NEW DELHI -- Kamlesh Vaswani is in an enviable position. Even before arguments have concluded in his petition, the government has moved to ban 857 pornographic websites. He is very pleased.
But before he could even imagine the kind of impact his petition would have, he argued hard in the Supreme Court trying to convince it about the ill effects of pornography, going as far as to say it is "worse than nuclear holocaust" and "Hitler". At one point he even says that pop-up ads on porn sites are most annoying and hence they must be banned!
Most of these are assertions that are not backed up by any study or expert opinion.
Vaswani says in his PIL that he is fighting for the fundamental rights of 75 percent Indians who are the "innocent, susceptible, vulnerable women and children of India".
He claims that pornography "is like moral cancer that is eating our entire society at every second across country". He has described it as "a trade more deadly than potassium cyanide".
According to Vaswani, porn is a "plague" that is "worse than any we could imagine" which hampers people's peace of mind, health and wellness, and puts their happiness and human potential at risk. "Most people know someone affected by this plague, the worst killer that has ever been devised," he writes in his PIL.
Porn is a slow killer, he says.
"Nothing can more efficiently destroy a person, fizzle their mind, evaporate their future, eliminate their potential or destroy society like pornography," says the petition. "It is so terrible that many do not even recognize it until it is too late, and most refuse to admit it. It is worse than Hitler, worse than AIDS, cancer or any other epidemic. It is more catastrophic than nuclear holocaust, and it must be stopped."
Vaswani contends that people who watch porn struggle to emulate it in their actual sex lives — only to fail.
"Girls and boys who see pornography feel as if they can never measure up and often struggle to perform like the porn stars they have seen online," he says in the petition.
He argues that a big reason for his overwhelming concern against pornography is the "display of advertisement of pornographic websites without the permission of the viewer". Interestingly, his contention is that these could prove embarrassing in certain gatherings.
"Such uncontrolled display of porn advertisement banners usually come out while browsing the internet at home or business meetings and are sufficient to offend the people browsing internet."
According to Vaswani, making porn illegal and enforcing a total ban "is not a very serious attack on the freedom of speech and expression". He argues that since porn is "neither speech nor expression", but "purely a conduct", it is an anti-societal pursuit.
End of argument.
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But before he could even imagine the kind of impact his petition would have, he argued hard in the Supreme Court trying to convince it about the ill effects of pornography, going as far as to say it is "worse than nuclear holocaust" and "Hitler". At one point he even says that pop-up ads on porn sites are most annoying and hence they must be banned!
Most of these are assertions that are not backed up by any study or expert opinion.
1. PIL for the "innocent, susceptible, vulnerable"
Vaswani says in his PIL that he is fighting for the fundamental rights of 75 percent Indians who are the "innocent, susceptible, vulnerable women and children of India".
2. Porn is "moral cancer"
He claims that pornography "is like moral cancer that is eating our entire society at every second across country". He has described it as "a trade more deadly than potassium cyanide".
3. The "worst killer"
According to Vaswani, porn is a "plague" that is "worse than any we could imagine" which hampers people's peace of mind, health and wellness, and puts their happiness and human potential at risk. "Most people know someone affected by this plague, the worst killer that has ever been devised," he writes in his PIL.
4. "Worse than AIDS or Hitler"
Porn is a slow killer, he says.
"Nothing can more efficiently destroy a person, fizzle their mind, evaporate their future, eliminate their potential or destroy society like pornography," says the petition. "It is so terrible that many do not even recognize it until it is too late, and most refuse to admit it. It is worse than Hitler, worse than AIDS, cancer or any other epidemic. It is more catastrophic than nuclear holocaust, and it must be stopped."
5. Real sex doesn't "measure up"
Vaswani contends that people who watch porn struggle to emulate it in their actual sex lives — only to fail.
"Girls and boys who see pornography feel as if they can never measure up and often struggle to perform like the porn stars they have seen online," he says in the petition.
6. Annoying pop-up ads
He argues that a big reason for his overwhelming concern against pornography is the "display of advertisement of pornographic websites without the permission of the viewer". Interestingly, his contention is that these could prove embarrassing in certain gatherings.
"Such uncontrolled display of porn advertisement banners usually come out while browsing the internet at home or business meetings and are sufficient to offend the people browsing internet."
7. Not an attack on freedom of expression
According to Vaswani, making porn illegal and enforcing a total ban "is not a very serious attack on the freedom of speech and expression". He argues that since porn is "neither speech nor expression", but "purely a conduct", it is an anti-societal pursuit.
8. "Mental images can never be erased"
End of argument.
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