Hoardings warn dating couples in Srinagar, and the local police are against this stand, but elsewhere according to this news item, the police itself is the moral guardian which caught the couple in question and raised charges against them.
Is India being Talibanised, or is it now being governed by frustrated men? How a couple kissing anywhere at all constitutes public harassment is beyond me. It is definitely a matter of victimless crimes. And as usual, the Indian administration believes in meting out instant harsh, harsher, harshest punishments to the ‘criminals’ indulging in these ‘crimes’, while criminals who actually harm others intentionally are tried in courts for years while they live on taxpayers’ money. That the taxpayers themselves are being harassed like this for public displays of affection is not important.
In high school, when we were given an idea of the Indian administrative system, and the Constitution (note the capital C, denoting infallibility and perfection), we were given an idea that India is a free land, where every Indian is free as long as they don’t hurt others. We believed it to be true. And were mighty proud of it.
Now we realise, through witnessing such incidents, that it’s not as free as one would think it is.
We’d rather bow down to anyone and everyone’s fragile sensibilities, including (and especially) the religious type, than stand for freedom and peace.
Another reason why governance should not be concerned with social propriety and should be concerned more with security of the tax-paying citizens.
One reply on “No Love Please, We are Indians”
Free! are We??? I have my doubts now and they are just becoming stronger by the day… creating issues on moral grounds and picking up on people is so not FREEDOM! Going out alone after nightfall and feeling scared is also not freedom. When I take public transport and retaliate if some tries to eve teases me and people around me ask me to ignore it and even police says the same thing. What Should I do? I wonder why no sangh/parivar/body makes hue and cry when a girl is harassed/raped/killed, where is morality at that time? Or these issues are not a big deal for the moral brigade Why don’t these groups then do something? Why does it take forever for the police to nab the culprits? I am an educated, working and tax paying citizen. But my security is not an cause of concern.. but all non-issues are important enough to be highlighted.