The case for pornography

It’s sad that we continue to vilify innocent members of Parliament for simply watching obscene videos at their workplace

It is a sad thing when our hard-working politicians are chastised for the innocent act of watching pornography while Parliament is in session. It is sadder when they all inadvertently belong to a political party that has spent decades working tirelessly to uphold Indian culture and values. What sort of country has a problem with ministers watching pornography? It’s time we had a conversation about this because it is obvious this will keep happening.

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, this refers to something that took place a few weeks ago. Apparently, an MLA from Tripura was caught watching an obscene video on his phone during the assembly session. He was being filmed by another colleague (an innocent act, presumably) which is how the rest of us found out about it. There were a lot of people upset with him, and not just because the use of mobile phones is prohibited in the assembly. I knew there had to be an innocent explanation, of course, and I was right. According to the MLA, he was disturbed by callers and, on finally answering one of them, was appalled to find objectionable videos start playing on his phone soon after.

This has never happened to me or anyone I know, but I am now in mortal fear of picking up my phone when someone calls because I have no idea what scandalous video it may unleash upon me without my permission. Phone manufacturers in India should consider issuing warnings on boxes going forward, given that millions of Indians may inadvertently find pornography start to play on their devices when they answer calls. But I suppose that is an issue for another day. What annoyed me wasn’t the MLA watching pornography, but how he was forced to apologise and deal with demands for his suspension.

Also read: Progress cannot be at the cost of citizens’ rights

The episode reminded me of something similar that occurred a decade or so ago, when three ministers in Karnataka—all from the same political party, by some massive coincidence—were forced to resign after being caught watching pornography in the assembly. Luckily, common sense prevailed and two of them were reinstated soon after. One even became deputy chief minister of that state a few years later, which was a relief because I’m sure no one in Karnataka wanted people of questionable character in that role of power and responsibility.

That same year, two MLAs were accused of watching pornography inside the Gujarat assembly as well. They belonged to the same party and promptly denied the allegations. Again, luckily for everyone concerned, they were defended by the party in question.

I am starting to think of this as a political plot of some kind. What if a foreign power is deliberately targeting one political party by hacking the phones of its ministers and playing pornographic videos to make them all seem like desperate, repressed cretins? Shouldn’t there be an official inquiry of some kind?

Or maybe it’s time we stopped being prudish about ministers watching pornography. They are grown men who should be free to choose what to watch and when to watch it. It’s not as if they ever impose restrictions on what the rest of us can or cannot watch, so why can’t we let them pursue these innocent hobbies if it helps distract them from the difficult task of governance? In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that this political party offer pornography to all its members as a perk, given how so many of them appear to have a fondness for it. When ministers are relaxed and happy, isn’t it natural to assume the people they represent will be satisfied too?

Some may argue that there is an enormous amount of hypocrisy here, given that the party in question spends huge amounts of money on telling us about India’s honour and tradition. There is no space for pornography or obscenity in our country, they say, because these things all come from the West. To these critics, I would say that it is only by trying something out that we can figure out whether it is good or bad. If our ministers aren’t allowed to watch pornography, how will they be able to evaluate whether it is appropriate for the rest of us?

In fact, I’m sure the ministers caught watching those videos were doing so for our benefit, as an educational exercise. It’s sad that we chose to take the moral high ground instead of being thankful to them.

When he isn’t ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira

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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper

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