Netflix might get banned in India! Did the thought make your heart skip a beat? Well, Netflix has been trending on Twitter all day long because of a complaint that has been filed against the media-service provider. Recently, Ramesh Solanki, a member of Shiv Sena’s IT cell has filed a complaint at Mumbai’s LT Marg police station.
In his complaint, Ramesh stated that the streaming service promotes “deep-rooted Hinduphobia” and called them out for “portraying the nation in a bad light.” Shows like Sacred Games, Leila, Ghoul and the comedy show Patriot Act hosted by Hasan Minhaj have been thrown under the bus. Ramesh said that these shows are streamed with “the intention to defame the country on a global level.”
His complaint urged the police to “take necessary legal action” against Netflix India for “hurting Hindu sentiments.” An excerpt from the complaint read, “I urge the authorities to look into all of the above-mentioned content and take the necessary steps from summoning their team to cancelling their licenses as deemed fit. One cannot allow an incorrect generalisation based on bogus rhetoric trying to defame a religious minority, that is, Hindu in countries other than India.”
Here is the conversation that has started on Twitter under the hashtag #BanNetflixIndia and all the outrageous comments that followed the hashtag.
While Sacred Games is being called out for having damaged the Guru-Shishya relationship that Hinduism promotes, Laila, which is set in a dystopian India is said to hurt sentiments by showcasing a Hindu nation. Ghoul is being targetted for showing Hindus as terrorists and comedian Hasan Minhaj, an Indian-American Muslim comedian is said to be in trouble for his episode on Patriot Act, which spoke about Indian politics.
In response to this complaint, Patrick Graham, one of the writers for Leila, which is set in a right-wing totalitarian state and talks about power and poverty on a large scale, denied the charge. Patrick said that the “depictions are purely fictional” and that the makers had “not hurt anyone’s sentiments.”
He also told a leading news agency that there was no point in banning stories and works of fictions. “If you want to criticise them then write about it or write another story. You cannot call for a ban on content in a democracy,” Patrick added.
The question that arises is, is it okay to curb freedom of speech and sensor everything that makes it’s way to the internet?
Featured Image: Twitter
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