We Indians have become thin – skinned to
an alarming degree and so given to taking offense at the drop of a cuss word
that it has become the norm for citizens to go to war on social networking
platforms every time somebody cracks a joke or gives compelling evidence to the
fact that every one of us is as opinionated and judgemental as everyone else. When
comedians embrace controversy with provocative material on the sacred cows of
sport and playback singing to ensure that their underwhelming video goes viral
and gets the attention it does not deserve, we are flooded by an outpouring of
outrage that far more serious issues seldom get.
Worse,
since it has become common for runaway emotions and misguided passion to rule
the roost in place of cool logic and common sense, the censors and moral police
have taken the upper hand. As a result, decrees have been passed that trample
on freedom of speech, artistic expression, and the right to tweet our peevish
dissatisfaction while making tasteless jokes. Shockingly, despite the fact that
India is a democracy, books are burnt, films are banned and Sunny Leone gets
the free publicity she built her career on thanks to incendiary posters and
press conferences.
While
so much energy is expended on so much triviality, pressing problems persist and
plague this proud nation which has still not managed to tackle the problem of
providing the basic necessities for a vast majority of its populace. There are
so many without food, clothing shelter, education or even a decent loo and yet
we are far more preoccupied with nonsense, ours and others both. Surely this is
not what our freedom fighters fought and died for?
Perhaps
it is time to put an end to the endless chin – wagging, finger pointing and a
collective tendency to froth at the mouth every time something mildly
provocative starts trending on twitter. In short, unproductive and ultimately
self – destructive habits including intolerance and strident censorship need to
be put to rest in order to facilitate a conducive climate that fosters
development, nation building and better understanding between the diverse
factions that make up India. Nobody likes it when big brother gets carried away
with his voyeuristic, tyrannical tendencies and starts rapping on knuckles to
force political correctness down unwilling throats.
In
order to stop dictatorial directives in its tracks, it behoves us to take up
the role of moral watchdog and limit it entirely to our own selves. Nobody
likes to be told their shit stinks but conversely everybody labours under the
delusion that their shit don’t stink. Now more than ever, it is necessary to
clean up our own act in order to mature into responsible citizens who can
exercise every one of their rights while being sensitive and sensible enough to
do so without stomping on toes and encroaching on somebody else’s rights.
This column was published in The New Indian Express.
