Pornography in India

A map showing pornography laws of Asia.
  Fully legal
  Partially legal, under some restrictions, or ambiguous status
  Illegal
  Data unavailable

Pornography in India is restricted and illegal in all form including print media, electronic media, and digital media (OTT).[1] Hosting, displaying, uploading, modifying, publishing, transmitting, storing, updating or sharing pornography is illegal in India.[2][3]

India's Supreme Court said, OTT regulation is a necessity as some OTT even showing nudity, obscenity and even porn, because of the absence of any proper rules and regulation.[4][5]

On 22 August 2023, Government of India assured that it will bring rules and regulation to check vulgar and obscene content on social media and OTT platforms.[6][7][8]

On 10 November 2023, MIB India introduces the 'Broadcasting Service Regulation Bill', Which will regulate the content of OTT platforms with programme code and content evaluation committee, who will check the content and provide the certificate for every content before publishing online. Currently consultation is ongoing on this bill till 15 January 2024.[9][10]

On 14 March 2024, MIB India has banned 18 OTT apps from Google play store and suspended their all 57 social media accounts including Facebook ID, Instagram ID, YouTube channel etc and closed 19 streaming websites. I&B ministry said that, these OTT platforms were making vulgar and obscene content with nudity and unethical storyline. And some of them were showing even Softporn and porn as a webseries, and they all were violating the IT Rules 2021, IT Act section 292, 293, section 67 A and Indecent representation of women (prohibition) act. The banned platform were MoodX, Prime Play, Hunters, Besharams, Rabbit movies, Voovi, Fugi, Mojflix, Chikooflix, Nuefliks, Xtramood, Neon X VIP, X Prime, Tri Flicks, Uncut Adda, Dreams Films, Hot Shots VIP, Yessma.[11][12][13]

Art work portraying Kama in Hindu temples. These works depicted courtship, amorous couples in intimacy (maithuna), or a sex position. Viewed with a spiritual outlook, sexual arousal is believed to indicate the embodying of the divine.[a] Above: Temples in India and Nepal (c. 400 – c. 1400 CE).
Woman on top
Group sex
Double penetration
Examples of illustrations depicting human sexual activities. From the ancient Indian Sanskrit text Kama Sutra (c. 200 – c. 300 CE).

Legality[edit]

  • The selling and distribution of pornographic material is illegal in India under section 292.[18]
  • The distribution, sale, or circulation of obscene materials and the selling of pornographic content to any person under age 20 years are illegal under section 293 and IT Act-67B.[19]
  • Child pornography is illegal and strictly prohibited across the country under section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000[20]
  • The manufacturing, publishing and distribution of pornography is illegal in India under section 292, 293.[21]
  • In 2022, the DOT has banned 63 Porn websites as per the IT Act (Amendment), 2021.[22][23][24]

Types of publication[edit]

Print[edit]

Studies have found that print media is less widely accessible than internet media in India. A randomized survey of 96 random vendors, such as video stores, mobile downloads/recharge stores and cybercafés, in Haryana, India found that 17% displayed pornography openly, 34% displayed it semi-openly, and 49% kept it hidden.[25] It is possible that cultural taboos[26] and legal issues (such as those described below) make it more desirable to view pornography in India through internet mediums, such as computers or smartphones, for more privacy.[27]

Internet[edit]

Sherlyn Chopra (left) was and Poonam Pandey (right) is very active on adult platform OnlyFans.

Internet pornography has become very popular in India with from 30% up to 70% of total traffic from porn websites. It has become a major portion of traffic and source of data revenue for telecom companies.[28][27] A popular porn site released viewership data and national capital Delhi recorded up to 40% of all traffic.[29]

One self reporting survey found that 63% of youths in urban areas such as Haryana reported watching pornography, with 74% accessing it through their mobile phones.[25] As smartphone and internet access in India continues to increase, more people will be able to privately view pornography.[30] Quartz has found that 50% of Indian IP addresses accessed popular pornography websites on mobile phones. Online erotic comics have also become popular in India as the internet becomes more readily available to the common citizen.[31]

Judicial opinion[edit]

In July 2015 the Supreme Court of India refused to allow the blocking of pornographic websites and said that watching pornography indoors in the privacy of one's own home was not a crime.[32]

Again in 2015, DOT has banned 857 pornographic websites and lifted the ban again and has asked the ISPs to ban only such websites where there is child pornography.[33][34][35]

The Supreme Court of India, in Khoday Distilleries Ltd. and Ors. v. State of Karnataka and Ors. - (1995) 1 SCC 574, held that there is no fundamental right to carry on business of exhibiting and publishing pornographic or obscene films and literature.[36]

Kamlesh Vaswani vs. Union of India and ors in 2013 (diary 5917, 2013), a PIL petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on pornography in India.[37] The Court issued a notice to the central government of India and sought its response. The government informed the Court that the Cyber Regulation Advisory Committee constituted under Section 88 of the IT Act, 2000 was assigned with a brief with regard to availability of pornography on the Internet and it was looking into the matter.[37]

On 26 January 2016, the Supreme Court in written order, instructed govt "to suggest the ways and means so that these activities are curbed. The innocent children cannot be made prey to these kind of painful situations, and a nation, by no means, can afford to carry any kind of experiment with its children in the name of liberty and freedom of expression. When we say nation, we mean each member of the collective".[38]

The Supreme court has said that it can't stop an adult from viewing pornography or sexually explicit material in private space citing Article 21[right to personal liberty] of the Indian constitution.[39]

Prajwala Letter dated 18.2.2015 VIDEOS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS, a suo moto PIL was admitted in Supreme Court (Diary No.- 6818 - 2015). Prajwala NGO pleaded to court to stop rampant circulation of rape videos through mobile application WhatsApp. Supreme court has ordered CBI probe to find and arrest the culprits clearly visible in the rape videos.[40]

Socio-cultural attitudes[edit]

Many sex related topics, such as pornography, are considered taboo in traditional Indian households.[26] This trend seems to be rapidly changing, especially in urbanized cities. Researchers have found that the primary sex education of youth born in the 1990s onwards in India comes from pornography and conversations amongst their peers, which has been known to cause long term sexual anxiety and frustration in other cultures where youth learn sexual attitudes from pornography.[41] However, due to the internet and increased access for the common citizen, pornography has slowly entered the public discourse, most notably with the outrage towards a 2015 government order to censor 857 websites that contained explicit materials.[42]

Homosexual pornography[edit]

Homosexual pornography is not widely available in print, due to the socio-culture taboo surrounding both pornography and homosexuality (see LGBT culture in India). However, Indian IP addresses access both lesbian and gay porn using the internet, with a 213% increase in searches for gay porn from 2013 to 2014.[43] Additionally, the most popular search for pornography amongst females in India, centers on lesbian and gay pornography.

Violence[edit]

Important people[who?] in media have argued that censoring pornography would decrease rapes in India. There has not been a link between pornography being a significant factor in the rate of crime and violence in India.[44] On the contrary, in other countries, increased availability of porn has been correlated with lower rates of sexual violence.[45][46][47]

Sex[edit]

Some studies have speculated that pornography influences sex work in India.[48][49][50] For instance, one study of 555 female sex workers found that 45% self-reported pornographic influence driving clientele desire for anal sex.[49] In another study, female sex workers reported being asked to perform new sexual acts such as anal sex, masturbation and different sex positions, requests that they believed were due to an increased exposure to pornography.[50] The implications of such work is currently unclear for public health policy in India.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Perhaps no culture has cultivated sexual pleasure as a spiritual ideal to the extent of the ancient Hindus of India. From the fifth century ce onward, temples show sculptures of gods, nymphs, and ordinary people in erotic poses. Hindu sexual practices were codified in a sex manual, the Kama Sutra, which illustrates sexual positions, some of which would challenge a contortionist. It also holds recipes for alleged aphrodisiacs. This manual is believed to have been written sometime between the third and fifth centuries ce, when Christianity was ascending in the West. In its graphic representations of sexual positions and practices, the Kama Sutra reflected the Hindu belief that sex was a religious duty, not a source of shame or guilt.[14] Spiritual liberation is said to be a great bliss (ananda) that is the result of the internalization and transcendence of the very same sexual fire that is experienced in limited amounts through sexual engagement. Ultimately, for Hindus, sexuality is not one thing and spirituality another. They are, rather, two aspects of the very same fire, a fire that both gives rise to life and makes possible its transcendence. Or, one might say that they are but two names for a single internal river, which, has the capacity to flow in two directions.[15] Bhartrihari is a true representative of Indian culture in his extreme views on sex and renunciation. ... In his Sringarasataka {verse 19} he says: "In the worthless and changeable world, learned men should either pass their days in drinking the nectar of spiritual knowledge or devote themselves to the pleasant enjoyment of women, whose breasts and buttocks are both hard and thick set and whose hips and loins are fully developed and extended." ... The poet considers the sensual pleasures as the ultimate end of heaven which is reserved for the fortunate few [verse 57].[16] For Tantra the greatest energy was sexual and the sexual organs represented cosmic powers, as symbolized in the linga of Shiva. Some yogis worshipped their own linga, with full ritual, and sexual arousal indicated the coming of the divine presence. The snake was naturally a symbol of sexual power, in the kundalini and other concepts. Similarly the female yoni was worshipped, and many sculptures depicted not only the female body but its prominent genitals. Sexual intercourse (maithuna) of any kind was treated in a ritual fashion, between husband and wife, or different partners, or with a temple girl. Sexual union was transformed into a ceremonial through which the human couple became a divine pair.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "OTT platforms have freedom for creativity not obscenity: Anurag Thakur". India Today. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. ^ "IT Act Amendment 2021" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Explained: Laws Related To Pornography In India". IndiaTimes. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  4. ^ "OTT regulations a necessity as some even show porn, says SC". Hindustan Times. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  5. ^ "'No teeth': SC wants stricter OTT rules". Hindustan Times. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Centre To Bring Rules To Check Vulgar Content On Social Media And OTT Platforms". English Jagran. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Centre To Bring Rules To Check Vulgar Content On Social Media, Streaming Platforms". NDTV.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  8. ^ Tripathi, Rituraj; Hindi, India TV (22 August 2023). "OTT प्लेटफ़ाॅर्म पर अश्लील काॅन्टेंट परोसने के मुद्दे पर केंद्र सरकार ने कह दी बड़ी बात।(Trans. The Central Government said a big thing on the issue of showing obscene content on the OTT platforms.)". India TV Hindi (in Hindi). Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Proposes Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Key features of the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023". The Indian Express. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Government blocks 18 OTT platforms, 10 apps for vulgar content". The Indian Express. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  12. ^ "18 OTT platforms blocked by I&B ministry over vulgar content: Xtramood, Uncut Adda, Besharams…". Hindustan Times. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Government bans 18 OTT platforms, 19 websites, 10 apps and 57 social media accounts for showing obscene and pornographic content". The Times of India. 14 March 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  14. ^ Rathus, Nevid & Fichner-Rathus 2018, p. 13.
  15. ^ Lidke 2003, p. 110.
  16. ^ Desai 1975, pp. 187–188.
  17. ^ Parrinder 1996, p. 36-37.
  18. ^ "Section 292 in The Indian Penal Code". indiankanoon.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Section 293 in The Indian Penal Code". indiankanoon.org. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Central Government Act: Section 67 [B] in The Information Technology Act, 2000". Indian Kanoon. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  21. ^ Rajak, Brajesh (2011) [2011]. Pornography Laws: XXX Must not be Tolerated. In order to curb this Jio has blocked around 827 pornographic sites in Oct 2018 (Paperback ed.). Delhi: Universal Law Co. p. 61. ISBN 978-81-7534-999-5.
  22. ^ "857 porn sites banned in India; Govt plans ombudsman for Net content". FE Tech Bytes. 27 December 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Here is the full list of 827 porn websites blocked by DoT". The Indian Express. 29 October 2018. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  24. ^ "63 porn sites banned by the govt; check full list of names". Business Today. 30 September 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  25. ^ a b Ravi Shankar, (2012). NU (DE) MEDIA: A PRELIMINARY STUDY INTO THE YOUNG PEOPLES' ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY THROUGH THE NEW MEDIA. Indian Streams Research Journal, Vol. II, Issue. IV, http://isrj.org/UploadedData/975.pdf
  26. ^ a b Verma, R. K., & Mahendra, V. S. (2004). Construction of masculinity in India: A gender and sexual health perspective. Journal of Family Welfare, 50, 71–78.
  27. ^ a b Raj, Sony J.; Menon, Devadas (December 2023). "Porn Tube sites: How do gratifications, interactivity and contextual age predict usage and addiction in India?". Science Talks. 8: 100272. doi:10.1016/j.sctalk.2023.100272. ISSN 2772-5693.
  28. ^ Ghosh, Shauvik (4 August 2015). "Oops, Indian ISPs, telcos could lose 30-70% of data revenue because of porn ban". Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  29. ^ Mohammed, Syed (7 April 2016). "Indians love 'desi' porn, Delhi tops with 39% traffic - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  30. ^ Shaik S, Rajkumar RP. Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India. Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences. 2015 Mar 8.
  31. ^ "Meet India's first porn star". Public Radio International. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  32. ^ "It's legal to watch porn in the privacy of your house, says SC". Hindustan Times. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  33. ^ "India porn ban: How the government was forced to reverse course". BBC News. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Banned: Complete list of 857 porn websites blocked in India". Deccan Chronicle. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  35. ^ "India lifts porn ban after widespread outrage". BBC News. 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Khoday Distilleries Ltd. and Ors. v. State of Karnataka and Ors. - (1995) 1 SCC 574". 1, Law Street. Supreme Court of India. 19 October 1989. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  37. ^ a b Mohit Singh (10 July 2015). "Kamlesh Vaswani v. Union of India & Ors. (Pornography ban matter)". 1, Law Street. Retrieved 27 November 2015.[permanent dead link]
  38. ^ "Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 177/2013" (PDF). Supreme Court of India. 26 February 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2018.
  39. ^ "Can't stop an adult from watching porn in his room, says SC". The Hindu. 8 July 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  40. ^ "Suo Motu W.P.(Crl.)No(s).3/2015" (PDF). Supreme Court of India. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2018.
  41. ^ Abraham, L. (2001). Redrawing the Lakshman rekha: Gender differences and cultural constructions in youth sexuality in urban India. South Asia, 24, 133–156.
  42. ^ Khomami, Nadia (5 August 2015). "India lifts ban on internet pornography after criticism". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  43. ^ "Everything you wanted to know about how India watches porn in one map and five charts". 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  44. ^ S.B. Math, B. Viswanath, A.S. Maroky, N.C. Kumar, A.V. Cherian, M.C. Nirmala. Sexual crime in India: is it influenced by pornography? Indian J Psychol Med, 36 (2014), pp. 147–152
  45. ^ Kutchinsky, Berl (1973). "The Effect of Easy Availability of Pornography on the Incidence of Sex Crimes: The Danish Experience". Journal of Social Issues. 29 (3): 163–181. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1973.tb00094.x. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  46. ^ Diamond, Milton; Uchiyama, Ayako (1999). "Pornography, rape, and sex crimes in Japan". International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 22 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1016/S0160-2527(98)00035-1. PMID 10086287. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  47. ^ Diamond, Milton; Jozifkova, Eva; Weiss, Petr (2011). "Pornography and sex crimes in the Czech Republic". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 40 (5): 1037–1050. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9696-y. PMID 21116701. S2CID 19381087. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  48. ^ Bradley, J., Rajaram, S. P., Isac, S., Gurav, K., Ramesh, B. M., Gowda, C., Moses, S., & Alary, M. (2015). Pornography, Sexual Enhancement Products and Sexual Risk of Female Sex Workers and their Clients in Southern India. Archives of sexual behavior, 1-10.
  49. ^ a b Tucker, S., Krishna, R., Prabhakar, P., Panyam, S., & Anand, P. (2012). Exploring dynamics of anal sex among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS, 33(1), 9–15.
  50. ^ a b Beattie, T. S. H., Bradley, J. E., Vanta, U. D., Lowndes, C. M., & Alary, M. (2013). Vulnerability re-assessed: The changing face of sex work in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. AIDS Care, 25, 378–384. doi:10.1080/ 09540121.2012.701726.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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