BAN

I came across an article on “ban on alcohol” for people below 25 years of age. This actor, who’s the latest heartthrob in Bollywood coz of his latest movie, had commented on it. Well, I found most of his comments quite logical. If the age limit to get married is 18 (women & 21 for men), get a learner’s license  to drive is 16, to vote is 18, child labour is 14 again, then what sense does it make to increase the age bar to 25 to choose your drink?

Like that’s gonna help…People who wanna drink, they sure will..no matter what, right? I’ve heard about stories wherein people booze in a dry state like Gujarat, obviously not in public, but yeah it is sourced from the bootleggers in Gujarat..No matter what the ban, there is a way…coz there is a strong will behind it……;-) What’s the point in banning booze till 25? What happens at 25? Do you suddenly become wiser and drink sanely? The only point is, the more you ban the youth, the more they will get curious about the banned thing. They are young, energetic, enthusiastic, experimenting, and daring. They will find their way in case they want to get what they want. India is a different state today. Youngsters at 22 years are already drawing thrice as much as their dad’s last drawn salary. They are financially independent, confident, and intelligently arrogant! They do not need a license till 25 to booze if they think a couple of drinks are justified after working hard for five days. Infact, I feel that criminal offences will go on a rise in case their activities are policed because of such lame bans!

I think these are government’s weird acts that it undertakes when they see people having a lot of fun and earning a lot of money. This is a license for all the cops to earn more than their stipulated (rather meager) government salaries. Yes, it can be understood as to getting the legal marriage age to a certain level, as it is more to do with the physical aspects of the boy as well as the girl. Then again, a reality check!!! There are these surveys that are carried out by a lot of agencies…I was shocked to see the percentage of guys and gals who lose their virginity at an age as young as 12!!! Well, I am not saying that there should be any alteration in the legal age to get married, but I hope the government knows its demographics well and what’s going on with them!!! I think it will help them in a better way to make laws and enforce bans!

Bans are a common thing in a country which boasts to be the world’s biggest “democracy”….Ban on songs, ban on films, ban on minimum age to do something, ban on smoking at public places (without having adequate smoking rooms for smokers)..Recently, this movie by Prakash Jha, Aarakshan was banned in some states in India as it had some provocative dialogues…!!! If a certain movie hurts someone’s sentiments, then it makes sense to enforce a ban, e.g. Jodha Akbar was banned in Rajasthan as it had derogatory remarks about Rajputs…Justified! The movie Aarakshan revolves around the quota system introduced in India after the Mandal commission’s ruling. I believe the directors just tried to showcase the kind of problems or conversations that would have taken place in between different classes of people when this ruling was passed by the Supreme Court….Why take it so seriously?

Why can’t the government let people decide what they want to take from a movie? It is just a mode of entertainment…What percentage of people go in a cinema hall to learn about Mandal commission or for that matter any other controversial topic that a director has chosen as his plot for the movie?

Well, I understand that there is a difference in between rights and duties of people in a democratic society, but why not let people choose it? Isn’t democracy by and for the people? Freedom of speech, expression, right to information etc. is definitely to be carried out with responsibility….and I feel that citizen of India, today, is getting matured by the day, or atleast I hope so….