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Someone Accidentally Played Porn During an Indian Government Meeting

And everyone’s making it a bigger deal than they should.
Shamani Joshi
Mumbai, IN
Porn Indian government officials meeting
Photo via Shutterstock

As kids, chances are we’ve all had this awkward moment. We were squeezed on a sofa with the fam, watching something that seemed super PG-13, but then shit went down. The actors started smooching or the actress suddenly stripped—steamy visuals served with a side of intense moaning. And suddenly, an air of uncomfortable silence overcame the environment. No one would dare so much as even glance at anyone, because no “self-respecting” family is supposed to smile or shrug it off or say anything at all when it comes to sex. But then you grow up and laugh while looking back at the repressive immaturity of it all.

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However, something similar happened at a government officials' meeting in Rajasthan that turned senior government officials into the awkward teenagers we all once were real quick.

On Monday, at a meeting of the Rajasthan Food and Civic Supplies Department, a porn clip suddenly started playing. And everyone took it way too seriously. The meeting that was happening via video conference with 33 district and department officials in attendance, was in the midst of a heated discussion on the various food schemes when the screen filled up with a sex scene. This went on for about two minutes before the technical team could come and stop it.

The meeting was chaired by Mugdha Singh—the secretary of the department—at the National Informatics Centre (NIC) Room at the Secretariat on June 3. Singh was so aghast at the “obscene clip” that she immediately informed the Director to look into the matter. She even added that severe action would be taken against whoever was found guilty.

According to the Indian Express, the initial investigation suggests that the porn clip was on one of the privately sourced laptops that were brought in for the conference, and played accidentally on the big screen.

Now, we get it: getting together to collectively watch porn isn’t exactly on top of the day’s agenda for government officials. And while it’s totally normal to watch it within the confines of one’s bedroom, it’s totally not okay for it to penetrate into government gatherings. And given that Indian government officials have been caught watching porn while at work many times over the years, it’s kinda expected that no one’s going to take it lying down. But calling it a serious matter worthy of an entire investigation shifts the focus and resources away from important issues like how to handle the current heat wave, the agrarian crisis or the rising rate of employment.

Even jokes aside, this incident seems more like a harmless prank, meant to ignite laughter and not anger. So attributing a scandalised sentiment to it kinda feels like it’s being blown out of proportion.

Because in a country where people watch porn to learn about pleasure, consent and how to fuck because they can’t really talk dirty out in the open, should we really be slut-shaming our basic access to understanding intercourse? Because even though it’s not the coolest clip to play in a room full of government officials, it’s high time we shake off the stereotype that it’s wrong and embarrassing, regardless of your gender. Hey, at least with porn you’re watching people fuck each other instead of fuck with your country.

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