The Hindu Business Line : Skating on thin ice

Should `Freedom of Expression' be an unbridled right? What should be the role of responsible players in the media? These questions have been bothering quite a few people vis-a-vis some recent incidents widely covered by the print and electronic media.

Unfortunately, in all the cases the media has tended to pre-judge the issue with a single-dimensional view.

Whether the banning of dance bars in Mumbai, dress codes set by some educational institutions, police high handedness in Meerut or reaction to Kushboo's views on pre-marital sex, the common thread binding them is the attempt to enforce moral values.

While I totally condemn the police action in Meerut and the way some political outfits reacted to Kushboo's statement, the media, particularly a television channel, and most newspapers treated each of these cases as moral policing and hence unacceptable. Fine. But none of them cared to dig a little deeper into the root cause or to find out if there was a point of view different from that of the victim or the `moral police'.

One found the media taking a simplistic view and passing judgment on what is right; any other opinion was wrong. For the media there were only two parties to the issues, the victim and the authorities, and it completely ignored the vast multitude of youngsters and their parents/guardians who would like to imbibe more conservative values.

How do I explain this state of affairs to my children? My wife and I run an orphanage with 20 children, our biological children are grown up enough.

Don't we need to observe certain norms to ensure a harmonious society?

The answer is yes, if we consider that liquor and cigarette ads are banned, incest is illegal, use of loud speakers beyond 10 p.m. is banned and most workplaces have dress codes.

So if it is only a question of where we draw the line, do individuals have a right to decide where he/she draws that line?

The problem in each one of the cases mentioned above is that politicians and police simply adopted a wrong approach, perhaps to suit their objectives. Would one like to have a dance bar right under one's apartment? Many such bars were located in Mumbai's residential areas. No one is asking for a ban on prostitution, which is confined to certain areas.

When dress codes are accepted for schools and offices, why not for colleges? How does it become moral policing only in colleges?

How many will accept (even if legally allowed) a family member marrying someone of the same sex and living in the same house? Walk into any of the parks, including Lalbagh in Bangalore... you cannot walk for 10 metres without encountering couples in postures you wouldn't like to see with your family.

Kushboo is free to have her views. Did she not realise that what she said would be widely publicised and there is a silent population — perhaps in a majority — who believe in certain values and wouldn't like their children to be told that pre-marital sex is okay?

How critical is it to have a detailed sex survey conducted every six months? These days many periodicals and newspapers have sections that are soft porn. What I find regrettable is the fact that the media uniformly has been one-sided in reporting to suit its liberal image and business objectives. Not surprisingly, there is a silent understanding among the fraternity not to be critical of a co-member. Being liberal is made to be synonymous with being correct.

What space is there for people like me, who are conservative but ready to accept change at our own pace, to voice our views? Does anybody understand the pressure we feel to shield our children from information that is contrary to our values?

One is not against freedom of expression, but it has to be recognised that India comprises people not only with widely differing economic status, but also different values. We have a considerable conservative traditional population that is not comfortable with the Page 3 culture.