Censorship

Supervision and control of the information and ideas that are circulated among the people within
a society. In modern times, censorship refers to the examination of books, periodicals, plays,
films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other communication media to alter or
suppress parts thought to be objectionable or offensive. Censorship comes from the Latin word
CENSOR. There were many Acts enacted during the rule of the British empire over the Indian
press as strict bollards. The press was ferociously and actively engaged in trying to rally the
masses before the rumors swirling of the 1857 rebellion, and invariably, the British government
became extremely anxious more about press freedom. Lord Lytton enacted the Gagging Act,
which was aimed at curtailing and controlling the content of Indian publications. The Act forced
all Indian publications to apply for a government license while also making sure that nothing was
written against all the British government, nor was the government in any way threatened. The
Nationalist movement was gaining traction in the 1880s, and that provided the Indian Press a
powerful drive. Around 1908-191, following the creation of the Indian National Congress, which
include the Newspapers Act of 1908, the Press Act of 1910, the Prevention of Seditious
Meetings Act of 1911, and the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908. The friction between
the press and the government mounted steadily. The 1931 Press Emergency Act further
increased tension. In September 1939, the start of the Second World War caused even more
severe murmurings inside the press. Fearing the peril to free speech, the growing threat of
newspaper editors was to facilitate the safeguarding of press rights. Organized by Congress,
the Quit India Movement (1942) asked the press not to disclose any information related to the
party. Eventually, the All-India Newspaper Editors’ Committee– the guardian of the protection
of the Indian Press– gave the government a word of trust that the newspapers would exercise
vigilance and happily refrain from publishing details about the Quit India Movement.
 Need of censorship

• To Protect against hate and violence.

• To prevents certain groups, religious sectors, and people from getting offended.

• To Protect children from unhealthy content

• To provides us with a way to stop false content

• To avoid virus and spam messages.

• To Stop illegal materials on the internet.

• Some uneducated peoples may not know complex ideas in politics.

• To minimize risks in national security.

Platform of Censorship

Internet Censorship -Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing or

accessing of information on the Internet. Each Nation sets its laws on censorship of the internet.
Some Nations are more strict than others. However, some nations like Mexico do not have any
internet censorship laws or filters. E.g. the Indian government approached Twitter to block
accounts that were spreading anti-India content.

Cinema Censorship - Cinema Censorship is the process of previewing a film and it includes a
decision either not to allow it for public viewing or to allow it for public viewing with certain
modification. Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board,
including films shown on television. With the implementation of the Cinematograph Act 1927,
the Indian censor board was unified and reconstituted, as central Board of Film censor on 15 Jan
1952 (CBFC India is considered to be one of the most powerful film censor boards in the world
due to its strict ways of functioning.). E.g. . Zero Alterations were made to the poster where SRK
is holding a Gatra Kripan to protect the religious sentiments of the Sikh group. Kedarnath is still
banned in Uttarakhand as the government over there thinks that the film promotes love Jihad.

Book censorship - Book censorship is the act of some authority taking measures to suppress
ideas and information within a book. Censors typically identify as either a concerned parent,
community members who react to a text without reading, or local or national organizations.
Books can be censored by burning, shelf removal, school censorship, and banning books.

Television censorship- it is the same as cinema censorship it includes a decision either not to
allow it for public viewing or to allow it for public viewing with certain modifications. For Eg
Show on sony tv Pehredaar Piya Ki, the show was canceled because it was revolving around
child marriage.

Common Reasons for Censorship

Sexuality:  A rigid social structure has been followed in Indian society. Hence, a medium
that portrays sexuality regardless of the audio, written, or visual form, which has not been
fathomed by the society and is concerned a social stigma is banned because it might have the
effect of undignified morals of Indians.

Politics: The isolation of political forces is not far when one talks about censorship. The
description of an allegorical political scene, directly or indirectly, is banned by the authorized
party to it.  Overt political overtones are not appreciated by the government and hence is a
common reason why certain films are either entirely banned, or such scenes are censored or
removed.

Communal Conflict: Under a heterogeneous nation like India, if a film incites or spurs any type
of communal conflict, the same is censored. The aim is to avoid the consequences such a film
would have on the audience it intentionally or unintentionally targets. If the state believes that a
movie would open a window for riots by a community for the way they have been portrayed in
the film, the same is banned by the Board or censored.
Incorrect Portrayal: Sometimes, a situation arises where a well-known personality object to his
depiction in a medium which would be exhibited, and consequently goes for censoring the same.
For more clarity, in a situation where the medium is biographical, and the person on whom it is
based does not approve the authenticity of the same, there have been times when the person has
sued for the medium not to be released, or be edited and released upon approval of such person.

Religion: Religion does not appreciate any type of defiance or disobedience towards the values it
proliferates. Hence, any medium which directly or indirectly distorts any aspect of the religion
including its preaching, values, idols, to name a few, is highly criticized and therefore, censored.

Extreme Violence: Indubitably, the portrayal of extreme gore and violence may meddle and
disturb the human mind. Viewing such scenes may have a negative psychological effect on the
mind. If the Board of a similar opinion that such a scene through any medium may have an
underlying negative impact on the viewer, contrary to the entertainment or knowledge such scene
tries to bestow, the same may be banned, edited, or censored by the Board in the public interest.

CONCLUSION

 There is a lack of transparency under the Act itself. The total discretion is in the hands of the

Central Government. Most of the time movies are not judged on the matter of contents but on
the political influences or the factors which would be affecting the ruling party at the Centre.
There is Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2010 which still needs approval. Nowadays
censorship has been used to prohibit those films which hold the real picture of society.