Moral Policing: Talibanism in India

Moral Policing: Talibanism in India

On one side we are celebrating Mars quests to mark the developments in India, and on the other hand youths are denied the freedom to express love in public. We talk of changes that should happen with the formation of new government and then we refuse to accept the changing outlook of youth. We call ourselves the biggest democratic republic, but we still are judged on our clothes and anything that differs from the so-called-ethical set of rules. How different are the approach of moral policing from the Taliban? The Taliban have a zero tolerance policy for a woman leaving the house without a male member of the family n here the moral policemen fines women for holding hands with a guy, not to talk about the actions they take against couple kissing in public or for a mere goodbye hug.

Against moral policing:

1. Just because a group of extremists think that the act of showing love in public is wrong, they do not in any way have the right to attack couples and bunch of friends hanging out at night clubs. It is more of a dictatorship than a republic where such cruelties prevail and even the court has nothing to do about it. Talking of Kerala’s attacks on couple, even the Kerala High Court refused to interfere in the matter.

2. Freedom of youth to express what is right is being curbed in the name of moral policing. The SC has made live-in-relationships legal and on the other hand, these good for nothing extremists are still stuck in the stone age where they cannot accept changes. They call it harmful changes while their own acts are destructive and lethal.

3. Moral policing youth wings of BJP, Shiv Sena, VHP, etc. claim to be against the show of affections in public, be it holding hands or a peck on the cheeks or hugging. Who gave them the authority to punish these couples? The violent attack simply proves the unjust nature of moral policing and the dangerous impact it is having on the youths of our nation.

4. When the online protest began after the Kerala incident, there were threatening comments by the extremists including sexually offensive details of how the modern society is wrong. They condemn transition in society and name it tradition and ethics. Which traditions or religion allows them to get violent to prove themselves right and the others wrong? The same is my opinion about Taliban which makes me wonder: where is India leading to, democracy or tyranny?

5. India has always been adaptive and tolerant of different cultures and ideologies. There is no space for extreme ideas being enforced by a group of people who create violence to get limelight and then they are nowhere to be found when people protest against major issues such as rapes and violence against women. If they are so concerned about the society and its people, they should be incorporating their strength in something that would make the country safer and a better place to live in.

In support of moral policing:

1. Going by the literal meaning of moral policing, only the parents or the near ones of the girl or boy have the right to decide their moral limitation. It is they who are in charge of what is permissible and what is not. And the youth wings that claim to be moral policemen should rather handle broader cases where morality is being curbed. Whoever is training them with such extreme ideas should stop exploiting these youths and rather have them utilize their strength towards the betterment of the society such as support to victims of household violence or those curbed of corruption.

2. The right way of moral policing would be to free it from political support and have them work for the betterment of the nation. There has to be a set of rules to restrict them against violence. But the sad part is the actions of these youth wings are actually political dramas plotted to gain the empathy of the conservative part of our society.

3. Moral policing is the not the sole culprit; it is the mindset of the society where sex is still considered a taboo. Changes have to come from within the society that condemns a boy and girl in love but pays no attention if they hear a cry of household violence in their neighborhood. It is still in our society that a guy who himself has a girlfriend would never accept his sister having a boyfriend.

Conclusion:
Moral policing must be stopped if India has to impede the initiation of what we get to see in news of Afghanistan and other Taliban dominated regions. No one, apart from the family of the girl/boy, has the right to teach them morality and ethics unless they are engaged in something obscene. The extreme mindset has to be changed if we talk of equality and democracy. Moreover, there should be strict actions taken by the Police against the violence of the so called moral policemen.