“Porn-Ban” or Child Porn Ban? Shameful Outrage of Morally Defunct Indians!

A couple goes into a mall with their 6 year old son and as the son is roaming in the store they are buying clothes from, he disappears.   They frantically search… and search.. and search.  But the kid is gone.  Yes, GONE!  Vanished into thin air.  As the police look for clues and close in on the suspects, they realize that the 6 year old was abducted.  By people who make Child Porn and share with their “friends” globally.  The child is kept in a small room, and to taunt the police, the offenders even upload nude videos of the kid in that room.

The police later find that the 6 year old kid who was abducted wasn’t the only one.  There are hundreds of thousands – girls and boys – who are abducted and USED to create Child Porn.  And, Child Porn is not just “simple” making nude videos and taking nude pictures.  But it includes all kinds of sexual abuse and torture, often resulting in death of the kids.

Imagine if this was YOUR kid.  Is that bearable?  If it was (don’t know how though) even when it was just any kid!

Thankfully this was from an episode of “Criminal Minds” and not a real life incident – although it is “inspired” by real world events.

The statistics of kids who are victims of child porn is mind-boggling even when they are mere estimates – which are decidedly very low.  Here is one.

Statistics for cyber child pornography are difficult to find but in her report M’jid points to estimates that over a three year period between 2001 and 2004 the number of sites carrying child pornography nearly doubled to around 480,000. Estimates of the number of children who are victims vary hugely, from ten thousand to 100,000. Pornographic images of children, from babies through to teenagers are posted on the web. Figures cited in the report estimate nearly 20 percent of individuals possessing child pornography had images of babies and children aged under 3 and more than 80 percent had images of children aged between 6 and 12. (Source: United Nations Human Rights)

In India, child porn is ‘illegal.’  The Supreme Court of India has been asking the Indian Government to block sites which include child porn.

Even as technology bigwigs like Google and Microsoft are sitting up to take note and combat child sex abuse on the Internet, the Supreme Court of India (SC) has issued a notice to the Department of Telecom (DoT), seeking a response on how to block child pornography. (Nov 18, 2013 / Firstpost)

Despite the clear intention to block the sites with child porn, internet service providers discussed how difficult it was to carry out such measures.

In response to a PIL filed by Indore-based advocate Kamlesh Vaswani highlighting menace of child pornographic content freely available on the internet, ISPAI said, “It is impossible for an ISP to block pornographic sites without orders from the court or department of telecom (DoT). While ISPs are legally bound to comply with all orders to block pornographic or other websites as suggested by DoT, the task of identifying such websites ought not to be left to ISPs who lack institutional and logistical capacity to do the identification.” (Jan 28, 2014 / TOI)

Based on Supreme Court’s directive – which ruled on the petitioner Kamlesh Vaswani’s petition – the Indian Government blocked 857 sites included IN the petition.

The Real Situation?

The main reason for the action on “Porn Sites” (actually CHILD porn sites, small oversight eh?) was the Supreme Court directive based on a petition which mentioned those sites.  Why?  Because the petitioner thought they include child porn.

Of course, Child Porn is illegal in India as it RIGHTLY should be!

So, the action was (1) Based on existing law against child porn, which every parent (and human being.. actually even animals may join in) would want to be enforced, and (2) predicated on the sites included in the petition ruling on which was the trigger for sites blocking action.

So, was it “Porn Ban”?

These are facts.  But what was the “story” in the media, in the blogs, in social media?

“India bans porn!”.

The fascist Modi Government.  The Saffron Modi Government.  The prudish Modi government.  Bans 857 porn sites.

Just 857 SITES?!!!  Do you know how many porn sites are there on the internet??!!  Try Billions!!

857 out of BILLIONS?!!  Really?!!

If the Modi Government is indeed Fascist – then it is ridiculously incompetent in its fascist tendencies.  Because you know what?  If I was fascist and had to ban porn – I would go for 20 billion sites!  If I have to be a dictator, then why go for half measures?!  Almost sounds like an inefficient villain. Specially one who has been epitomized as THE Villain in India on social media!

And if I am such a puny and incompetent fascist…. then am I really a fascist after all?!!

The truth was that the action was against Child Porn.  Remember that 6 year old kid in the beginning?  Yes, those are the kids that fuel such sites.  It could be anybody’s kid, but as human beings if you and I cannot feel his and his parents’ pain, then we have no reason to even be protected by any law.  We OUGHT to be ruled by a dictator and a terrible one at that!!

Child porn sites were to be blocked.  A smart-aleck who thought he would do some public good by at least some action against child porn could only compile a small list.  Which itself was shoddily done.

Result: Some of the favorite porn sites frequented by Indians banned.

And, all hell breaks lose.

The heritage of Kamasutra is at stake.  Khajuraho’s culture is being threatened.

Is this what our culture is reduced to now?  Outrage against law enforcement action against child porn?  Yes, it wasn’t done well.  Yes, it was shoddily done.  But fascist?  Threat to our culture?  Our freedom?

Freedom?!!!

If that 6 year old in that room who was abused and videographed was your OWN kid, would you care of YOUR freedom to view porn… or HIS Freedom to LIVE?!

If the reason why you aren’t outraged by child porn is because the millions who are abused are not your kids, then you deserve no sympathy.  For, those who want from the humanity by the yard… but are only prepared to give by the inch… should be nicely KICKED by the FOOT!!

Moreover, just think of what has the mass outrage achieved in the end.  It has ruled out any serious action against Child Porn on the net in India.  By doing so, are we not backing the Child Porn criminals and abusers?  Are we not acting against the children who are being abused?  Before you go about expressing your outrage against a manufactured controversy, please see whose side are you on?  Because you may be setting a precedence that may make it impossible for anyone to enforce laws against Child Porn itself!  Of course you are free to like/vote/retweet whatever you want on social media and encourage whoever you want on TV, however shrill s/he may be.  But isn’t it time to go by your own intelligence and express your humanity instead?

Special Note from the Author:

Many people in some fora have argued about the “motivation” of the petitioner and how he has “no right to do so”.  The obvious hypocrisy of such an argument cannot escape a person who can apply him/herself just a bit.  Nevertheless, here is my response.

Whatever may have been the motivation of the lawyer for filing the suit, one thing needs to be clear – it is his RIGHT to file a petition if he feels strongly about it.  Just as his critics have the right to file a petition to make Porn a Fundamental Human RIght to be included in the Indian Constitution. To call him names, to brow-beat him and deny him HIS Right of Expression, while establishing your own is the sine qua non of FASCISM!  He has a legal right… he exercised it.  You have the same right.. go exercise it as well.  Stop bringing him down for his right to express himself!  Just learn to deal with a MULTI-CULTURAL society.  Linear Moral arguments are the foundation of a fascist society.  Which is what the “Right to Expression” activists seem to be veering this whole society towards.  Is that so difficult to see?