I am a free bird at heart, who finds nothing shameful about walking around in the streets at midnight with my male friend. But for those wearing their own version of Indian culture as a mask, I am bringing defame to the society. I am the big blot of shame on their otherwise holy and pure Indian culture. I and my male friend deserve to get our faces blackened and ride on donkeys because we are sinners of walking around peacefully, doing our own thing, minding our own business.
And you know what, I am proud to be the big blot of shame. If they can’t change their perception of what nice and right should be, somebody else has to. And I am more than willing to be that sensible somebody who holds no qualms in saying that if there is something that needs to be banned right away, it is Moral Policing.
The acts of moral policing that continue to haunt the liberated ones, the RIGHT ones, are:-
They go around on their field missions in search of those celebrating LOVE. In a pure villain like fashion, they tie the cloth piece around their neck and get down to some ‘ritual cleansing,’ by slapping, stabbing and beating LOVE.
On one hand, they say India is a peace loving country. On the other hand, within their own country, they create havoc and kill peace of those minding their own business in streets, pubs & bars, hotels, and anywhere they spot activities that they deem misfit for Indian culture. Internally, though, they seem determined on the notion ‘If I don’t have a life, I won’t let others have it either.’
They threaten girls with warnings of acid attacks if they find them wearing clothes that are not exactly rule abiding, because how else would they be recognized as women, and how else would they respect tradition.
They say premarital sex is a sin, and who made them the boss of what our right and wrong is? Also, they take pride in the most erotic of mural depictions of Khajuraho (they should, it was our creation after all), but then what gives them the right to call premarital sex immoral?
They attack art-exhibitions because according to them art, which rightly is a vast sea of free expressions, must comply by the rules & regulations of Indian Culture.
To give weight to our angst against moral policing is the old story of the even more old laws that define obscenity in India
– In the law book (if that’s what it is called) of India, Sections 292 to 294 are framed to deal with ‘obscenity.’ And the catch here is not their definition of what obscene is, but the fact that most of these laws date back to the times when we served as work animals for the British, precisely, to 1860.– Shockingly enough, it was not until 1969, when condom ads, scientific material, art, and religious beliefs were excluded from the list of all things obscene that were included in Section 292.
– Section 293 deals with the sale of obscene material to people aged under 20, which is still considerable, unless of course their definition of obscene material includes condoms!
– Section 294 deals with obscene acts and songs. And the only thing that comes to my mind on this is something that comes to the mind of all of you. India- The land of Kamasutra; India- The land of Khajuraho temples; India- The land of double standards. Sad, but true. 🙁
– Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, is an important one as it tackles human trafficking issues. But for the police, at times it also includes invading the privacy of and running out consenting individuals from hotel rooms.
But the main question remains put; what is the real definition of obscenity? Turns out, there is none. And if you want to slap me in the face with examples of how indecent PDA is, then my dear friend it is your INTERPRETATION of what is obscene. Not a strict definition that has to be followed by all.
And there have been varied INTERPRETATIONS of obscenity by the folks from the past, which wearing the jacket of Indian culture, were framed into laws. And guess what, your interpretations need to be reworked. And why you wonder?
Because…
– Being in a hotel room with our partner is not a crime. We pay to hire a room, we pay to enjoy OUR OWN private time.
– Your right and wrong cannot define ours.
– We know the fine line between committing a crime and being ourselves. For those of us who don’t, are entailed to legal actions, and NOT MORAL POLICING.
And finally,
Because my Indian Culture does not say that sticks of hate are righteous over roses of love. My Indian Culture means this,
Contrary to popular notions, there is nothing called backward or Indian culture oriented thinking. There is only ‘free thinking’ and ‘wrong actions.’
Moral Police, am I audible to you?