Flashback 2015: Things that were banned in India in 2015

2015 was a pretty unusual year for India as we witnessed multiple bans being doled out in the country. Right from noodles to books and even films like Fifty Shades of Grey, several bans were handed out in the country which did not go down well with the people.

While some praised the ban on beef in states like Maharashtra and Haryana, there were others who mocked at the pornography ban imposed by the government.

Here are a list of bans that were handed out in 2015:

Beef ban in Maharashtra and Haryana

Meat lovers in these two states were in for a rude shock when the state governments banned the sale of beef in the respective states. Many raised a hue and cry and said that 'it was not the government's business to dictate what one should eat?'

Some even questioned if it was okay to ban beef in a secular country like ours? The government banned the slaughter of bulls and bullocks. The punishment for the sale of beef or possession of it could be prison for five years with an additional fine of Rs 10,000.

There was also an argument that the ban could render several people unemployed and prices of other meat products could spiral as people would be forced to buy them.

As of now the beef ban holds good in the both the states though there are multiple hearings in courts that challenge the ban.

Ban on cuss words in Bollywood

It has been an eventful year for Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani. Ever since Nihalani assumed the chair of CBFC chief, matters only went from bad to worse for all filmmakers.

Recently Nihalani was recently in news for chopping a scene from the latest James Bond film 'Spectre'.

Many took to social media to express their displeasure as well as mock at the Censor Board. Even Hollywood hit 'Fifty Shades of Grey' didn't manage to get Nihalani's nod earlier this year.

However, what made the Censor Board a laughing stock was a list of cuss words that was released earlier this year by Nihalani, banning them in the movies.

The list also included the word 'Bombay'. This is with reference to the Government of Maharashtra notification sent out in year 1996 where Mumbai is to be used instead of Bombay.

Nihalani himself is known to direct Hindi films that are loaded with double meaning dialogues and sexual innuendos.

Ban on the release of documentary- India's Daughter

One of the most shocking incidents of rape that shook the entire country was the Delhi gangrape in 2012. Even as there are reports suggesting that the juvenile convict in the case maybe released soon, director Leslee Udwin's documentary 'India's Daughter' faced stiff opposition in the country.

The Indian government decided to ban the documentary from being aired on television. It said that the filmmaker had violated rules and that she failed to comply with them. Some even said that the documentary glorified Mukesh Singh, one of the accused rapist and showed India in bad light.

Despite the ban here, BBC aired the documentary in UK and other countries and even uploaded the film on Youtube but our government was irked by the same and the documentary was pulled down from Youtube.

Banning pornography

One of the most laughable bans in recent times was the ban on pornographic websites in the country. The government blocked 857 websites that displayed pornographic material. As soon as the ban was implemented there was a huge uproar over the same.

However, after facing severe criticism, the government decided to lift ban on websites that do not host child pornography. Whats even worse is that the government released a list of all the websites that had been blocked thereby making it a hilarious case.

Ban on Maggi

One of the most recent bans was on Nestle's Maggi noodles. The moment news got out that Maggi would be pulled down from all supermarkets and even the smallest of shops and its manufacturing would come to a grinding halt, there was absolute mayhem.

All of us who have fondest of childhood memories associated with Maggi thought that it was the end of the world.

Maggi was banned for a brief period after it was found that the two-minute noodle had lead outside the permissible limits.

However, after being out of the market for almost five months Maggi made a huge comeback. There were reports that SnapDeal sold over 60,000 packets of Maggi in ten minutes flat during its re-launch.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Court has asked for more tests on Maggi samples at the behest of the central government.