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New Delhi: If you thought that India had the perfect democracy with full press freedom, think again. The FTV ban was not the stray act of an otherwise liberal Government.
During Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi's tenure, the I&B Ministry has sent out 208 notices to offensive television channels. And now, Dasmunshi insists that all files be routed through him so that he can take a harder look at them.
"Out of 350, I think, till the UPA Government came in existence, not more than 10 or 12 channels got a showcause notice and not more than three or four channels tried to get the extreme penalty," says Dasmunsi.
And it's not just about the 21st century explosion of adult media content. Dasmunsi is even contemplating action for oldbook rulebook violations like showing wine and whiskey bottles.
In fact, a business channel has been asked to shut down for a couple of days as punishment.
And among the ten channels which Munshi has recently banned are the little-known Blue Kiss, Blue Kiss Express, Blue Kiss Promo, TBL Triple X and Free X TV. Dasmunsi's advisors insist they carry hardcore pornographic content.
This is again the outdated logic of preserving Indian values. But is this the only approach to solving problems on the airwaves?
"There is no pre-set mechanism, guidelines or code for this; so it looks knee-jerk in that context," says CEO of Lodestar Media Shashi Sinha.
The Minister insists that he wants to introduce standards that have long been adopted abroad to prevent children having access to adult channels and night viewing may be allowed in due course.
Dasmunsi insists that it is not his intention to play the prude. But then, the actions speak differently.
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