857 – ‘1984’ Redux

बड़ा भाई देख रहा है।

I marvel at the perverse tenacity of the self-appointed भारतीय संस्कार का थानेदार for compiling a list of 857 porn sites that he wanted banned.

This insecure and embittered fellow with a broadband connection, unsatiated libido and pots of time to spare must have logged onto countless porn sites, and, using his yardstick (pun intended), determined whether or not each one could cause moral decay in hapless innocent Indians. He must have assayed each site for its porniness quotient using a scale from zero to ten:

1. Chaste
2. Sedate
3. Erotic
4. Racy
5. Smutty
6. Lurid
7. Scandalous
8. Obscene
9. Revolting
10. XXX

The marathon collating session must have left a taint on his saint – compelling him to partake of a गंगा स्नान  or a ४ धाम pilgrimage to do penance.

After amassing this prurient material, beside eye-strain, did he acquire any bad habits or any form of moral corruption? Pederasty? Did he start dressing in a leather suit and whip or chain up his wife? Did these porn sites provoke him to indulge in bukake, bestiality, rape or bathe in the golden shower?

So what’s next? A Bamiya style demolition of Khajurao and Konark Sun Temple?

I like the pluralism of modernity; it doesn't threaten me or my faith. And if one's faith is dependent on being reinforced in every aspect of other people's lives, then it is a rather insecure faith, don't you think? -Andrew Sullivan