{"id":1936,"date":"2010-03-26T10:37:26","date_gmt":"2010-03-26T17:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=1936"},"modified":"2010-03-26T10:37:26","modified_gmt":"2010-03-26T17:37:26","slug":"human-rights-sovereign-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2010\/rights-and-freedoms\/human-rights-sovereign-rights.html\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights > Sovereign Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chinese government raised an interesting point over Google’s withdrawal. They claim that censorship is part of “Chinese culture” and that by promoting open information, the west is trying to impose their morals onto the east. According to them, an open society isn’t a better society. It’s just one type<\/em> of society and that theirs is different. Their constant cry so far has been “obey local laws.”<\/p>\n

The topic may have been done to death in the Indian blogosphere – what with the furor over M F Husain’s paintings<\/a> and all. But this new logic needs to be addressed, where an entire country claims that they have the right to do anything to their citizens because “that’s their culture.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Human<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>
Human Rights bigger than sovereign rights<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

But is it really possible to defend oppression in the name of culture? Can the Chinese government claim that because it’s their country, they can do whatever they want to the people? When the Indian moral brigade begins to attack “westernization”, they attack freedom of speech, freedom of expression, sexual freedom and many others. Should a government be allowed to violate human rights just because “their country is different?”<\/p>\n

A person is born into the world alone. They have just one<\/em> shot at life. And when they die, they go alone. They don’t take their relatives, their wealth, and neither do they take their government with them. And because they live and die alone, they owe allegiance to no one<\/strong> unless they choose otherwise. How then, does anyone else<\/em> have the right to decide for them what is acceptable and what is not? Sure, if they freely give others that right then that’s their choice. But when a government tries to impose rules and restriction on people, it violates not just human rights, but basic common sense.<\/p>\n

Many Chinese seem to support the notion that censorship is the way of Chinese life. But why do these people speak for every human inside China? If they personally want to be censored, then no one should stop them. But by what right do they claim that others<\/em> should follow what they think is the proper way to live? Many Indians feel that M F Husain’s paintings should be banned as well. They want to transfer responsibility for what they can see onto the government.<\/p>\n

But it’s a person’s own<\/em> responsibility to decide what is good for them and what isn’t. If they wish to hand it over to the government, good for them. However, let them not demand that others hand over theirs<\/em>. In my short life on this earth, I don’t need any busybodies telling me what I should and shouldn’t do and what I can see.<\/p>\n

So to conclude, here is the finally summary for the mathematically inclined:<\/p>\n

Human Rights > Sovereign rights<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Human Rights > Culture and morals<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This should really be the last word on the subject now. The charade has gone on for far too long. Fortunately we in India have a pretty cool Supreme Court that seems to “get it.” The latest judgment on the issue of pre marital sex was totally awesome!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China’s assertion that censorship is a part of “Chinese culture” is a hogwash. Human rights trump the sovereign rights of any nation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rights-and-freedoms"],"yoast_head":"\nHuman Rights > Sovereign Rights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"China's assertion that censorship is a part of "Chinese culture" is a hogwash. 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