Don’t censor but celebrate our soft power

Censorship hurts the freedom of expression and injures the creative spirit. That’s why in a democracy of any merit, it is seldom used except in very rare cases of national security. Even there it is used with great circumspection and very rarely.

Creativity is a soft power and India, with its enormous talent and multiple cultures, is capable of emerging as one of the world’s strongest nations in terms of soft power. It is the literature, cinema, music, theatre, poetry, art and our amazing genius for creative expression, which has very often made the world sit up and notice us for the great creative nation that we are.

But unfortunately, now we are seeing a trend towards oppressing the creative voice, censoring it, attributing motives to works of artistic merit. This is a tragedy and is stifling freedom of expression.

The Prime Minister talks of Made in India and he wants brand India to win hearts across the world. But is important to note that this is best achieved not through our factories and plants, where people slog for a living, but through the creative genius of people.

When an Indian wins a Nobel Prize or a Pulitzer, or gets nominated for an Oscar or an Emmy, we achieve enormous global recognition. That recognition and power cannot be defined by the boring yardstick of commercial success. It is our creative success. It is our moral success. It puts India on a higher pedestal before the world.

That is why soft power is so crucial for any nation and India has always had a head start in this. Let not fringe groups and those who disrespect our creative genius hold this nation and its talent to ransom. Freedom is at the heart of every true creative expression and let us all celebrate that freedom, same as we celebrate our democracy. This is what defines us as a nation and people. Let no one stand in the way of India emerging as a great global soft power. That would be self defeating and unjust for a nation with such enormous cultural heritage – a heritage born out of freedom and courage, wisdom and creative talent.

(The author has produced web shows such as Four More Shots Please!)

Freedom is at the heart of every true creative expression and lets celebrate that freedom same as we celebrate our democracy. PRITISH NANDY, Producer

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are author’s personal