Khajuraho is one of the most popular tourist spots in Madhya Pradesh. Known for its temples adorned with intricate carvings. While the official government website of MP tourism will make sure that you know that only 10 percent of those sculptures are erotic, or sexual. However, even the ones that are not depicting the sexual acts of all combinations, prefferances, evels of flexibility, depict the human form, especially the female form as voluptuous and at ease with their sexualities. Said to have been built between 950-1050 AD by the Chandela Dynasty, these temples have been recognised globally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Madhya Pradesh, however, is not making news for official action against Netflix, an internet based telecast platform, for airing a show that had scenes of two fictional characters kissing in a temple compound. Nothing erotic, a kiss, in a fictional story. A point to be noted however is that the fictional Hindu woman, and the fictional Muslim man are the two charecters shown kissing in the scene from a Suitable Boy. 

The show is the cinematic version of A Suitable Boy, a work of fiction by author Vikram Seth, which is set in a newly Independent, post-Partition India. The book, with 1,349 pages and was noted to be one of the longest in a single volume. It was published in 1993.

In October 2020 the BBC television drama miniseries, adapted by Andrew Davies and directed by the acclaimed Mira Nair was aired on Netflix. It took a few days for the Right Wing to discover the kissing scenes and create a furore. 

Leading from the front was Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra who declared that he was offended at the scenes and accused Netflix of allegedly hurting religious sentiments. He had asked the police to closely examine those charges and report to him post haste. They did, and found the charges to be grave enough to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Netflix. After examination, according to The Print, Mishra said, “An FIR has been registered under Section 295 A of the IPC against Monika Shergill and Ambika Khurana.” Shergill is the Vice President of Netflix India while Khurana is the Director of Public Policy at the streaming site.

एक #ओटीटी_मीडिया_प्लेटफॉर्म पर “A Suitable Boy” नामक फ़िल्म जारी की गई है। इसमें बेहद आपत्तिजनक दृश्य दिखाए गए हैं जो एक धर्म विशेष की भावनाओं को आहत करते हैं। मैंने पुलिस अधिकारियों को इस विवादास्पद कंटेंट का परीक्षण कराने को निर्देशित किया है। pic.twitter.com/oYSiizJxCQ

— Dr Narottam Mishra (@drnarottammisra) November 22, 2020

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gaurav Tiwari had filed a complaint against the makers of ‘A Suitable Boy’ for shooting kissing scenes between a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy against the backdrop of a Hindu temple. In his complaint, Tiwari highlighted several kissing scenes in the series, including one with a shiva linga in the backdrop, stated the news report. He stated that the location’s name was changed but it was shot in the Maheshwar Temple on the banks of the Narmada river.

Finally My FIR against Netflix has been filed under section 295 (A) on Monica Shergill (VP Content) & Ambika Khurana (DPR, Netflix) over shooting kissing scenes under temple premises in ‘A Suitable Boy’ series.

I thank MP Police & HM Shri @drnarottammisra Ji for the support. ? pic.twitter.com/iQocFrALR0

— Gaurav Tiwari (@adolitics) November 23, 2020

As expected, Tiwari linked the the kissing scenes, between a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy, to the alleged right-wing fuelled communal bogey of ‘love jihad’. According to the news report Tiwari said these scenes will “encourage other people and vitiate an already disturbed atmosphere in the country” adding that “Our government is bringing a strict law against love jihad,” Tiwari said in his complaint, referring to the state government’s decision to table a bill against ‘love jihad’ in the next Assembly session stated the news report.

The Bill, to be called Dharma Swatantrya (Freedom of Religion) Bill, 2020, proposes five years of rigorous imprisonment for “luring a person through fraud and forcing marriage by religious conversion”. It also aims to make the offence non-bailable, the Indian Express had reported.

According to the news report the series, and the scenes in question were shot in the Maheshwar temple complex in Khargone district in December 2019 when the Congress was in power. The Print reported that Superintendent of Police of the Rewa district, Rakesh Singh, said that he has approached the district prosecution officer (DPO) to seek advice on how to progress in the matter, “The matter is being examined. It will depend on the DPO’s opinion whether a case is made out and under what sections.” However, Dr Vijaylakshmi Sadho, former culture minister in the Kamal Nath government, told the media she was not aware of the content when she inaugurated the shooting.

Since the future, many social media users have been reminding the right wing community of other ‘kissing scenes’ permanently etched in the temple sculptures

मिसर जी @drnarottammisra
तस्वीर में दिखाई दे रहा दृश्य
खजराहो के मंदिर की
दीवारों पर अंकित हैं

इससे एक धर्म विशेष की भावनायें आहत नही हो रहीं हैं@vdsharmabjp @ChouhanShivraj @AAPRaniAgrawal @ManeekshaSingh @SupriyaShrinate @kpsingh1966 @thakralmanjeet @iAlokAgarwal @AAPkaIVS pic.twitter.com/Nt3iaUm4im

— सुशान्त Sushant @IamCommoner (@IamCommoner) November 22, 2020

BJP govt of MP objected to scenes in the Netflix series A Suitable Boy, in which a Hindu girl kisses a Muslim boy against the backdrop of a Hindu temple.

These ?are the sculptures in Khajuraho temple premise in Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/x7STAOCjMe

— Ravi Nair (@t_d_h_nair) November 23, 2020

#BoycottNetflix NOW ?
How can they show kissing inside a temple ?
THIS IS NOT OUR CULTURE!?

A suitable boy ????#हिन्दूओं_का_हक_हिन्दू_राष्ट्र pic.twitter.com/OjTO1xVDCQ

— Ram Mehra (प्र. सो. मी. प्रभारी राजस्थान) (@RamMehralive) November 23, 2020

While Saffron goons are calling for boycott of Netflix for showing a series that has a kiss inside a Temple, there are such beautiful carvings on the walls of our temples. Shall we be boycotting temples, then? What about the Hindu text named Kamasutra? #ASuitableBoy #JustAsking pic.twitter.com/8mrlcTxtqW

— Mona Ambegaonkar (@MonaAmbegaonkar) November 24, 2020

The right wing IT cells however remained busy trending #BoycottNetflix on Twitter asking people to uninstall Netflix. Instead they would have found greater support if they had taken greater offence at the strange accents, that the Indian characters are speaking English in. 

Related:

Right to choose a partner is intrinsic to Right to life & personal liberty: Allahabad HC
Will they call it ‘love jihad’ when a Muslim girl is killed?
UP BJP Spokesperson calls consensual marriage ‘love jihad’
Ram naam satya hai: Adityanath’s open threat to those who attempt ‘love jihad’ 

The post Kissing in temple, not suitable: MP police appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the past week there has been a lot of noise around online video streaming OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar among others. Citing an uptick in ‘Hindu-phobic’ content, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is likely to issue a negative list of don’ts for online streaming platforms.

The negative list has prohibited the use of content which disrespects the national emblem or national flag, promotes child pornography or intends to outrage religious sentiments.

The apparent nail in the coffin was the Netflix show Leila which riled up Hindutva organizations such as RSS and VHP for showing the Hindu religion, customs and rituals in a bad light, apart from terming it as ‘Hindu-phobic’ propaganda.

An unnamed member of SanghParivar said, “It represents ancient Hindu concepts such as Aryavarta and Shuddhikaran as oppressive and dictatorial, suppressing women and restricting their reproductive rights. Nowhere in Hindu scriptures will you find such an occurrence, which is why we raised concerns about the series being defamatory and insulting,”

Solanki had also complained about American comedian Hasan Minhaj’s show Patriot Act in which he offers his commentary on various global and US-centric issues, apart from his views about the political and social situation in India.

Not only Leila, it is even the extremely popular Sacred Games that has found itself to be the ire of the BJP. Delhi BJP spokesperson TajinderBagga had filed an FIR against Sacred Games director AnuragKashyap for “intentionally hurting Sikh sentiments”. Bagga was referring to a scene in the show in which actor Saif Ali Khan, who portrays a Sikh cop, takes off his Kada and throws it into the sea. Not only that, the show is also said to insult the Guru-shishyaparampara in its portrayal.

Ghoul, another Netflix series that depicts a dystopian future where Muslims are persecuted by a fascist Hindu state, shows the Indian Army in a bad light claimed the Hindu Jagruti Organisation, ruffling the feathers of right-wing Hindutva supporters.
Visual of Ghoul Netflix Series

A local non-profit group, Justice for Rights Foundation, late last year filed a case against Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Hotstar for showing sexually explicit content and demanding a regulator for online content, its founder Satyam Singh said.

Currently, there are as many as 9 PILs against the alleged ‘anti-Hindu’ and ‘anti-National’ content pegged by these shows. In May, the Supreme Court had also issued a notice to the Centre to regulate the content featured on these OTT platforms.

What the Law says
While film and TV certification bodies already moderate public content in India, the country’s laws do not allow censorship of content on OTT platforms.

A government official said there was also concern about disparity in how some content appeared on different mediums. Smoking scenes in Bollywood movies on Amazon and Netflix in India, for example, do not carry the mandatory anti-tobacco textual warnings.

On Monday, rumours of top Netflix executive ShrishtiBehlArya meeting the representatives of the RSS had floated. Asked about the same, Arya, who is director – International Original Film, India, Netflix, dubbed the story “fake news”.

She said, unlike storytelling, the law of the land is not subjective. “The law is the law. It’s not like, ‘I don’t like you, and so I’m going to stab you.’ Whatever is permitted by the law, we would go into those spaces and the rest is all about the stories that creators want to tell.”

Three years ago, the RSS had established the BharatiyaChitraSadhana with the objective of promoting a “Bharatiya” narrative across cinema and television, urging filmmakers to make short films and documentaries on Indian culture, values, folk art, Hinduism, national security and nation-building. In the last few months, representatives from the BharatiyaChitraSadhana have been reaching out to filmmakers and scriptwriters to promote this Hindu-dominated narrative.

What the Big Question is
Netflix, Amazon and other platforms don’t just portray content that tilt towards depicting a particular religion in a certain way. Shows like the The Young Pope, Spotlight, Supernatural, The Handmaid’s Tale depict Christianity controversially.

Why is the Centre not calling for a ban on these shows?

Why is the majority only out to protect its own culture? Does the protection of the culture of the minorities not mean much to it?

The big question is – Can the Centre be secular in its bans?

Related
Netflix drops comedy show criticizing Saudi Arabia
Elections 2019: Modi biopic and a trail of violations
‘Modified’: A Film About GMOs and the Corruption of the Food Supply for Profit
 
 

The post Angry Centre wants OTT platforms to ‘only’ ban Hindu-phobic content appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Washington: Netflix has dropped an episode from the comedy show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj that was critical of the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s alleged role in the killing after a complaint by the kingdom’s rulers, Financial Times reported.
 
“Netflix confirmed that it had removed the episode in Saudi Arabia last week, after the country’s Communications and Information Technology Commission made a request to take it down because it allegedly violated the kingdom’s anti-cybercrime law,” Financial Times reported.
 
“Saudi Arabia has become an influential player in the technology and entertainment sectors through big investments by its sovereign wealth fund, which directly owns stakes in companies such as Uber and many other groups indirectly through its backing of Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund,” Minhaj said. Later in the removed episode, he criticised Silicon Valley for ‘swimming in Saudi cash’ and urged tech companies to stop taking investment from the kingdom.
 
In a statement to Financial Times, Netflix said, “We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request — and to comply with local law.” The episode is still available on the official Netflix channel on YouTube.
 
It added that the Saudi telecoms regulator cited a cyber-crime law that states that “production, preparation, transmission, or storage of material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy, through the information network or computers” is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine not exceeding SR3m ($800,000).
 
The American comedian Hasan Minhaj was critical of the Saudi heir in an episode of the standup show Patriot Act. He delivered a monologue mocking the Saudi royalty’s cover-up stories with regards to Kashoggi’s murder in the country’s consulate in Turkey, deep financial and political ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the country’s involvement in Yemen and crackdowns on women’s rights advocates.
 
“Now would be a good time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia. And I mean that as a Muslim and as an American,” says Minhaj in the episode titled “Saudi Arabia.”
 
“We access God through Saudi Arabia, a country I feel does not represent our values,” he says, explaining how problematic it is to pray facing Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, in Saudi Arabia.
 
The episode was only dropped from Netflix in Saudi Arabia and is still available in other parts of the world. It can be seen in Saudi Arabia on YouTube.
 
It was interesting to note that the audience went completely silent when Minhaj observed that the crown prince MBS was a close second to Obama when it came to bombings.

 
Karen Attiah, Khashoggi’s editor at the Washington Post, said that it was outrageous that Netflix had caved to pressure from Saudi Arabia.

 
“Hasan Minhaj of Patriot Act has been a strong, honest and (funny) voice challenging Saudi Arabia + Mohammed bin Salman in the wake of #khashoggi’s murder,” she tweeted. “He brought awareness about Yemen. Quite outrageous that Netflix has pulled one of his episodes critical of Saudi Arabia.

 
The NGO Reporters Without Borders in October ranked Saudi Arabia 169th out of 180 countries for press freedom, adding that “it will very probably fall even lower in the 2019 index because of the gravity of the violence and abuses of all kinds against journalists”.

In an interview with The Atlantic about his show, Minhaj said he and his family discussed the potential repercussions of his criticism of the Saudi government, and that he now has fears about his own safety.
 
“There was a lot of discussion in my family about not doing it. I’ve just come to personal and spiritual terms with what the repercussions are,” he said.
 

The post Netflix drops comedy show criticizing Saudi Arabia appeared first on SabrangIndia.