Ali Merchant wedding in Bigg Boss or the suicide of a former participant of Rakhi Sawant's Rakhi ka Insaaf, controversies are never ending with the Indian reality shows. Now with the government banning the reality television shows to be aired during the prime time, the debate has already started among the public - Are these shows cultural destroyers? and Is the government interference justified? The reality of the reality shows has been questioned by many from its beginning. These new age entertainment recipes are often called as a melange of reality and fiction. Many believe that they are simply scripted and exaggerated just for the entertainment value.

The mental shock and behavioral changes the reality shoes casts on its participants and the viewers are real hard to accept. The nine year old boy, Chandan Singh, hanged himself accidentally while imitating a stunt on the show. He was reported to be an avid watcher of MTV's 'Roadies'. Shinjini Sengupta became paralyzed after she was eliminated from a reality show. Of late, Laxman Aharwar, a former participant of Rakhi Sawant's reality television show Rakhi Ka Insaaf, committed suicide allegedly after being humiliated on the show. These are just a small part of the larger story and we cannot anticipate what would be the future.

Making mockery of human emotions for TRP cannot be justified. Many believe that these shows do not represent a creative expression but impart a negative mindset to the younger generation. They encourage and justify the atavistic desire of humans to peep and pry into other people's personal lives and the trend they set is that one's victory should be over the humiliation of other. These shows only portrait the dark shades of human behaviour which is pernicious and morally unacceptable. A large part of the society thus believes that these are increasingly becoming the nurseries of cruelty.

However, these shows are the most popular shows with the highest TRPs. As a matter of fact, one can argue that these private channels are not in the business of promoting culture, but are for making money. Although Star Plus has roped in Akshay Kumar for its Master Chef, a cooking reality show, Bigg Boss and Rakhi ka Insaaf has the most viewership. This is just an example of the fact that only sex and fear sells and the entertainment media find this as the right business model.

The facts such as the media do not show anything until there are enough takers and it does not impose any shows on anybody, question the argument that these kinds of shows degrade the cultural values. It should also be noted that the viewers are wise enough to distinguish between what is good and bad. Culture for many is very much individualistic and personal and they feel that if the reality shows are gaining grounds which sells sex, then these too are being slowly accepted by the culture. In such a scenario, the intervention of the government is seen a result of orthodox blindness and denial of recognition of truth.

While some argue that some of the present-day reality shows are cultural destroyers and the kids are morally polluted by these, others say that the parents should take responsibility for what their kids watch rather than being hypocritic. However, while shows such as Big Boss, Rakhi ka Insaaf, Emotional Atyachar, Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka, Splitsville, Rakhi ka Swayamvar and Sach Ka Saamna are becoming super hit among the Indian youth, the young bloods do not forget that television is a great source of knowledge that encompasses everything like values, morals, academic learning etc and they should not miss that part. It is at the discretion of the public to decide whether or not these shows are cultural destroyers and whether the government should interfere and decide what is decent enough and what is not.