MORAL POLICING IN INDIA AND ITS LEGAL REMEDIES
-Roshni S , 5th year BA.LLB , Kerala Law Academy Law College,Trivandrum
India is considered a developing country. Yes, it is indeed a developing one with regard to infrastructure or developmental projects. It has many projects or future plans to provide all facilities to people. The real question that still prevails is whether it is a progressive state with regard to people. People in India are still stuck in the 1900s in their thoughts and behavior. This is not the case for everyone but it is for most of the population. Every single person has a view or opinion regarding anything which they hear or see. When people react on it, it affects others who are part of it. This is what moral policing is all about. People getting involved in others activities and their lives
Women or girls are not supposed to meet boys or even talk to them, this is the concept since time immemorial. Girls should not talk to boys or be friends with them. This is usually frowned upon. Moral police is an umbrella category of vigilante groups which act to enforce a code of morality There is a constant need of people to control the way girls behave or live in the society. When that tags along with boys, moral policing happens. Moral policing is based on the ideas of religious belief, cultural practices or sometimes even on the basis of laws, rules and regulations. In most cases, moral policing is aimed towards having a good society where pure cultural and religious practices are not polluted by any foreign influences.
India is still considered a patriarchal society. Women do exist and work fro in all spheres of life. They are questioned in every move they make. People think they have control over women or can take control over them. There already exists a large number of ways in which women are discriminated as against men in India. In a family, Women are considered as the ‘preservers of the family’s dignity’.Hence, when the girl child has premarital sex or even has a relationship, it is generally shunned by the family first and then the society. In that case, the only thought is ‘what will people say’. Parents or people, in general, are more worried and concerned about what society thinks and not about their child’s happiness or goodwill. Women occupy about half the population in India. The oppression of women is one of the major problems. They are suppressed in a large number of ways. Oppression is not something that was just started one day, it is something that women all over the world have faced since time immemorial in different forms and from different people. In India, male domination with a complementary suppression of women has been continuing since pre-historic times. Moral policing is a part of oppression. Just like oppression, moral policing also comes in different forms and types. Women are deemed to be the “preserves of culture and heritage’ in the society. The target of moral policing is any activity that is deemed to be immoral or against Indian culture In general context, when a girl walks around in a pair of shorts, people looked an talk about her. When a girl has different hair color or a tattoo, it is a topic of discussion. When men do the same thing nobody seems to care. It is the way that people perceive things that has to change. When a girl dresses up or does something different, it is always viewd with suspicion. When random people think that they have the right to act against it, it is moral policing.
There are several self-defense groups in India that claim to: To protect the so-called Indian culture. them They resist and limit the social notions they think of. respect made abroad western culture. they desecrate public places They attacked people in clubs, taverns and parks. There were various cases In a fairly aggressive vigilante group Many art exhibitions were forced to close. They believed their “culture” was portrayed. with obscene light. They issued an order against Western-style dress. Several journalists also Such meetings supported their actions. Some government officials supported this. Perspectives and such activities in the process. There are many times when moral policing hinders the basic fundamental rights of the citizen enshrined in the constitution such as Article 19 and Article 21 right to freedom of speech & expression, right to privacy, right to live with dignity, etc.These are some of the important and possible legal remedies for moral policing in India.
