Selective Censorship in India

Off late, I’ve come to realize that censorship in India is a pretty selective process. Only those things that the panel find distasteful are edited out or cut completely so that Indian viewers don’t have to watch all kinds of “BAD” things and be disgusted or morally corrupted by the same.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

Of course, the cinema, television and advertising industry in the western nations don’t need to take care of these things because they are already morally void, so they think. But we Indians, no no no no no, we are those who uphold our culture and moral traditions in the strictest sense. We cannot allow nudity, intimacy, slang, smoking, drinking and rape to go up on any type of screen in India because it would horrify the masses because they don’t spew swear words out of their mouths, they don’t smoke or drink and they most definitely never have sex. The population of India has merely increased due to asexual reproduction.

Now if the various censor boards for different kinds of media in India feel certain things should not go up, there must be a reason and I just stated it, but doesn’t bribery and corruption come under the degradation of morals and ethics that they so loudly preach through their scissor-wielding arms that cut of other things from camera reels?

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

I recently saw an advertisement that has been bothering me since the first time I watched it. The ad shows some kids in a classroom trying to decide which one of them would be the opening batsman for the school cricket team. Many people ask for the opportunity but the child on the first bench just makes sign with his hands, the captain goes to him and the former kid shows him his tiffin box which contains chappatis with jam in them. The captain tastes one and makes the kid the opening batsman.

What does this ad portray?

I know that at first glance or in the first reading, it may appear to be a pretty normal ad for jam and appear to be reinforcing the fact that the jam is very tasty. But if one looks into the ad, one might realize that this is a case of clear bribery and that too among children. The kid bribes the captain to give him the opening spot on the team by parting with a jam roll.

And this advertisement is meant for kids.

Unbelievable!

Dos this ad not show the kids of India that they can get things done by simple bribery? And is bribery not morally and ethically “BAD” for the Indian population?

Oh but that’s quite alright I guess or the censor board might have been too busy editing out naked men and women from perfume ads to notice the blatantly corrupt message that this advertisement gives to the children, albeit very innocently.

The people who sit on such panels should realize that rather than attempting to stop scandalizing the population of India, they should attempt to stop this corruption of children’s mentality.