One other thing which ruffles the feathers of some Indians after Love Jihad is the Public Display of Affection (PDA). The recent controversy surrounding the kissing scene from the web series, A Suitable Boy was enough to send some radicals reeling. It had all the ingredients present to hurt their sentiments- an unmarried interfaith couple, a kissing scene, and that too in a holy place of worship.
But the point they completely missed was that this was fiction from a piece of art, not even a real incident. However, this point was totally lost on the moral police who actually registered an FIR against the OTT producers.
While some are still figuring out whether to laugh or cry at this, one can’t help but wonder how these people are so selective in their choice of outrage? When Asifa and Alfia were raped in temples by pujaris, this act was lost on the same people who are today raising a voice-over something which did not even happen in real life? How bizarre and misguided their ideals are, I wonder.
To prevent young people from falling in love out of their caste/religion, stopping them from indulging in consensual PDA, passing bills to stop interfaith marriages, seem to be more important. Throughout women’s history, men have only been setting rules and deciding what they should do right from what to wear, how to sit, what to say, who to love, who to marry, etc.
The fact that marriages can fail even between couples from the same caste/religion, domestic abuse, rapes, and sexual abuse happen inside and outside marriages, and children being raped and killed in places of worship is the reality seems lost on them and is completely ignored. Whereas, these are the issues that should make their blood boil, as actor Swara Bhaskar rightly pointed out.
India is the land of Kama sutra, a land with explicit sexual carvings on temple walls of Khajuraho, proclaiming and normalizing sex and sexuality. But the people of this country pretend that we don’t have sex. This is the biggest joke ever coming from one of the world’s most populated countries.
SEX is a Natural Act
Say SEX loudly and you have probably embarrassed someone around you and made them go “Hawww”. Kissing as an act of love is deemed dirty but violence in the name of religion is allowed?!
Our misplaced ideals and priorities need to be questioned. Acts like filing an FIR for a fictional scene should be called out as should the people who have raised such an objection.
To pretend that the people of country are living their lives by their religious ideals, not indulging in sexual acts and are treating each other with great respect is the biggest hypocrisy ever. And the moral police remain as confused as ever on which battles to fight. *sighs*
