[Reader-list] Savita bhabhi: why did Indian govt. ban her?

[Javed]

I agree with Sukanya. What this Savita bhabi site shows is exactly
what appears in the erotic chapbooks sold on footpaths in Hindi and
other languages - I remember some school friends reading them between
the covers of textbooks. Such literature has existed all this while
and the govt. never bans it.

But Sukanya's admission that pornography exists and its a sign of
healthy society - I am sure the gender activists will not agree. Why
should men see the female body only as a thing of desire and lust. I
am sure women don't always want their bodies to be treated like that.
I remember once reading a story by a woman who wanted her big breasts
to be cut off by surgery as men always used to ogle at them or press
them in a crowd. I sometime wonder if there's something wrong with
biology/nature?

J

On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 12:27 AM, sukanya ghosh<skinnyghosh at gmail.com> wrote:
> anupam,
>
> What you are raising, are moral objections and there is a simple
> solution to it - if it offends you don't look/read it. Are you
> suggesting that people (Indians) should restrict their fantasies to the
> stipulated traditions of indian erotica from the past? And would you
> rather that we gave in to policing the internet and made way for some
> more repression and passive aggression? Porn exists. It would take a
> really long time to get into discussion of the hows and whys of
> pornography, but I will say this. Pornography is the sign of a healthy
> society. A society that makes it possible for people to indulge their
> fantasies no matter how sick or twisted they get. It's a whole lot
> better than have a repressed bunch of people who decide to act our their
> volence in real life.
>
> As for Cyber laws - there's a whole lot more important things that they
> are aimed at than just shutting down pornographic sites. One of the most
> important issues being that of invasion of privacy.
>
> Lastly, the vast amount of erotic Indian Literature that you keep
> referring to should also include those local roadside magazines,
> published in virtually every indian language, that contain pretty much
> the same kind of content that poor old savita bhabi does. And really,
> there is nothing wrong with celebrating your sister-in-laws sexuality.
>
> best,
> sukanya
>
>
>
>
> anupam chakravartty wrote:
>> Dear Sukanya,
>>
>> I understand it is unfortunate that the website has been blocked for
>> threatening the sovereignity or integrity of the nation which is why i have
>> said that the ban is superficial. the website is fucntioning even now. i
>> could see the contents  However, you have understand that cyber laws in
>> India is still at the nascent stage. There were several other pornographic
>> sites launched from India in the past. My issue is that when erotic writing
>> has been a part of Indian literature for a long time where do we fit in the
>> contents of this website that clearly celebrates the fantasies of the indian
>> voyeur? And moreover, is it inspired from the stories of these voyeurs who
>> get bobbitised in reality for attempting rape their aunts or their sisters
>> reeling under the influence of their day dreams? what is it that this site
>> is trying to portray ? perhaps government should reconsider the ban but
>> there has to be a debate on what is the implication of having a site that
>> celebrates a bhabhi (literally a sister-in-law) and her sexual desires, that
>> too from the perspective which is not feminine by any means, but mostly
>> reflects the unabashed voyeurism.
>>
>> reagrds anupam
>>
>>
>> On 7/14/09, sukanya ghosh <skinnyghosh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> dear anupam,
>>>
>>> 1. The site has been blocked so I don't know what you're looking at.
>>> 2. This is not about how good or bad the quality of porn is or indeed about
>>> the indianness of sex explained. It is about the Indian Government having
>>> invoked the section 67 of the Information Technology Act and the dangers
>>> therein.
>>> 3. Do take a moment and ponder on "websites that threaten 'the sovereignty
>>> or integrity of India, defence and security of the state' or that endanger
>>> 'friendly relations with foreign states.'" By that logic, this very list
>>> that we feel free to launch our tirades on can come under fire . . .
>>>
>>> cheers
>>> sukanya
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> anupam chakravartty wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Dear Javed,
>>>>
>>>> I dont understand the fuss about this website created by Puneet Agarwal.
>>>> The
>>>> damn site is still working. Why is he making these claims? some form of
>>>> publicity for this site. It is unfortunate that Agarwal decided to take up
>>>> the cause of the quintessential sexually emaciated Bhabhi who actually
>>>> beaten up every night by her husband. If Mr Agarwal aspires to become
>>>> Donald
>>>> Trump for India, then we have done it long time back with Vatsayan very
>>>> objectively and succintly explaining the sex in indian context. However,
>>>> the
>>>> government ban is superficial, that site is still functional and Agarwal
>>>> is
>>>> minting a lot of money by crying out publicly about this ban.
>>>>
>>>> -anupam
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 7/14/09, Javed <javedmasoo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Savita Bhabhi cartoon porn website blocked by Indian security law
>>>>>
>>>>> Rhys Blakely in Mumbai
>>>>>
>>>>> With her ample bosom, skimpy sari and mischievous grin, Savita Bhabhi,
>>>>> India’s first and only online cartoon porn star, might not look like a
>>>>> threat to national security. But the country’s Government has made the
>>>>> fictional housewife seductress the first target of new laws, passed
>>>>> after last year’s terror attacks on Mumbai, that allow the authorities
>>>>> to block dangerous websites.
>>>>>
>>>>> The Savita Bhabhi site, which features a series of daily cartoon
>>>>> strips based on the “sexual adventures of a hot Indian bhabhi”
>>>>> (sister-in-law), was created by Puneet Agarwal, 38, a British
>>>>> entrepreneur of Indian descent. Before being blocked in India it was
>>>>> attracting 60 million visitors a month, about 70 per cent of them from
>>>>> India.
>>>>>
>>>>> The decision to block the site has bemused many onlookers. Despite
>>>>> featuring the adventures of a “regular Indian woman who just can’t get
>>>>> enough sex” and being managed by an outfit that calls itself the
>>>>> Indian Porn Empire, the venture appeared to owe as much to Benny Hill
>>>>> as to Hustler. One typically titillating storyline involved a
>>>>> travelling lingerie salesman ringing Savita’s doorbell and the
>>>>> escapades that followed. (“Can you help me please . . . The hook is
>>>>> stuck.”) Some pundits argued that Savita’s adventures drew on a rich
>>>>> tradition of Indian erotica, from the Kama Sutra, which dates back
>>>>> perhaps two millennia, to a long-established tradition in Indian
>>>>> popular culture of flirtation between a man and his elder brother’s
>>>>> wife. But above all, as Tehelka, a news weekly, observed, the strip
>>>>> appeared to “poke fun at the coy Indian attitude towards sexuality”.
>>>>>
>>>>> For those in the corridors of power, however, Savita’s promiscuity was
>>>>> no laughing matter. Last month the Government ordered internet service
>>>>> providers to block the site. To do so it evoked section 67 of the
>>>>> Information Technology Act. The law allows the Government to ban
>>>>> websites that threaten “the sovereignty or integrity of India, defence
>>>>> and security of the state” or that endanger “friendly relations with
>>>>> foreign states”.
>>>>>
>>>>> India’s decision to blacklist Savita while continuing to allow
>>>>> unfettered access to traditional hardcore pornography sites has drawn
>>>>> ridicule from experts in cyberspace law.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sevanti Ninan, a journalist who runs thehoot.org, a media commentary
>>>>> site, said: “Our relationships with foreign states couldn’t be
>>>>> friendlier since she went online.”
>>>>>
>>>>> Campaigners for Savita’s reinstatement hope to use India’s
>>>>> freedomof-information laws to uncover who demanded that the site be
>>>>> blacklisted.
>>>>>
>>>>> Others have sought solace in the failure of other countries to police
>>>>> the web. The columnist Venkatesan Vembu said: “The government ban is
>>>>> about as impotent as Savita Bhabhi’s workaholic, sexually clueless
>>>>> husband, and as her growing legion of fans has discovered, there are
>>>>> ways of getting around the ban by using proxy, anonymiser websites
>>>>> that cover your tracks.”
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6683611.ece
>>>>> _________________________________________
>>>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
>>>>> Critiques & Collaborations
>>>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
>>>>> subscribe in the subject header.
>>>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
>>>>> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>