Introduction:
Censorship is defined as the suppression of speech and other forms of public communication by a governing body for the maintenance of peace and welfare in society.
With the emergence of new laws, rules, and the strike of old provisions in the Constitution, the clash of censorship and the right to information about religion in India is getting worse. The spread of Guttenberg – a style printing press that was a revolution in the way stories, folktales or jataka tales, or normal public hearings were told. (Jeffrey, 2021)[1] After the rise of the printing press, now people can publish whatever they want in British India. Poets, Intellectuals, thinkers, and socialists can share their views with a larger audience. Those who were illiterate can also consume this information through listening to the reading of other people. But slowly, the concept of censorship was seen to be a need established because of riots due to now open conversations and opinions which might cause hindrance to public welfare.
The colonizers were also smart enough to use this new trend to localize their products to Indian consumers. The rise of Industrialisation helped aid consumerism in cheap bulk clothing and other processed goods and advertising played a huge part. Pictures of Indian gods and goddesses were printed alongside daily use products like soaps to make them familiar to Indian households. Indian nationalists also campaigned against British rule.
In 1927, a book about the alleged promiscuity of the Prophet Muhammad sparked serious unrest among the Muslim population in Punjab Province; the book’s publisher was killed during the riots. Faced with serious Hindu-Muslim conflict, the British authorities, with the support of all Indian political parties, quickly enacted what became the bedrock of Indian censorship – Section 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code. (Masani, 2015)[2]
After Independence, the pace of media changed rapidly. The influx of tape recorders and video cassettes increased communal tensions. Then came India’s first national television channel ‘Doordharshan’, which was created after the Emergency declared in 1975, and the concept and tricks of censorship crippled in quickly within the personnel and what to broadcast and what not to was decided based on who supported the emergency. There were delays often in the relaying of the news like the December 1985 gas leak in Delhi. The fall of the Babri Masjid also was not telecasted due to fear of sparking riots.[3] (Ninan, 2017)
To this day, ‘Doordharshan’ is famous for its show on India’s legendary mythology ‘Mahabharat’. Being a national public broadcaster, the secularism of the channel is challenged for broadcasting content specific to one religion.
Censorship of Religion in Other Countries
In an officially Atheist state like North Korea, Freedom of religion or the right to information is pretty non-existent. Censorship is held by the dictator himself and the consumption of content that glorifies the head of the state or is favorable towards the government is only preferred.
Another example of censorship is Communist party-controlled China. The country has its social media sites which the rest of the world can’t have access to and vice versa. The definition of state secrets in China remains vague, facilitating censorship of any information that authorities deem harmful to their political or economic interests.
Afghanistan, during the tenure of the Taliban after the mid – 1990s, had the strictest, deeply enforced Islamic censorship of any other government in the Muslim World. They enforced and imposed a blanket ban on all films and videos. Now again after the takeover of the country after the withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan, the same regulations might be imposed. Other non-Muslim religious minorities are discriminated and their political rights are limited by the constitution.
Some of the other censored countries in the Middle East crisis are Eritrea, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.
In a democracy, it is difficult to draw a line between censorship and secularism in the media.
RTI and Conflicts Regarding Religion
In India, The Right to Information Act 2005 requires an open process of the law by the three organs of the government. It is vital to promote transparency and accountability. But this right seems to create confusion from time to time regarding censorship of the content accessed and the ever-continuing hatred towards other religions of the nation.
Although the Right to Information Act is not a Fundamental Right, it is guaranteed under Article (19)(a) of the Constitution of India.
The RTI Act played an important role in the Ram Janmabhoomi case as well. The transparency of funds of a whopping 2100 Crore collected by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra which was mostly public money is crucial for public policy.
Along with the government, religious institutions and authorities also control censorship in India. In the instant case of Bhanunni v. Commissioner[4] (Bhannuni V. Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Admin.) Dept, 2011), the Kerala High Court had held that “Hindu Religious institutions and endowments are not the ‘public authorities’ as defined under the Right to Information Act, 2005 and the provisions of that Act do not apply to those institutions and their offices, officers and employees and the Executive Officer if any appointed by the government.”
However, places of worship like Churches, Temples, and Mosques do not fall under the ambit of the RTI Act.
In April 2021, India ranked 142 out of 180 on the World’s Press Freedom Index, remaining one of the most dangerous countries for open journalism and a threat to the fundamental rights of a citizen. This classifies India as a ‘half censored’ country even though the Constitution guarantees fundamental rights of speech and expression.
Advertisements and Cinema
A case study in focus is the withdrawal of an advertisement by the jewelry brand Tanishq featuring interfaith couple sitting promotion of ‘love jihad. As tweeted by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, “If Hindu-Muslim ‘Ekatvam’ irks them so much, why don’t they boycott the longest surviving symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity – India?”, (Tanishq: Jewellery ad on interfaith couple withdrawn after outrage, 2020)[5] Incidences like these repeatedly threaten Hindu – Muslim relations. Although this is not total censorship the trolls and the negative outcry made the video to be taken down as most often than not advertising tactics mimic society.
Even movies like the Padmavaat have come under the scrutiny of censorship stating the portrayal of the female protagonist was in poor light. The intersection of gender, sexuality, and religion is a good illustration of the fact that everyone is aware of the knowledge and affects but no one expresses it, as in the partial censorship of the film Bombay, which portrays a relationship between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman in the context of intercommunal (largely anti-Muslim) violence in 1990s Mumbai.
With the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, online journalism is becoming popular. Journalist sites like THE SWADDLE, BRUT, etc, are educating the audience about non-biased news and producing informative content relative to all aspects of the society including research on ancient religious practices and colonial influence on the perception of religion in millennial India.
Traditional Media to Modern Media
Earlier, a learned individual respected by fellow dwellers of a town or area used to gather pupils around and disclose spiritual knowledge. After the pandemic, the role of traditional media, although still functional, has been superseded by new media (online platforms). Spiritual leaders and seers like Gaur Gopal Das and Jaggi Vasudev make use of all kinds of media from books to social media to spread their message and opinions. On many occasions, Sadhguru (Jaggi Vasudev) has been on news for a few controversial statements and there exists a media segment that is against him and his views.
Censorship vs Right to Information
A study conducted in a university situated in Varanasi, India suggested differing views of students regarding religious censorship. Most of the students believed that Hindu fundamentalism is increasing and there is a threat to Muslim communities and ideals. But most of them also agreed that freedom of expression must not hurt religious sentiments and holy texts like the Koran are beyond scrutiny. With the BJP government gaining reigns and propagating Hindu extremism through Hindu religious parties like the Bajrang Dal and Shiv-Sena, some students even feel the statements passed against Islam and alienating other communal groups are gravely hurting their religious beliefs and sentiments. (Eisenlohr, 2012)[6]
Owing to the cultural and religious diversity of the country, the rising tensions, and ethnic conflicts may be offset by multicultural state policies. Today, Indian news media uses religion as a lens to convey societal cultures and traditions, inculcating them into a specific brand’s image. But a lot of times, the news propaganda is politically motivated leading to chaos between large organizations passing rumors and misconceptions to the general public.
Conclusion
Religion impacts media to a large extent in the modern day. Ideals, perspectives and thinking, all stem from the idea of culture and religion. Religion can be a positive influence if the right to information and expression and speech is implemented in the right manner. Censorship is required to control the extremist ideologies that might spread negative connotations of diverse faiths leading to discrimination and illegal use of media. As coined by Jawaharlal Nehru, the phrase ‘Unity in Diversity’ stands true to the divergence of censorship and secularism in media.
References:
[1] Jeffrey, R. (2021, January). Media in Religion and Politics. 56(3). Retrieved from https://www.epw.in/engage/article/media-religion-and-politics
[2] Masani, Z. (2015, March). The saffron censorship that governs India: Why national pride and religious sentiment trump freedom of expression. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/saffron-censorship-governs-india-why-national-pride-and-religious-sentiment-trump-freedom-expression-10137186.html
[3] Ninan, S. (2017, August). A short, anecdotal history of DD-AIR censorship. Retrieved from http://asu.thehoot.org/media-watch/media-practice/a-short-anecdotal-history-of-dd-air-censorship-10249
[4] Bhannuni V. Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Admin.) Dept. (2011, March 11). Retrieved from https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5767b125e691cb22da6d4c52
[5] Tanishq: Jewellery ad on interfaith couple withdrawn after outrage. (2020, October 13). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54520390
[6] Eisenlohr, P. (2012). Media and Religious Diversity. Annual Review of Anthropology, 41, pp. 37–55. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23270697
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