In India A controversy has started over the recent statements of Youtuber Ranveer Allahbadia, as mentioned in the video and articles below :
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/U68kVMEUZ7kf
While most people have condemned them as being indecent, obscene, and prurient, some say that it is protected by freedom of speach guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.
So let us examine the issue.
Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution states :
“” All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression ‘
But Article 19(2) states :
” Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause (1)
shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with Foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence “.
We are concerned here with the meaning of the words ‘decency’ and ‘morality in Article 19(2).In my opinion the meaning of these words will depend on the context, and will be different in different societies. Many expressions may be regarded perfectly acceptable in Western societies which are more liberal, but may not be acceptable in relatively conservative societies such as in India. The statements of Ranveer Allahbadia( for which he later apologized ) are certainly regarded lascivious, indecent, and unacceptable in India, when uttered publicly. People like Ranveer Allahabadia only make such smutty and ribald remarks to show off that they are ‘modern’ and ‘liberated’. But the damage they do is to propagate a misconception about sex, which would tend to debilitate the young generation in India. In this connection it may be mentioned that after the Russian Revolution of 1917 Alexandra Kollontai, who was a Russian revolutionary, propagated the ‘Glass of Water’ theory. According to this theory, the desire for sex was like thirst, and so just as when a person is thirsty he/she has a glass of water, so also when one wanted sex, he/she immediately had sex with anyone available. The great Russian leader Lenin condemned the Glass of Water theory, and said it was not revolutionary but counter revolutionary, for excessive sex diverts a person from the path of revolution and debilitates him/her.While sex was a natural desire, and Lenin was no advocate of puritanism, he said that it must be kept within certain boundsLenin explained that sex among humans is different from sex among animals, inasmuch as it has a cultural aspect to it too. People like Ranveer Allahabadia portray sex among humans as if it is no different from sex among animals. Therein lies their error.
