The Supreme Court has recently come out with some enlightened judgements. It has ruled that state governments cannot ban a film which has been cleared by the Censor Board for public screening on the apprehension that it could cause a law and order problem. Thus it has cleared the decks for the release of Prakash Jha’s film ‘Aarakshan’ in UP. According to the Court, it is the state’s duty to maintain law and order. The Mayawati government had pleaded that reservation continued to be a sensitive issue. An official committee in UP had found certain parts of the dialogue in the film inflammatory enough to trigger violence. But the state cannot defy the ruling of the apex court which asserted that as a social issue, reservation needed to be debated at every forum. In a vibrant democracy, public discussion is necessary to create awareness. It also said that divergence of opinion was important in a healthy democracy.
Of course, the opinion of some important personalities weighed with the Supreme Court. Amitabh Bachhan said that the ban on the film smacked of the ambience of a fascist state. That explains why the SC put so much stress on democratic values. Nobody will disagree with the Court verdict in principle but ground realities may cause misgivings. The public in this country is not mature enough to imbibe the value of freedom. The stench over Mondalisation still lingers. And cinema is a most lethal weapon in triggering mass violence.