“Many believe moral policing is a way to get rid of ‘western influences’, like liberal views on sex (it always starts with those) within our society. That there are outdated British laws from the Victorian age on sex and sexuality still in effect in India today, is lost on those constantly claiming that liberal views on sex (such as premarital sex) come from Western countries, and conservative views come from India.”
Bollywood actor Abhay Deol, known for unconventional cinema, has slammed moral policing, an emerging trend in India. He said that adults do not have to be ashamed of sex. Abhay Deol also blasted Mumbai police for arresting adult youths from a local hotel on the charges of indecency.
Read below what he posted on Facebook:
SEX!
Even I am baffled by our society’s obsession with sex.
I enjoy it, I crave it, I pursue it. I don’t hide the fact. I feel a tinge of shame admitting it. It always takes a moment for
the logical part of my brain to put the shame aside, and I see reason.
I have come to believe my sense of shame comes from my upbringing. I was brought up by the same values as any other from my country, which may come as a surprise to those who think people born into the film industry are brought up with a different set of values (usually loose and privileged). So I get it. The taboo that comes with the topic of sex in my society.
But booking young kids for a crime they didn’t commit, physically and mentally abusing them publicly? To me it looks more like it was the police that was guilty of ‘public indecency’.
All this because they were young adults having sex. How liberated can you be!? They must be punished. By any law out there.
Many believe moral policing is a way to get rid of ‘western influences’, like liberal views on sex (it always starts with those) within our society. That there are outdated British laws from the Victorian age on sex and sexuality still in effect in India today, is lost on those constantly claiming that liberal views on sex (such as premarital sex) come from Western countries, and conservative views come from India.
I’m not going to cite ‘the Kama Sutra’ as an example.
The last I remember, my country has a written history that is a few thousand years old. It is full of stories of kings and queens, of kingdoms and communities, coexisting mostly peacefully, with an invasion every now and then. People from all over the world converged upon my country, staking their claim, leaving their mark. The culture of the region however, always held onto its roots no matter who currently ruled it. That is how I see morals. They are relative to those who rule. Principles on the other hand, are unchangeable, they are at the root of my culture. That’s what I was taught, so If we have a ‘moral police’, then why not a ‘principal police’ as well?
I guess I have resigned myself to a society mistaking itself to be the custodian of my culture.
This started off as a topic on sex. SEX IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE ASHAMED OF WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR SOME PEOPLE TO DIGEST THAT?
