| In a country that is changing as fast as India, there is bound to be friction between the old world and the new. It is natural that our values will be challenged and to keep a society vibrant, some of this is necessary and valuable. But what is happening with increasing regularity in India these days is neither necessary nor of any value. A liberal democracy like India cannot be held at ransom by a fringe minority of self-appointed ayatollahs of morality. Increasingly, the country is under attack from a particularly persistent brigade of the moral police. These men and women have appointed themselves upholders of Indian “culture” and they identify and persecute those they believe have crossed the line. Whether it is the few seconds of the Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty incident, the ban on channels like FTV, or the attack on a news channel for airing a story about an inter-religious elopement, India seems to be in the grip of moral righteousness gone mad. These interpreters of public morality include a Union minister, advocates, a district magistrate and the never-to-be-left-behind fringe fundamentalist parties, who seemingly exist only to smash art galleries or burn books. As part of a healthy democracy, they have the right to protest or burn effigies within the confines of the law. But there is no justification for vandalism or use of the judiciary for frivolous reasons. Most of these troublemakers lack moral conviction and are only seeking their 15 minutes of fame which the news-hungry media willingly provides them. Our cover story this week, put together by our bureau nationwide and anchored by Executive Editor Kaveree Bamzai, uncovers the pretensions of India’s so-called moral guardians. There is more than one issue at stake here. Implicit in all these incidents is a basic intolerance for anything seen as unconventional. In the protests and petitions, there is also an underlying diktat seeking to strait-jacket the Indian woman in retrogressive roles. Finally, there also is the issue of the wastage of judicial time with frivolous PILs and petitions. As if our courts are not clogged already with matters needing immediate redressal. India is increasingly being projected as a country that can handle an intercontinental business merger but not an inter-religious marriage, it is proud of its IT industry but is thrown out of gear by an item girl. India has always been known for its tolerance where people of many different faiths and cultures live peacefully together. We are a society which, thanks to rapid economic growth, is moving towards becoming a modern country. Our social attitudes are changing but we can still retain the best of our traditions. These protestors are a fractional minority and the silent majority should not let these extreme elements hijack the progress of this country. The lunatic fringe should be kept just there—on the fringe.
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