Morality Debate

THE MORALITY DEBATE InfoChange Quick Reads For private circulation THE MOByR AnosAh MaLlekarITY DEBATE InfoChange Quick Reads 2009 These articles are available on www.infochangeindia.org, India’s leading online resource base on social justice and development issues Published by: Centre for Communication and Development Studies 301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane Off Law College Road, Pune 411 004 Tel: 91-20-26852845/25457371 Email: [email protected] Websites: www.infochangeindia.org/www.ccds.in/www.openspace.org The content in this publication may be cited and reproduced for educational and non-commercial purposes. Credit, however, must be given to the authors and the publishers Contents 05 Why we're getting our pink knickers in a twist by Sherna Gandhy 10 FUQs (Frequently Unasked Questions) about moral policing by Anjali Monteiro and K P Jayasankar 15 Morality through the ages: Old strategies, new threats by Manjima Bhattacharjya 21 Struggles against the discourse of morality by Manjima Bhattacharjya 27 Whatever happened to women's hard-won freedom? by Sumi Krishna 31 The 21st century politics of college clothing by Shilpa Phadke and Sameera Khan Why we're getting our pink knickers in a twist by Sherna Gandhy Usually, attempts by the 'moral police' to the pub attack. Couples seen walking force their version of 'culture' (which usually together on that day or indulging in any involves control of women in one form or kind of romantic behaviour would be another) down everyone's throats are met forcibly married off, the Sene declared. with quiet contempt on the part of those who disagree. But by beating up women at Valentine's Day (February 14) has become a a pub in Mangalore on January 24, 2009, favourite target of a variety of Hindu the Ram Sene — until then a virtually fundamentalist groups — most notably the unknown group of Hindu fundamentalists Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and the Bharatiya — may have gone too far. Moreover, Janata Party-affiliated Bajrang Dal — that encouraged by the lenient view taken of its spend the day vandalising shops that sell red outrageous act by the state government, roses, or Valentine's Day cards and gifts, and the Sene and its defiant head Pramod harassing young couples on college Muthalik publicly declared that they would campuses. Their sense of morality is attack another practice that went against apparently offended by women having a Indian 'culture' — Valentine's Day, which romantic relationship. In fact, most of the occurred a little more than two weeks after 'anti-Indian culture' diatribe centres around 5 women, whether it's drinking in public, or was just defending her religion — a mirror wearing clothes deemed 'inappropriate', or image of the Hindutva argument. overstepping boundaries in more fundamental ways. Amrita Nandy Joshi, Apart from angry remarks in the press there coordinator of the South Asian Women's is usually little reaction to this aggressive Network, gives a reason: “From education religio-cultural chauvinism. But coming on to marriage and careers, women are top of the attack on the women in the pub, increasingly defying oppressive patriarchal and maybe because of the growing structures and controls and tasting assertiveness of women, the reaction in independence. Conservative elements early-2009 was more robust. cannot tolerate such transgression of codes On web communities, in print, and on and thus the backlash.” television, people expressed their anger and The onslaught against women from the disgust at the openly anti-women and anti- Hindu right makes common cause with the democratic style of functioning. On the onslaught from the Muslim right. Asiya social networking site, Facebook, a Andrabi, head of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, or community sprang up calling itself The Daughters of the Nation, an extreme Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Muslim group in Jammu and Kashmir, said Forward Women. It spearheaded an she supported the Ram Sene's campaign. imaginative campaign that urged women “This will act as a deterrent and people will and men to send “a little love” to Ram Sene be scared,” she said. “Sometimes there is no chief Pramod Muthalik on Valentine's Day in option but to use the stick out of sheer the form of pink chaddies (underwear). love.” On a television programme she “Look in your closet or buy them cheap. declared that couples moving around Dirt-cheap. Make sure they are PINK. together were offensive to Islam, and she Send them off to the Sene,” the site 6 exhorted the public. Indian women on February 14. The campaign had the support of Tejaswini The cheeky idea caught on and the Pink Chowdhury, daughter of Union Minister for Chaddi Campaign got a good response. A Women and Child Development Renuka week after it was launched, it had 24,035 Chowdhury. members, many of whom were neither pub- goers nor celebrated Valentine's Day but all Facebook also spawned a 'send Pramod of whom were angry at the tactics used by Muthalik a Valentine's Day card' community, the Sene against women, and concerned and a 'Mr Muthalik deserves a Valentine that such draconian actions, already fairly Day's card' community. frequent among lawless self-styled With the Bajrang Dal vowing to disrupt V- 'defenders of Indian culture' belonging to a host of obscure organisations, would Day in Madhya Pradesh, an organisation become the norm. called the Women's Brigade took out a demonstration in support of the “I'm sure these people do not care for celebrations and shouted slogans like “Let culture, nor do they understand it. I just us love” and “Long live Valentine's Day” and know that they have no right to decide for said they would protect anyone being anyone else. They cannot beat up people to harassed. prove their point,” an engineering student was quoted as saying in a national At Connaught Place in the heart of the newspaper. capital New Delhi, a campaign called A Valentine for India, started by a student A Pub Bharo campaign was also initiated through a blog, attracted a number of which invited all, pub-goers or not, to step protesters on February 14. “I came to know into the nearest pub and raise a toast to about this campaign…and decided that I 7 wanted to join in as well. What they are or something else, the Ram Sene toned saying is that protesting on Valentine's Day down its rhetoric in the days immediately is just symbolic of the country's angst preceding V-Day and announced that it against all the self-appointed moral police would just talk to couples who offended its who have no better business than to poke sense of morality, not force any action upon their noses into others' affairs,” Namita them. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a Jaiswal, a political science student told the group that has got away with using tactics Indo Asian News Service (IANS). “My friends similar to the Sene's, said it had no interest in and I are here, therefore, to help the group the issue. And the National Congress Party raise their voice against all such (NCP) declared that it would itself sell V-Day unconstitutional and violent behaviour by cards. The Karnataka government, too, sat goons, in the name of Indian culture.” up and took notice. On February 13, several members of the Ram Sene as well as its head If the above efforts are a form of Gandhigiri, Muthalik were taken into preventive custody in Delhi an organisation called Save the by the police. Earth Foundation declared that its response would be a little more muscular. It would The action by the state government is send out groups of volunteers trained in heartening because it makes a crucial martial arts to patrol public spaces and distinction between the ideas one may protect anyone being attacked by the Sene espouse, and the tactics one may employ to and like-minded groups. The team would get the ideas across. While everyone has a also blacken the faces of miscreants with right to express a view, however regressive, shoe polish before handing them over to the no one has the right to use coercion or police. violence to terrorise people into complying. The preventive arrests and a strong police Whether due to the spirited public response presence on the streets ensured that there 8 was no harassment of people in Karnataka on Valentine's Day. In other states there were sporadic incidents and protests, notably by the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal. It is too soon to say whether the opposition to the moral policing will be sustained and even gather momentum, or whether the fundamentalist groups will be cowed down or further emboldened. Clearly, without muscle power such groups are powerless to further their agenda, and much depends on the attitude of state governments which can easily order a crackdown against any violence, as some of them have just done, or look the other way as many have chosen to do in the past. (Sherna Gandhy is an independent journalist based in Pune) InfoChange News & Features, February 2009 9 FUQs (Frequently Unasked Questions) about moral policing by Anjali Monteiro and K P Jayasankar The moral police are everywhere. many 'honourable' others, ranging from Crawling out of the woodwork into our chief ministers and health ministers to public spaces. In our legislative members of the National Commission for assemblies, in our boardrooms, in Women. courtrooms, on the streets, in colleges, in cinemas and cybercafés, gardens and So many people in our country are in a state pubs, even in police stations. Alas, and of moral panic over 'western' culture, pub perhaps in our heads too.

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