Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Can't Bit and Reins Expressions...!

Every world in the first amendment gives us the freedom to do what we do every day. The freedom of religion lets us go to church. The freedom to assemble peaceably lets us protest and strike on the streets. And the freedom of speech lets us say what we want to say. Isn’t saying what we wanting say the same andwriting what we want to say? Freedom of the press lets us write articles on controversial subjects and no one bans those. Yet, books like "Great Soul: Mahatama Gandhi & his Struggle"are banned even though we have the freedom of speech. Banning this book is in violation of our rights stated in the first amendment because banning something is the same as saying to not write it at all. The freedom of speech is our thoughts, what we feel, expressed into words. the book written by Joseph Lelyveid is his thoughts and experiences.
The Maharashtra government banned the book as blaming that he tried to portray the Gandhi as bisexual. There is no doubt over that Gandhi ji is the father of  nation, great freedom fighter & a well known inspirational personality for us. But we should accept all these things also with his drawbacks. Even almighty god have few drawbacks, why we are ignoring Gandhi's.......! Even Gandhi himself recorded his experiments with sexuality in his autobiography. There is no doubt that Gandhi wrote uninhibitedly about his love for Kallenbach, even more warmly than what he wrote about other men dear to him like Andrews.

 Is there any parameter for banning the books????

Banning books or attacking art work is not new in our country. The works of Tasleema Nasreen, Salman Rushdie & MF Hussain have became easy prey to this tendency . It is a democratic country having the right for 'freedom of speech & expression.' Banning a book is a drastic power vested in the government.

How could we bit  and reins a writer's view????

A democratic society must always be open for new ideas & fact. Banning the book is wrong from every point of view and doubly so in the light of Gandhi's commitment to freedome of speech.