Moral policing

As discussed earlier, in India the moral policing is becoming a class differentiation between Bharatiyas and Inglodians.
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Source: www.ritzchennai.com / Ritz magazine March 2009 issue
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Youth erupt in anxiety & rage at moral policing

29 Apr 2009, 0456 hrs IST, Ankur Batra, TNN


CHANDIGARH: Mangalore and Chandigarh may be hundreds of miles away, but when moral police unleash their terror, the self-proclaimed saviours of culture are frowned upon with similar disdain. Just like Karnataka’s port city saw widespread public outrage after women were assaulted in a pub, Chandigarh has risen against Saturday’s incident, where an Army colonel’s son and his female friend were harassed by men in khaki who threatened to book them for merely sitting together behind a bolted door.

TOI had reported the alleged high-handedness of police officers, led by sub-inspector Ramesh Kumar and head constable Amarjit Singh, who had apparently humiliated the two at the boy’s Sector-15 accommodation.

Terming the incident an example of Talibanization in our own backyard, Panjab University student Mannat Arora fumed, It seems cops have to be told about their limits. How can they enter somebody’s house without permission. They should have been charged with trespassing.

Law student Deepak Hooda is surprised that policemen could act like this. At a time when Supreme Court has recognized live-in relationships, UT cops are stuck in the Dark Ages, he remarked.

Revealing that youngsters were planning to meet the IG, home secretary and governor in this regard, Harjinder Singh Dhillon from PU said, It’s our personal lives. First they said, don’t be together in public places... then came the ban on roaming in cars. And now, even our houses are not safe!

For Sukhmani Malik, a singer, it’s the narrow-minded attitude that has her peeved. We are no kids and don’t want cops to preach us. Cops should be trained on which areas of public life they can interfere in and which they should stay away from. This incident just showed how ridiculous things can get when cops think they can infringe upon all spheres of our private lives, she stressed.

Being a disc jockey, Bally Singh has often seen cops overstep their limits. But this is a first even for him. Tomorrow they’ll enter pubs and clubs and say this is wrong. I have faced this situation even while sitting with my wife. They probed us like we were criminals, he said.

The duo who faced undue harassment on Saturday now plan to approach the state human rights commission. Only we know how agonizing the experience has been. The cops must be punished for what they have made us go through, the boy said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Youth-erupt-in-anxiety--rage-at-moral-policing/articleshow/4461294.cms

"being trendy" is to protest against moral policing

Moral policing became a major issue among inglodian segment. The protest is becoming trendy and multidiamentional...

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No votes for moral cops, say Bangalore youth
Wed, Mar 25 11:07 AM

Bangalore, March 25 (IANS) Youth in Bangalore and other parts of Karnatake are determined not to bow down before moral cops and say they will vote for candidates who stand for freedom and against forcible enforcement of one's view on others.

The youth see the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as an opportunity to make the right choice.

'There is a subtle sense of fear in Bangalore. Recent incidents are a testimony that we're not safe. In the name of moral policing, women are attacked. So was a man a few days back,' said first-time voter Shikha Gowda (18), who is pursuing her bachelor of arts at Mount Carmel College.

'We're not going to bow down in front of moral cops. Who are they to tell us what is right and wrong? I will cast my vote for the candidate who will ensure our safety and security and punish all anti-social elements,' Shikha told IANS.

Agreeing with Shikha's view, Utpal Agarwal, a 21-year-old postgraduate student of mass communication at Bangalore University, said it was the young people of Bangalore who had come under attack by moral cops.

'It is sad that in a metropolis like Bangalore, women are attacked by miscreants on the pretext of wearing western outfits. We are citizens of a free society and we should not allow the goons to take over our lives. I am going to vote for the candidate who promises to make the city free from moral policing and hooliganism,' said Agarwal.

Since Feb 17, when the first attack on a woman in the upscale Indiranagar area happened, around 10 such cases have been reported from different parts of the city. All the cases follow a pattern as motor-cycle borne attackers target women by physically and verbally abusing them for wearing western outfits.

On Sunday, the first incident of an attack on a man was reported. Jagdeesh B.N. was attacked for apparently wearing a sleeveless T-shirt.

'This is the time of reckoning. Youth, the harbinger of change, need to think seriously before they cast their vote for any candidate. I would suggest to the young voters to consider the contributions and promises made by the candidates before voting,' said D. Jeevan Kumar, director of the Centre for Gandhian Studies, Bangalore University.

'The cases of attack on people in Bangalore and Mangalore in the name of moral policing are shameful. Youth, who form a major chunk of the voting population, need to think carefully before voting.'

In nearby Mangalore city, 350 km from Bangalore, a series of attacks on youth by Hindutva groups has happened after the infamous attack on women at a pub in Bangalore by activists of the Sri Rama Sene (Army of Lord Rama) on Jan 24.

Around 50 percent of Bangalore's population belongs to the age group of 18-39.

'My verdict will go against those who are supporting moral policing in Bangalore and tarnishing the good old name of the city,' said Arpan Majumdar, a final year student of the Rashtriya Vidyalaya Engineering College.

'I am against moral policing of any kind. My vote will be to make the city a safe haven for one and all,' smiled Praveen Jindal, who is pursuing his doctorate in medicine at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine.

The polling day in Bangalore is April 23.
Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090325/818/tnl-no-votes-for-moral-cops-say-bangalor.html