Recently protest movement against moral policing, "Kiss of Love" was in the news. This protest was given this name because people decided to kiss each other as a form of protest against moral policing. Interestingly, this protest started in the state of Kerala and rapidly spread to other parts of India. As expected many organizations associated with Hinduism and Islam opposed these protests calling them against Indian culture and a violation of the civic code of conduct. Moral policing is not a new phenomenon in any country, some fanatic, self-declared culture protectors try to impose moral or cultural values which they think are right. These organizations don't care whether it is legal or illegal to impose these things on other people against their will, they do it in the name of protecting ancient culture or traditions. Very often protests like Kiss of Love are blamed on the influence of Western culture, however, ironically India is the country that has produced works of Khajuraho and texts like Kamasutra. The extreme response of these organizations to these protests is not surprising to me but their violent reactions and justifications offered for such violent attacks are major concerns.
Actually, protests like Kiss of Love are not in any way an attack on any culture. These protests are not meant to insult anyone or hurt anyone but this is a way of protesting against unjust moral policing. This protest is a simple way of conveying the message that you can't force your values on others. If someone is breaking the law arrest them and punish them legally, torturing them or harassing them in public is not the solution or a way to protect any culture. Moral values differ from person to person, for some eating non-vegetarian food can be an immoral thing to do, but that doesn't mean they go and beat all people who choose to eat non-vegetarian food. They have the right to propagate the benefits of vegetarian food and the drawbacks of non-vegetarian food but they don't have any right to force their dietary choices on others. In the same way, someone might think females not wearing a burqa is an immoral thing, or drinking alcohol is a sin, or eating beef or pork is a sin, these people are entitled to have whatever beliefs they want but they have no right to force it on others. There is a machinery and system in every state and country to take care of things that are against the law and let them do their job. In a democracy, people even have the right to protest peacefully against any law if they feel it is an unjust law. Peaceful protests, debates, and discussions are signs of a healthy and inclusive society. Moral policing is not a sign of a progressive, tolerant, and open society rather it is a sign of a regressive, intolerant, and backward society. India claims itself to be a very tolerant and progressive country so people should be ashamed of such attacks on the personal liberty of people in their own country.
Indian culture or for that matter any culture is not so weak that it can be threatened by people kissing in public. It is the same culture that has produced Khajuraho temples and books like Kamasutra, so why such a violent stand against a mere protest? And if any culture has some bad elements or repressive traditions then what is wrong in changing those traditions? What is wrong in protesting against any regressive practices that are still practiced? Such protests should be welcomed rather than condemning them, and any attack on personal liberty should be opposed. I hope these types of protests are taken in the right spirit rather than considering them as an attack on any culture. Individual liberty is a very important aspect of any society. I hope individual liberty and fundamental rights are respected and protected, if not then as a society we should be ready to witness many more such protests. Let's see how many attempts are made to crush such protests and what is the ultimate result of such bold protests.
Indian culture or for that matter any culture is not so weak that it can be threatened by people kissing in public. It is the same culture that has produced Khajuraho temples and books like Kamasutra, so why such a violent stand against a mere protest? And if any culture has some bad elements or repressive traditions then what is wrong in changing those traditions? What is wrong in protesting against any regressive practices that are still practiced? Such protests should be welcomed rather than condemning them, and any attack on personal liberty should be opposed. I hope these types of protests are taken in the right spirit rather than considering them as an attack on any culture. Individual liberty is a very important aspect of any society. I hope individual liberty and fundamental rights are respected and protected, if not then as a society we should be ready to witness many more such protests. Let's see how many attempts are made to crush such protests and what is the ultimate result of such bold protests.
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[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
