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Ban the Book/Flaunt the Film
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Venue:Godrej Theatre
Date:14-Jun-2008
Time:11:00 am
Speakers:
Nayantara Sahgal, Bharat Kumar Raut, Hussain Zaidi, Rahul Dholakia, Flavia Agnes
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D.H.Lawrence’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover, published in Italy in 1928, was banned in Britain for over
thirty years, on the grounds of obscenity.In the years since, a spate of books, films and artworks have been banned or withdrawn due to
public pressure and protests; on the basis of blasphemy, political ideology, sedition or obscenity.A panel of intellectuals and artists will analyze and debate the recent rise in levels of cultural
intolerance towards artistic creations all over the world around issues considered sensitive such
as religion, gender and nationalism amongst others. At stake is an analysis of the reasons for such
cultural intolerance as well as the ethics of public response towards violence aimed at radical
art that challenges the status quo. The discussion panel becomes particularly pertinent in an era
when we can scarcely open the newspaper these days without coming across some news item
pertaining to public ‘moral outrage’ over the presentation or content of some or the other cultural
production somewhere in India. Such reactions have had widespread reactions and consequences
starting from the exile of the artist Husain to the seemingly anachronistic tightening of censorship
laws in an increasingly liberal and permissive era.
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