Moral Policing : A Key Issue in 2009 Elections

"Moral Policing," this term has beckoned a lot of hog light for the past 4-5 years in India, albeit for all sorts of abominable reasons. A lot of young Indians as they get ready to vote are discussing moral policing and considering it as one of the crucial factors in deciding their representative in the 15th Lok Sabha.

The reason for writing this article just before the 3rd phase of 2009 elections kicks off is because Mangalore, one of the constituncies in the state of Karnataka goes on polls on 30th April. Mangalore, that rings a lot of bells...right? Yes, it is the city where one of the latest and heinous acts of moral policing happened on January 24th, 2009. A group of 40 members of an extremist outfit 'Shri Ram Sena' barged a local pub Amnesia and roughed up many young women on the grounds of violating traditional Indian values.

This was not the first instance of moral policing in India. Late Pramod Navalkar a former minister in the 1994-95 Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra is known to have started the moral policing and is also called as Mumbai's first moral policemen. Valentine's Day in particular rankles these right-wing extremists, which they consider to be an immoral western import. These so-called torch bearers of Indian culture not only do vandalize gift shops, but also harass & beat-up people in the name of saving the culture. Recently, the Hindu daughter of an MLA was abducted and beaten-up for talking to a Muslim boy.

A surprising point to observe is most of these attacks are carried out by the Hindutva brigade be it RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena, or the lowly Shri Ram Sena which in some or other way are associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The case in point here is not to talk or write against Hindu organizations, but it's against all those organizations who beleaguer women in lieu of safeguarding the Indian culture and garner cheap publicity. Who has given all these hooligans the right to morally police Indians and particularly Indian women? If they think that the pub culture is maligning our society, then they should first practice what they preach?

Such incidents of moral policing creates a negative picture of India as a nation and hurts our overall prospects of growth and development. Is it so hard for us to understand that all these incidents are political gimmicks used by these extremist organizations to gain mileage and our votes? If they are guardians of Indian culture, then, why don't they fight against atrocities targeted on women such as rape and female feticide, why didn't they fight against the terrorists who caused mayhem in Mumbai? It is time that the Indian voters give a befitting reply to such communal forces/parties by voting against them and make India a safe place for everyone. We need a government who work for the upliftment of India as one nation and not the one sowing seeds of communal divide.

Jaago Re!!

-Kartavya Jain