Parties in Tamil Nadu Should Stop Harassing Kushboo

Indian actress Kushboo has decided to take her case to the Supreme Court of India.  There are approximately 23 defamation complaints pending against her in the State of Tamil Nadu for making some “controversial” remarks to a Tamil weekly in 2005.  The Supreme Court bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice J.M. Panchal

and Justice B.S. Chauhan asked Kushboo’s Counsel Pinky Anand to submit the transcript of the 2005 interview within two weeks.

In the interview Kushboo said that there is “nothing wrong with women having pre-marital sex, but they should follow all precautionary measures”.  She also added that it is “not fair on any educated youth to expect his wife to be a virgin”.  In most democratic societies comments like these are non issues but not in India.

I can understand some of the reaction from the general public if these comments were made in the 40’s and 50’s as India was emerging from hundreds of years of British rule during which our values and laws where greatly influenced by outdated conservative Victorian culture.  But this is 21^st century India and we should know better.

How did we end up with a society where adult men and women are “offended” by a woman’s comments about sexual behavior and the use of contraception?  Initially the protests were lead by the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) and by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).  Under pressure Kushboo apologized on Jaya TV.  But this did not prevent the supporters of these parties from filing defamation cases.

In 2005 as Kushboo was exiting the court after surrendering before the Mettur judicial magistrate protesters gathered before the court started raising obscene comments and then threw chappals (flip-flops), tomatoes and eggs at her car.  Is this form of protest justified and are these actions in tune with the Tamil culture and its treatment of women?  What this shows is the hypocrisy that exists within the Indian society.

Although we have come a long way since independence in terms of civil liberties incidents like these show that many Indians have problems dealing with differences of opinion in a civil manner.  Many Indians simply do not want to hear comments or opinions that are contrary to their beliefs.

Kushboo and others like her who had to face the wrath of the general public over comments have to also realize that the right to freedom of expression is not guaranteed completely in India like in many other Western democracies including the United States (Advani’s comments about Jinnah comes to mind).  The Indian constitution places certain restrictions on the freedom of expression including morality (defamation), decency and public order.  This is sad because the government should never be in the business of legislating morality.

Many constitutional experts also believe that freedom of expression is not just to protect individuals who share our views but also to protect those individuals whose views are totally different from ours.  Fighting multiple cases like these is not just expensive but also very cumbersome and time consuming and for the individual and the courts.  I think that the courts time should be set aside for addressing real cases and grievances.

Related posts:

1. New Brahmins of Tamil Nadu
2. Incredible India: The Koovagam Festival In Tamil Nadu
3. Tamils in India Should Stop Batting For Sri Lankan Tamils
4. Lord Karunanidhi: God of the Tamil Atheists
5. Promoting and Preventing the Tamil Language From Extinction

Tags: DPI, Kushboo, PMK, Tamil Nadu

Category: News & Government