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It has been over six months (from October 27, 2018) since popular pornographic websites have been
blocked by the Indian government’s telecom department. ISPs such as BSNL, MTNL,
Jio, Act Broadband and Airtel have blocked their consumers from accessing free
flow porn websites. This is the second time that pornography has been banned in
India after the first attempt in August 2015. It was noted that many sites that
were being blocked didn’t have public announcements by the issuing authorities
i.e. the Indian government or the internet service providers. Hence, the public
is unaware of all the websites that have been blocked in India. Many have
learnt about the ban on pornography in India through tweets and shared posts
regarding the issue.
Here’s what a
cross section of people have to say about banning pornography in India:
‘It all depends on the hormones’
“I feel it shouldn’t be banned. But there should be more
securities for using the website. If porn is banned, it may give rise to more
rape cases to fulfill desires. The consumption of porn is not necessary; some
watch porn as all don’t have the ability to control their urges. It all depends
on how the hormones react. Watch porn, but the government should make it secure
enough so that young children don’t have access to it, as it can affect their
mindset. I agree watching porn is religiously bad, as they say the body is a
temple of god. But this generation has a more open mindset.”
ALRICA FERNANDES, singer
‘Create subscriptions instead’
“I’m not a fan of bans on anything, apart from the obvious
things like assault rifles and anything else that can cause serious havoc or
take lives. Porn isn’t harmful in any way. I know serious ‘aficionados’ of porn
who live normal lives. Their wives know about it and don’t care. If the
government decides to regulate porn, as they should, then there will possibly
be systems in place to curb trafficking and other illegalities that exist now.
I don’t think sites need to be blocked. Create paid subscriptions instead. We
have to start looking at things differently now and not constrict everything to
the pre-existing orthodox and narrow mindset that sadly still prevails.”
KURT BENTO, CEO,
Creometric
‘Banning porn won’t make a difference’
“It’s a very vast topic and very obscure too. I don’t think porn
should be banned in India. This could create a higher tendency for rapes in the
country; the more oppressed the Indian society is, the more amount of sexual
violence will take place. However, I do feel that the ban on porn or these
arguments for and against it would not matter in far off rural areas that don’t
have internet connectivity, where sexual violence is not be influenced or
deterred by pornography.”
AMANDEEP KAUR, hotel
management student
‘Porn can make people
treat their partners like objects’
“Porn is necessary sometimes. If someone has a fetish or a kink
that may not be possible to fulfill in real life, they should be able to watch
it at least to get that pleasure as long as it does not border on the illegal
side of the porn industry. Porn can help relieve this frustration, especially
for people not in committed relationships. While porn is a good idea as maybe
they cannot explore their sexual fantasies in real life, on the other hand, I
feel that whatever they show is so unrealistic in porn. It gives the wrong idea
about what sex should be. It makes boys have high expectations about sex and
what their women should look like. They treat women like objects later.”
ARNOLD GOMES – student
‘Pornography takes way the real act of
intimacy’
“I do not think this is accurate. Pornography objectifies women and
men both. It in no way represents what sexual intimacy really is. Individuals
who have access to pornography tend to get extremely addicted to the material
and then find themselves focused only on porn. It hampers all other areas of
life. For the young, pornography is their first brush with sexual relations.
What is depicted is brash and very often animalistic, taking away from the act
intimacy. The young mind brought up with free access to porn will find it
difficult to lead a healthy adult, sexual life as a lot of what they know is
inaccurate. For sexual dysfunction, pornography may be used but as far as I
know, it’s used as a last resort.”
CHARLENE
FARRELL, counseling
psychologist
