Is it OK if India says yes to pornography?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">It''s one of the oldest arguments, is pornography bad? Should it be banned? Salman Rushdie takes a stand in porn''s favour </span><br /><br />Yet again, Indian born Salman Rushdie is in the midst of controversy. He argues that a free and civilised society should be judged by its willingness to accept pornography.His views are to be published alongside images of American porn stars in a book called XXX:30 Porn star. <br /><br />PT spoke to a few Punekars and found out their view on the subject. College professor Rashi Muzumdar says, "If porn were to be made legal, people would openly sell and flaunt it. Is that really necessary in a society? What would happen if there were no laws followed? People would lose sight of what''s right and what''s wrong! Not that seeing porn is wrong, but why make it legal and thereby more accessible to young children?" <br /><br />24-year-old management student Shashank Mahtani disagrees, "I think it would be a good idea to make pornography legal because kids see it anyway. In today''s world, where everything is so advanced,why put this aspect on the backburner. In any case, in our country where no one wants to discuss sex, porn serves only as sex education." 23-year-old professional Radhika Advani sees two sides to this coin. "I feel that because porn is illegal, there is more appeal for it. Reverse psychology does work. Also if it''s not available freely, people will resort to other measures like rape and prostitution on a larger scale. Which one would you rather have?" <br /><br />Saleema Shroff, software professional, adds, "Porn is freely available on the internet. So what''s the fuss about making it legal. It''s like prostitution. Technically illegal but widely tolerated." <br /><br />Meanwhile Harsh Thakur, call centre professional, gives his viewpoint. "Of course, it is justified -- making porn legal. Love scenes and rain songs in Hindi movies are as titillating as porn. In fact, such scenes have the ability to arouse and leave someone wanting more. Is that more dangerous or is pornography?" <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">anuradha.kher@timesgroup.com </span><br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What the law says </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">The Indian law </span><br /><br />Under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), "any material which tends to deprave and corrupt persons who view it," is pornography. According to the law, if caught purchasing, sending, publishing or creating pornography, one is in for at least a two-year jail sentence and/or a minimum Rs 2,000 fine. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">The US law </span><br /><br />In June this year, the US Supreme Court struck down a law meant to protect children from online pornography, saying it was an in-fringement of free speech. Five of the court''s nine judges opposed the law, which was passed in 1998 and is backed by the Bush administration. <br /><br />The majority said a lower court was right to block it, as it may have violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution on freedom of speech. It says "the Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."</div> </div>