On 2nd November, the less famous Marine Drive of Kochi braced itself for a protest. And unlike most protests that are organized by local political heavyweights having media-spotlight as its only agenda, it was organized by a pro-liberal Facebook group called 'Free Thinkers'. Named 'Kiss of Love' (Yes, even I agree they could have done a better job at naming but the purpose of the protest was indeed noble) its purpose was to raise awareness against unnecessary moral policing in the name of Indian culture. Organizers had asked couples to assemble at Marine Drive and express love by kissing, holding hands or however they wish. As expected, Kerala police moral-policed the protest by refusing to give permission and detained over 50 people even before the start of the event.
The protest was a reaction to vandalization of a cafe in Kozhikode by political goons and clippings by a Congress-run channel on how kissing is immoral (Yes, the irony. This comes in a country that is on track to break the record for most population) among several idiosyncrasies (Valentine's Day hooliganism by Shiv Sena in Mumbai and SRS goons storming a pub in Mangalore come at the top of my mind) by self-appointed guardians of Indian culture and tradition. And I cannot help but wonder how useless and jobless these folks are! For a country whose culture sculpted Khajuraho and wrote Kamasutra, public display of affection should be of least concern. And I believe persisting with social norms decades past their expiry date is one of the gravest social problem our country is facing right now. We, as a society should embrace (or at least, tolerate) the shift in norms given they produce no negative externalities rather than classifying them as Indian or Western-inspired. In a country as big and diverse as ours, differences in perspectives are bound to arise and such attempts to color entire society with a single perspective harms the fabric that bonds us to co-exist.
And there are several other subjects where I believe we should have a greater degree of liberalism. From religion, caste, sex, eating habits, alcohol to marijuana, we should let go of scaffolding of pre-modern stereotypes and start focusing on more pertinent issues we are facing as a nation - violence against women, sanitation, quality of education, lack of healthcare facilities and the list goes on.
PS: I came across an amazing piece on this very subject some days back. Have a look at it here.
The protest was a reaction to vandalization of a cafe in Kozhikode by political goons and clippings by a Congress-run channel on how kissing is immoral (Yes, the irony. This comes in a country that is on track to break the record for most population) among several idiosyncrasies (Valentine's Day hooliganism by Shiv Sena in Mumbai and SRS goons storming a pub in Mangalore come at the top of my mind) by self-appointed guardians of Indian culture and tradition. And I cannot help but wonder how useless and jobless these folks are! For a country whose culture sculpted Khajuraho and wrote Kamasutra, public display of affection should be of least concern. And I believe persisting with social norms decades past their expiry date is one of the gravest social problem our country is facing right now. We, as a society should embrace (or at least, tolerate) the shift in norms given they produce no negative externalities rather than classifying them as Indian or Western-inspired. In a country as big and diverse as ours, differences in perspectives are bound to arise and such attempts to color entire society with a single perspective harms the fabric that bonds us to co-exist.
And there are several other subjects where I believe we should have a greater degree of liberalism. From religion, caste, sex, eating habits, alcohol to marijuana, we should let go of scaffolding of pre-modern stereotypes and start focusing on more pertinent issues we are facing as a nation - violence against women, sanitation, quality of education, lack of healthcare facilities and the list goes on.
PS: I came across an amazing piece on this very subject some days back. Have a look at it here.
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