Operation Park: Moral Policing or Violation of Civil Rights

As of now I have not been following news events in my home state of Orissa, a poor, backward, under-developed but relatively peaceful state. But a few recent events have been persistently nudging me to not only follow the developments but also take stands on them. I am talking about the violence in Kandhamal, Maoist raid in Nayagarh and frequent instances of mob violence often resulting in fatalities. However, the latest incidence of moral policing by agencies affiliated to the government compels me to speak out. A few days back State Women Commission chairperson Namita Panda along with some local police personnel launched a raid on a city park to nab young couples allegedly engaging in clandestine activities. In what is strangely reminiscent of the infamous “Operation Majnu” in Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Panda’s operation, code named “Operation Park” was carried out in full media glare so as to send out a message to the youth to abide by the diktats of self-anointed custodians of Indian culture.

Both these operations are not isolated incidences but manifestations of a deep-rooted confusion regarding Indian culture, globalization and women empowerment. I will not question on what authority Ms. Panda took the step or why the police accompanied her, almost everyone knows that the SCW is a purely advisory body with no real executive power to take action even for securing justice. So it is really confounding why SCW presumed it had the authority to enforce its will on private individuals. Anyway, questions on authority and jurisdiction are best left to the administration and the Courts, what we should be concerned about is the mindset behind this alarming behavior. This particular incidence is by no means an isolated one, for years police in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have been conducting raids on cyber cafes, hotels and other joints where couples retreat for more privacy. Ms. Panda justified her action as a measure to prevent the rising number of unwed pregnancy and rape in the state. The implication is that younger people of opposite sex indulging in immoral activities like holding hands, sitting side by side or females wearing unconventional clothing, actually encourage and abet crimes against themselves. This outrageous assumption only proves that the SCW is not only out of touch with reality but is also working to defeat the very purpose for which it was created. If the law enforcement agencies are unable to control the rising rate of crimes against women, they should introspect instead of imposing restrictions on free society. India’s penal law does include provisions to punish individuals for creating nuisance or acting obscenely (Section 294 IPC ), but the definition of “obscenity” should be interpreted by the Courts, not private individuals and law enforcement agencies, especially when the involved individuals are consenting adults. SCW and police are not the only agencies assuming the role of custodians of morality; this chauvinistic mindset can be found in some individuals in every strata of society.

Lets not talk on the identical mindset and behavior of fundamentalists and rightists; at least they don’t live on tax-payer’s money. But nonetheless the underlying sentiment is the same; to protect women and society in general some people find it necessary to impose their own beliefs on everyone else. We conservative Indians still nurture the medieval mindset according to which a woman is supposed to stay within certain limits for her own safety. Actually there is nothing wrong with this assumption except that law enforcement agencies and bodies established to emancipate and empower women, should go after those committing crimes against women. By preaching morality in this context, the agencies in a manner end up justifying the crime.

This trend bears an uncanny semblance to the one practiced by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban too believed, or at least argued that women needed to be draped from head to toe and confined to their houses to safeguard their honor and safety. It actually seems more logical than what the self-declared custodians of Indian culture and morality would have us believe. If the best way to protect women from male predators is by segregating women and imposing restrictions on them then the Taliban being predators themselves did a nice job by locking them up. However, we do not want Talibanization because we do not wish to miss the globalization bus either. We want our women to take active part in every sphere but at the same time we don’t want her to abandon her traditional role as a symbol of honor of the family/clan/tribe. In this era of globalization as co-educational institutions mushroom and members of the fairer sex take up professions which had been till now male-dominated, it is impossible to prevent interaction between members of both the genders. It also follows that with chauvinistic mindset that a lot of us possess sexual crimes will increase with time. The answer to this problem is not stricter vigil or gender-based segregation but sex education and gender-sensitization. If SCW is serious about taking steps to tackle the rising number of unwed pregnancies and sexual abuse it should press for sex education in institutions and take the help of the media to create gender sensitization. If certain individuals indulge in obscene activities or create public nuisance or one of them is a minor the police (not SCW) is well within its rights to take action but the agencies clearly exceed their jurisdiction while raiding public parks and cyber-cafes, especially when no case of obscenity or public nuisance can be made out against the involved individuals. In case of minors, instilling moral values is a prerogative of the parents, the state or its agencies have no business meddling in their personal affairs but when it involves consenting adults it is a clear violation of the individual’s civil right.

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