KISS OF FREEDOM
By: Disha Mashelkar
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Moral policing and Indian-
patriarchy society’s values are seen embarking their fiefdom in our country
once again!
Nearly 100
of youngsters hugged and kissed at Kerala’s Marine Drive, to mark their protest
against the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activist’s act of vandalism,
against a restaurant in Kozhikode (Kerala) on the argument that boys and girls
are frequenting it to hug and kiss. As the events at the Marine Drive unfolded,
a post on the “Kiss of Love” campaign Facebook page read: “Love is put behind
bars while hatred roams freely.”
The
incident continued to meet with arrests and thousands of activists of
Shiv-Sena, Bajrang Dal and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and
conservative Muslim political outfits such the Social Democratic Party of India
(SDPI) and the Sunni Yuvajana Sanghom (SYS), besides district-level workers of
the Kerala Students’ Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress.
The
murkiness of such moral policing acts is dodgy as they claim to save the people
and youngsters from ‘western influence’. The reeks of colonialism left our
country divided 67 years ago but it’s our failure to sew up the Indian
community values which exists in a vague form! Showing respect to elders and
ostentatious obedience is not what Indian values are made up of. Giving love,
not only to our lovers but also to our elders and friends is conducive of a
healthy Indian society.
Bollywood
Hindi cinema which is known to reflect the Indian society and its values, are
also simmering into a change with more of PDA and sex scenes shown in the
films. Although under the banner of Censorship Board such scenes are cut or
edited, scenes showing a peck of kiss are rampant on screen! So the impact of
on- screen kissing scene is already there on a children’s frame of mind. This
somewhat rules out the probability that PDA ruins children’s mindset.
On one
hand, we can see Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising the use of new media and
cheering our youngsters, who galvanize the strength of future India while on
the other hand is the gory shackles, being put up on youth’s freedom of
expression thereby ostracizing their emotions.
Public
Display of Affection (PDA) has met vituperative attacks in India before too,
especially on the celebration of Valentine’s Day. But can such moral policing acts stop youth
from spreading Love? Onerous ways to fight this battle against the draconian
mindset can be one solution.
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