Unnecessary Hue and Cry

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 12 February 2025 One insignificant podcaster Ranveer Allahabadia is being roasted for his incestuous remark, “Watch your parents have sex..." While he must be condemned in no uncertain terms for his irresponsible comment, it also engenders a host of questions: Why do some individuals resort to saying such obnoxious things in public and why is our sexual morality so fragile? It's obvious that they're jolly well aware that such things sell. To be precise, sex sells, vulgarity attracts and nudity gets huge publicity in India. (Ranveer Allahabadia) A large number of people love ribald and bawdy jokes. Read the books and jokes of Khushwant Singh. The Sardar of smut cracked jokes which were even more explicit and scandalizing than what Ranveer said. Here, I'm not defending him. The point is: People love scabrous and salacious jokes, comments and statements. We're living in too open and vulgar times. Abuses are common. Even girls and women abuse and use four letter words nonchalantly. Comedians like Allahabadia are good observers of people and their likes and dislikes. These comedians know that a majority of people in sex-starved India don't, rather can't, appreciate clean jokes and attic humour. That this time he made an extremely tasteless comment is an error of judgement on his part. Our general linguistic and conversational crassness allows such people to crack unhealthy and anatomical jokes. That said, stringent criticism is enough. But nationwide public outcry is unnecessary. We've a lot more important and pressing issues. Instead of attending to them, we're discussing and wasting time on a small fry's vulgar statement and toilet humour. We seem to have lost sight of our priorities and become a country of indolent lotus eaters, ready to take umbrage at the drop of a hat. This also underlines our propensity to amplify trivial issues. In fact, hardly anyone was aware of Ranveer Allahabadia's existence prior to this issue. This episode and negative publicity have got him some sort of a recognition that he doesn't deserve at all. The US President Trump sent back a bunch of illegal Indian immigrants handcuffed. The whole world is a witness to that humiliating spectacle. That's not a national issue but what an oaf says on a public platform is a subject of national interest! Crores of 'devout' Hindus are polluting the water of Ganga and wreaking havoc on our ecological system. But that's a matter of Aastha (faith). To criticise that will be tantamount to blasphemy. Indians are really great people. Moreover, our frivolous media is adding fuel to the fire. It's a veritable jamboree. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/unnecessary-hue-cry-allahabadia/d/134588 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism