IF CENSORSHIP, AS A COMPLEX OF DISCIPLINARY ACTS AND practices, is a ‘necessary evil’ in a democracy, then, it is one that needs to be relentlessly resisted and interrogated. The idea of censorship is squarely in need of some rehabilitation – instead of banning books, denying information, putting curbs on artistic initiatives that contest sedimented propositions about morality and re-interpret expressive traditions, the state needs to use its energies to protect voices that go against the grain, challenge accepted truths, and offer multiple opinions. Artists and writers also need to come together to create a vibrant public sphere where debate and discussion allow viewers and readers the opportunity to decide the merits and demerits of art works that politicians and vigilantes hope to manipulate with impunity. Shall we prove equal to this task? This is a question we ask ourselves even as we wonder whether the state will take on one of the biggest challenges it faces – will it protect our right to offend bourgeois sensibilities and offer dissent with as much commitment as it protects their right to take offence?

In their Lead Essays, Lawrence Liang examines the uneasy relationship between art, law, and censorship, as Ranjit Hoskote exhorts artists to shed their naivete and learn to protect their rights as inspired citizens. Shanta Gokhale takes us back to the ’70s and the ’80s, when Ghashiram Kotwal elicited indignant responses from ‘hurt’ audiences; Anirudh Chari interviews Taslima Nasrin about being persecuted by the right-wingers and offers an overview of censorship issues in Bengal. Dilip Chitre holds forth on the constant manipulation of people’s sentiments by fascistic political parties and powers, as Ameya Balsekar explores the currents and cross-currents of the Freedom of Expression debate. Shilpa Phadke, Johny M.L., and Vishwas Kulkarni, give their opinions on obscenity, public goondaism, and representation of gay rights, respectively. Kulkarni also talks to Akbar Padamsee, whose work in 1954 had come under a cloud for being “obscene”. Quddus Mirza looks at art in the time of Zia-ul-Haq even as he writes from Pakistan, where a state of Emergency has been declared by Pervez Musharraf. Sandhya Bordewekar revisits the incident in May, when members of the moral police disrupted the working of the F.F.A, M. S. U., Baroda, because of an artwork put up by a student. She interviews the student, S. Chandramohan; the suspended Dean, Shivaji K. Panikkar; and the artist and educator, Gulammohammed Sheikh. In a Special Report, Sandhya Bordewekar interviews eleven artists from Baroda about the state of siege that the art community finds itself in. In the Panel Discussion, Rashid Rana, Shilpa Gupta, Rashmi Poddar, Rehan Ansari, and Shaina Anand, discuss the various equations between art, morality, politics, and representation. In the Showcase, we carry a touching tribute to M. F. Husain by Parthiv Shah.

As always, we carry reviews and reports of important national and international exhibitions.

We hope you find this issue thought-provoking.

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