Morning Encounter 'Moral policing is a fascist act' SANJEEV Khandekar and Vaishali Narkar were the latest to become victims of moral policing by PushpaVidula a psychi­atrist and yoga teacher on Saturday. Khandekar hits back and discusses his future plans as how he will pur­sue this case.The name of your exhibition itself suggests that it would have been a controversial affair. Were you not aware of that and what measures you had taken in this regard? SK: Yes, indeed we did think about it and discussed it over and over again. Even in the poems and the captions, we eliminated the words that would not please the audi­ence. I think we went with what we believed in and apart from incidents here and there both Vaishali and me are pleased with the end result. The police have registered an FIR against you and you will be facing charges in the courtroom. How will you cope up with this matter? SK: First of all, it wasn't right for the police to come and tell us to stop the exhibition. They have no knowledge and expertise. It was a private affair and that lady wasn' t forced to see it. Secondly, I will be pursuing this case in the court of law and explain to the judge that it is wrong to mix art and obscenity. These are two different things. I have already talked to my lawyer Nitin Pradhan and we are dis­cussing our further course of action. Do you think moral policing should be banned? SK: The act of moral policing is very fascist. It is neces­sary to object such thinkers. There should be a way in which people protest. I am not objecting to critics but it has to be constructive in nature. There should be a control on such behaviour. Nobody has liked this act committed by Pushpa Vidula. People have come out in my support. Even on Sunday when we decided to cover all our paint­ings, despite that people came and watched our paint­ings. Do you feel a guideline should be set for artists? SK: This would not be right. An absolute and a big 'no' for this move. No one will welcome 'his decision. We should be free in what we do. Just on one compliant one should not form guidelines. The artist's mind is creative and he should be allowed to express it. People should be well educated in this field to comment on such things. After Tits Clits n Elephant Dick. What is next for San-jeev Khandekar? SK: I will be taking my paintings to Delhi and Bangalore for exhibitions. After that I will start on my next project called 'Mutlis Mutamndis.' Freepress Journal, August 9th 2006