development Murli
Manohar Joshi told THE WEEK that he is talking to government, educational and
private organisations to bring about changes in textbooks so that young children
are exposed to the "right things". According to Joshi, there is
concern that history books do not contain enough about the freedom struggle.
Way back in 1991 the BJP made certain changes in the school syllabus soon after
coming to power in Uttar Pradesh. Haldi Ghati, a poem glorifying Rana Pratap,
dropped earlier because it was seen as containing overt anti-Muslim sentiments,
was reintroduced in the Hindi literature textbook. In the history textbooks RSS
leaders like Deen Dayal Upadhyay got predominance, while the earlier perception
of freedom struggle, which was dubbed a 'Congress version', was altered. Vedic
mathematics also got a boost.
Joshi also disclosed that his ministry was interacting with the department of
youth affairs and sports to see how the youth can be made to participate in
rural development. A proposal to have graduates do a stint in the rural areas
before securing their degree, made by Minister of State Uma Bharati, is with the
planning commission. Joshi said these steps were being contemplated to safeguard
the moral fibre of the people which is under threat. He emphasised that they had
nothing to do with party policy but were a response to the concerns expressed by
the general public. The minister said the people were drawing his attention to
these by telephone calls and letters.
Interestingly the BJP manifesto promises that the government will set up a 'Bharat
Punarnirman Vahini' "whose voluntary members will devote one year of their
life for national reconstruction".
These moves have sparked off a debate of sorts. While one section of the
populace feels perturbed by what they fear is a 'moral raj', being thrust on
them, others have welcomed the moves as a means to arrest the steady erosion of
cultural and ethical values among youngsters choosing role models from American
soaps.
Can a democratic government be allowed to lay down the dos and don'ts of how to
dress, what music to appreciate, how to dance, what to read and what to paint?
This is the question uppermost in the minds of those who fear the return to the
dark ages by a fundamentalist regime. On the other hand there is the lot happy
about the fact that the government has taken the initiative to cleanse the
society of all that is immoral and obscene.
A section of the people suspects something more than a bid to weed out all that
is perceived as not "correct". Does the BJP have a 'hidden agenda' to
indoctrinate the masses? Are they implementing a well-chalked out plan under the
garb of moral conscience-keepers responding to what the public wants them to do?
The artists fraternity has been the most vocal in expressing its fears on
attempts to regulate their freedom. Several leading painters including Manjit
Bawa, Manu Parekh and others got together and released a statement condemning
"the invasion of the private space of an eminent citizen (showing) the
brazen confidence these forces have recently acquired".
At a press conference, painter Jatin Das, who was the target of a Hindu right
wing mob's fury on the streets of Delhi a few months back, lashed out at the
insensitivity of the rest of the society: "What are we after all...We just
want to go about our work...Engineers, journalists, intellectuals. This could
happen to you all. It could be your turn next." Das also spoke elaborately
on the whole issue of fine art and nudity. "What is naked, nude, nudity? It
is fine art for us. Doctors also study physiology. For us, just like the face,
the rest of the body is also like ears and nose etc." Added Anjolie Ela
Menon, "If Indian culture has reached global levels, it is because it has
enjoyed absolute freedom so far. Our lives, our works, they depend on being
free." She went to the extent of exhorting for a mass movement: "If
this should mean bringing down the government, then we should do it."
Anjolie (pic:
left) was of the opinion that the attack on Husain was simply
minority persecution. She referred to her painting Shakti which had three
goddesses in the nude. "But nobody dared to attack me because I had a Hindu
name." Tahir Mohammed, chairman of the National Commission for Minorities,
does not seem to agree with her. He described the touch of obscenity in Husain's
drawings of Hindu gods and goddesses as unIslamic, unconstitutional and immoral.
Husain's was only the latest in a series of attacks on artists. Quite a few art
shows, including that of Bhupen Kakkar, an out-of-the-closet gay artist, were
stopped recently. Though this was before the new government came to power, the
fears have increased now. Anjolie says that the government should give everyone
an assurance that this sort of moral policing will be stopped. "Today you
raise a hue and cry when you find a naked Sita riding on Hanuman's tail. But
don't they know that Sita is the epitome of Indian women. And that way, they
don't care if she gets raped 20 times on screen in every movie."
There can be no doubt that the impact of films is more powerful than rock
concerts and plays. Songs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi are very provocative with
skimpily clad heroines clinging sensually to bare-chested heroes. But who would
want to take on the mighty film industry? Especially when members of the Shiv
Sena first family are into film production?
Actor and Samajwadi Party leader Raj Babbar is convinced that the latest moves
by the Shiv Sena such as the disruption of the Ghulam Ali concert, are
political. In the last week of April, over 100 Shiv Sainiks stormed the stage
and snatched the mike and instruments, leading to the cancellation of the
concert. Reason: Ghulam Ali is a Pakistani. "Those who have done this are
intellectually bankrupt. They have always been goondas so they can do anything.
The law and order machinery is not protecting citizens," Babbar says. He
also argues that Maharashtra's Culture Minister Pramod Navalkar does not have
the credentials to police Mumbai's culture or morals.
But Babbar is not against laying down norms for behaviour in public places.
"It is fine to have restrictions on kissing and cuddling during rock shows.
There are many folk songs in the country which can be classified as vulgar. So
there should be some sort of guidelines on these matters." Both he and film
director Mahesh Bhatt suggest self-censorship among artistes. Bhatt also wants
everyone to come together on a common platform and have a frank discussion to
remove fears and misgivings.
Another disturbing trend is the please-the-powers-that-be attitude. S.S. Gill,
the diffident CEO of Prasar Bharati, decided to scrap the telecast of the Miss
Universe pageant because he realised that this act will go down well with the
powers that be and may save him his job. But Sushma is in no mood to oblige.
How far will the culture cops go? Will a moral raj lead to state coercion or
confine itself to a cosmetic weeding out of ads that trigger the passion,
draping air hostesses of private airlines in demure saris and putting a stop of
the MTV generation. Only time will tell.
|
If
obscenity or licentiousness made rock shows
objectionable and perceived blasphemy made M.F. Husain undesirable.
Ghulam Ali's only fault was his nationality. All in Bohemian Mumbai, the
most liberated Indian city.The person who sounded the clarion call was
the preserver of Mumbai's fragile morality, Pramod Navalkar
(pic: right), Maharashtra's minister for cultural
affairs. He wanted to ban western music concerts outright but the
resulting furore made him back off. Now, all western music performers
have to get the lyrics of the songs cleared by a script scrutiny board. |
He extended the
gamut of duties by imposing conditions on the audience of a concert by
the rock group Savage Garden (pic left)
on May 2. "I heard that people do dirty tricks in rock shows,
kissing, hugging, youngsters removing shirts and dancing. So I told the
organisers that all this should not be allowed." says Nandgaonkar.
He, however, admitted that the board did not have specific laws against
such misdemeanor. "Enjoyment should have a limit. Don't do these
things in public. Then what is the difference between animals and men?
This board is like a parent. We will put restrictions on
youngsters."
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INTERVIEW:
SUSHMA SWARAJ Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj is determined to sweep out all that is obscene, inappropriate or not in tune with "our culture" from the small screen. She is confident that the steps she takes will put a smile on the face of parents if not the hip generation or the advertisers who pay through their nose to add a zing to their message. She spoke to the Week about her campaign to ban all that is perceived as not "correct" for the Indian masses. You seem to have decided to enforce a moral code on TV. How will
you determine what should be on screen and what should not? Does this not amount to enforcing your own values on the nation?
After all, what may be inappropriate by your standard may not be so for
someone else. But you have already come out openly against liquor, condom and
the AIDS campaign insertions. Are you following a BJP-formulated moral code? Has there been a
decision at the party level to carry out this agenda? What in your opinion are the other ads which should be kept out? You have objected to ads by AIDS groups, for family planning and
even sanitary napkins. These are facts of life and youngsters need to be
educated about these things. |