Free expression

He has the knack for doing so. Only this time he has been declared a "proclaimed offender" or repeatedly ignoring the legal summonses from a Haridwar court and not appearing in the case. The case, this time, relates to his alleged obscene depiction of Hindu goddesses in paintings. The court ordered the Mumbai police to attach Husain’s properties. On Sunday, the Mumbai police started out on the needful by pasting a notice on the door of his flat at Jolly Makers-III building in Cuffe Parade. The...

So it is. One was wondering when the self-appointed moral cops would be raiding a pub. One does not have to keep wondering. Activists of a hitherto unknown Karnataka Yuva Vedike went on a rampage Saturday night at a popular pub to express their protest against the "pub culture." These marauders barged into the Athena pub located in the plush Leela Palace and ordered customers to leave the premises. They then went around damaging property and threatening those seated inside. These knowledgable...

The controversy over the Madhya Pradesh minister's patronisation of a bunch of dancers from a state's tribal area is still raging on. The Congress is calling the dance vulgar, while BJP leaders are describing the folk dance as a symbol of the Bundelkhand culture. While the dance generally performed by women of the Bedia community on festive occasions includes suggestive moves, it has always been taken as part of the local culture. But as the Indian Express reported: [ Link] Finally, someone...

Issuing summonses to the sitting duck actors and actresses of our film industry for on-screen demeanours is one thing; issuing an arrest warrant for a public act which did not really offend too many sensibilities is another. Shortly after he issued that arrest warrant against Richard Gere, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Dinesh Gupta of Jaipur was criticised by legal luminaries for pandering to frivolous complaints and making India the laughing stock of the legal world. Gupta has now been...

Mayday. Mayday. Our item girl and Bollywood non-actress Rakhi Sawant is bound to land up in trouble for all that she says and does (once in a while, also what is done to her) — this time she is in a mess for appearing on TV in a bath tub against the background of a statue of Lord Buddha! A case has been registered at Frezarpura police station in Amaravati district of Maharashtra under section 295 of IPC (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class). In...

We don't need to poke fun at the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priyaranjan Dasmunsi. He is well-nigh capable of doing it himself. The minister came up with ridiculous answers to the posers from Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate. You wouldn't know whether to laugh or to cry. In case you missed it, here are the highlights: Karan Thapar: Minister, you are missing the point. I don’t deny that you have the power to ban, you do. But I’m asking you, how you interpret the words...

The smaller courts in India are on a roll. Aaah, I know the metaphor doesn't really carry through. But then, what also does not is what these courts are doing by reacting to flippant complaints by a demented section of the public. A local court in Muzaffarnagar has issued summons to Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan to appear before it on May 30 in connection with a kissing scene in Dhoom-2. District Judge HK Shrivastava ordered issuing of summonses to the duo after taking cognisance of a...

We have been waiting with bated breathed for an arrest warrant to be issued against Richard Gere for his indecent and obscene act. For insulting our collective Indian sensibilities. It is a differennt thing that our sensibilities have little to do with, say, suicides by farmers in Vidarbha. Anyway, there is this magistrate in Jaipur who has done the honours. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Dinesh Gupta has reacted to the compliant filed by one Poonam Chand Bhandari after watching the...

The Times of India, a few days back, carried a brifer on the who's who of the moral police in India (Serial Offenders On Morality Frontline; April 19, 2007). It is worth carrying it here: Shiv Sena: The biggest moral police. It’s most famous cop Pramod Navalkar has run campaigns against prostitution, 'vulgar' hoardings, pictures in compromising positions. Sena has been at the forefront of 'anti-Indian culture' Valentine's Day. But had organised the Michael Jackson show. Sambhaji Bridage: Founded...

A minister in Madhya Pradesh is in trouble over some dirty dancing. No, it was not he who did all this dancing. It was some "erotic" dance at a government-sponsored mass wedding of 101 poor girls in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, that has people gunning for him. The man behind this function was state minister for cooperatives, Gopal Bhargava. He had on April 20 invited thousands of people to the gathering, with promises of great celebrations. Here's in brief from what the Times of India reported: [ Link...