50 years of ‘obscenity’

17 November 2010

It is fifty years since obscenity trial verdict of D. H Lawrence’s ‘Lady Chatterly’s Lover’ -one of the first victories in the fight for freedom of expression for writers.

When D. H Lawrence died in 1930, he was dismissed unkindly as a ‘pornographer who had wasted h is considerable talents’. Since then, his reputation has undergone a change. Even though his views on women, sexuality etc are still subjects of heated debate, Lawrence has long  been acknowledged as one of English literature’s greatest writers, and his popularity has grown with time; each generation relating to his works in different ways.

Lawrence’s legacy is not restricted to his literary works alone. Decades after his death, he became the centre of a court case that opened up a world-wide debate on restrictions on freedom of expression in the name of ‘decency’. The case surrounded Lady Chatterly’s lover- Lawrence’s 1928 Novel on the love affair between an aristocratic woman and lower class man. The Novel which was subjected to severe censorship when it was first published due to its stark depiction of sex was brought out in its original by Penguin publishers in 1959, inviting an obscenity trial. The trial ended in a verdict in favour of Penguin. The verdict made it possible for publishers to escape conviction if they could show that a work was of literary merit. Penguin published Lady Chatterly’s lover, obscenity and all on November 10, 1960- a day that is celebrated as water shed event in the fight for freedom of expression.

It wasn’t until 1971 and the trial and subsequent acquittal of the Oz magazine (in Britain again) on obscenity charges that freedom to print what was considered explicit matter extended to ‘non-literary’ publications as well.

Fifty years since the trial and eighty since Lawrence’s death, freedom of expression and obscenity laws are till at logger heads almost everywhere in the world. And while Lawrence has gained his share of admirers with time, it would seem that freedom of expression has not.

In India, writers tried for obscenity include Sadat Husain Manto, widely praised as one twentiest century’s greatest short story writers. Manto who is often compared to D. H Lawrence, was dragged to court six times in his short, poverty striken life- three times in British India and the rest in Pakistan where he moved to after independence. Manto’s friend and contemporary Ismat Chugtai was tried for obscenity in 1944 for her portrayal of lesbian love in her story Lihaf (The Quilt). Later many writers, Kamala Das for her frank portrayal of love, sex and the hypocrisy of a conservative society was hounded out of her home state of Kerala for ‘obscene’ writings. Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen, Hindi novelist Mridula Garg and even Booker winner Arundhati Roy have been slapped with obscenity allegations during their career.