Dear Government, here's what you should ban instead of porn websites

On Sunday, Indians woke up to yet another ban by the Narendra Modi government. As if the beef ban in Maharashtra and the Maggi ban in India weren’t enough, the government blocked 857 adult websites on the grounds of ‘morality’ and ‘decency’.

The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) directed Internet service providers to block certain websites.

However, the matter came to light late Saturday night when a lot of users took to Reddit and Twitter to complain against these sites being inaccessible. What aided the furore on the government trying to curb personal liberties was the fact that sketch comedy sites such as College Humour were also featured on the list of porn websites which were blocked.

After the list of blocked websites started doing the rounds on Twitter on Tuesday and led to strong criticism on social media, the government did some damage control and on Tuesday lifted the blanket ban on websites which did not feature child pornographic content.

Though what triggered the decision behind the ban remains uncertain, one can’t help but wonder what is really the thought process of the Indian government?

When there exists glaring things standing out as a sore thumb in front of India functioning as a well-oiled machinery, which the government should ideally prioritize doing away with, it goes ahead and blocks hundreds of websites.

To help the ban-friendly government decide on what should face the axe next, we at Business Insider draw up a list of six things they should have banned instead of porn websites.

Mr. Prime Minister, we hope you’re reading.



1. Auto-rickshaws that refuse to go by meter: In India, auto-rickshaws are what the subway is to New York. The fact that we face more rejection from auto-rickshaw drivers who refuse to go to any location be it Chandni Chowk or China than our crushes doesn’t help at all. Add to that, when they do agree to extend us a favour by agreeing to ferry us to our preferred location, they loot us off all the money we possess by quoting exorbitant amounts and refusing to follow the meter. Thus, dear government, it’s time you ban these auto drivers who refuse to acknowledge the existence and purpose of meters in rickshaws and choose to have them as a mere ornamental piece in the museum that is the rickshaw. Our wallets will be forever indebted.




2. Dowry: At a time when we’re proclaiming our lungs out in favour of gender equality, dowry stands out as a regressive tradition that we desperately need to get rid of. In the Indian context, dowry is the transfer of parental property from the bride’s side to that of the groom’s. Or, in other words, a way of giving the groom a pedestal from where he can make any number of demands he wants. Though we do have a Dowry Prohibition Act, it’s very rarely implemented. Beloved government, are you listening



3. Unpaid internships: While in college, every student dreams of landing up the perfect internship replete with an encouraging boss, flexible work hours, immense exposure and some pocket money? However, the last criteria is almost always never met, with employers taking advantage of students by paying them close to nothing. To nurture the youth to be efficient employees of tomorrow, it is imperative companies start doing away with the concept of unpaid internships.




4. KRK's Twitter account: It is bad enough that we cannot ban the existence of Kamal Rashid Khan who identifies himself as Actor, Film Producer and Critic and whose films make Uday Chopra seem worthy of a National Award. Thus the least our elected government can do for us is save us from the onslaught of his terrible, thoughtless and too frequent to be true tweets which make every Indian citizen want to facepalm themselves. Repeatedly. Put this no. 1 on your list, dear government.



5. Politicians who pass sexist remarks: In India, politicians do everything except what they are elected to do. They ensure that both houses of the Parliament are adjourned daily, partake in scams, get involved in fake-degree controversies and last but not the least, pass sexist comments. Just yesterday, AAP leader Somnath Bharti while addressing the Assembly on women security claimed that ‘beautiful women’ would be able to go out at midnight in the capital if AAP came to power. This insulting comment is just one of the several great insights provided by ministers who seem to have acquired a Masters in Sexism and Objectification of Women.



6. Bans which are enforced without any debate: Last but not the least; it’s time we keep in mind that an elected government is ‘by the people, for the people and of the people’. Thus, before enforcing any ban- be it on liquor, tobacco, Maggi or porn websites, a public debate and discourse is essential in order to hear the citizens the government is governing. It’d be a shame if India is identified as a dictatorship rather than a democracy, dear government.

Image Credit: Indiatimes, Reuters