Indian Government bans AXN TV channel

Why? Because they showed some indecent program!!!

News in NDTV
News in Washington Times


Seriously, is the I&B minister at the Centre crazy? What kind of whack job is he?

If you ask me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with AXN broadcasting that program. They actually telecast it late in the night (according to another news report), at a time-slot when they are permitted to do so.

Then why is this guy acting like this? If the erstwhile NDA Government or any of its constituents had done such a thing, just imagine what kind of hue and cry would have been raised by the "intellectuals". How much objection would have come up against the "moral policing". You don't have to wait long. We are only 3-4 weeks away from Valentine's Day. Just watch the way people react to the Shiv Sena.

But now, hardly few people even know about this blackout. Why don't the usual Arundhati Roys and Amartya Sens talk about this? They wont. They are just unofficial mouthpieces of the Congress/Communists.

And the political opposition aside, my personal opinion is that the ministry is having double standards. Reasons:
""AXN is banned for showing 'World's Sexiest Advertisements'. This was not a program that promoted any amoral activity. It was just a collection of ads that were just sexy.""

1. The ministry has absolutely no objection to the gazillions of serials (soap operas) being made in all the Indian languages, telecast in each and every channel that is currently being beamed on Indian airspace and beyond. Each of these serials have characters with extra marital affairs. Which is accepted by other principal characters. So many women are portrayed as being the embodiments of cruelty. If you know Tamizh, this link will give you more details.
So its ok for these channels to continue right? Including DD?

2. I am also peeved by the number of ads for condoms that are now being showed even during prime time. These aren't the educatory ones that used to come out some 10-15 years ago, where the Government mainly talked about various forms of birth control. They only said that condoms were one option. They did talk about other methods too.
But these days, I see that condom ads from the private manufacturers simply advertise their product. Nothing wrong per se. But then there are ads on TV for flavored condoms - try watching those ads with an inquisitive kid of 11 or 12 (on a side note, you don't get kids of any other type at that age) and then tell me how embarrassed you were.
I have a similar opinion about the seemingly endless number of sanitary napkin ads that are on air with good practical demonstrations, so that the viewers also can 'absorb' necessary information.
So is it ok to put such ads during prime time on all channels? Including DD?

3. What about the numerous movies that came out in Hindi a couple of years ago. Invariably the wife has an extra-marital affair and plots to finish off the husband? Just because you give an "A" certificate for the movie, doesn't make it a socially acceptable movie. Or one that spreads great morals.
Why don't you have your censor board ban such movies.

4. Next the radio. I dunno how many of you hear the local FM stations. Many of them play English songs at some time or the other. Invariably, they feature quite a lot of Hip-Hop, especially the type I like. As you might already know, if there is no use of the F word with its prefixes and suffixes, then it doesn't even qualify as a Hip-Hop song. So all these stations play the song, without any censorship of all these foul swear words. I have heard quite a lot of F and MF on FM radio. In fact, on AIR's stations themselves.
So will they ban AIR itself?
5. I don't even have to start off on Fashion TV right?
6. Almost every other program from Hollywood, will have a sex scene. Or at least lotsa kissing and cuddling etc. This is both in Movies and TV serials. In fact, the episode of "Friends" - which is the barometer for teenyboppers - I saw today, had Ross discuss threesomes with Joey.
So will the ministry ban all channels that air original English content?
7. Does the minstry have any clue about what the Energiser bunny acutally represents? Will they ban all channles that display that ad?

I can go on and on with various other details. But the point is, I am totally opposed to such bans because it wreaks of double standard. Of the highest order.

Probably, the ministry wants us to return to the days where the hero and heroine in a movie come very close to each other in a song, and u see a violent shaking of flowers on screen.