Outlook on Moral Policing

As expected, Outlook has come up with its analysis of the Moral policing in Chennai. By reproducing the cover of the crappy Tamil newspaper, Outlook and Indian Express are probably giving credence to this kind of journalism.

If the self-appointed guardians of 'Tamil culture' had their way, they would have the rest of the world believe that women should not wear jeans and T-shirts, they should not sing and dance in discos, should not have sex before marriage, should not drink, should not choose alternative sexual identities and they should only be bearers of what certain Tamil men define as 'honour'.

The past few months have seen an unprecedented mobilisation of public opinion against women by sections of the Tamil media and polity. Last week, a leading Tamil daily, Dinamalar, splashed pictures of women drinking, dancing and kissing in The Park, a star hotel, with a poser for the Chennai police commissioner. Captioned 'Is this what equality means?' the story asked: "In a society where married couples are reluctant to hold hands in public, how can women be allowed to sing and dance with men?"

Tamizh Murasu also dragged actress Khushboo into a controversy. In an interview to a newsweekly, Khushboo, deified as a heroine in the 1990s, had said "no educated man would expect his wife to be a virgin". Tamizh Murasu, an eveninger relaunched by the Kalanidhi Maran-led Sun TV group known for its pro-DMK views, cashed in on this statement and ran a lead on how Khushboo was implying that Tamil women had no chastity. It solicited the views of the film fraternity and politicians and derided the actress who happens to be the star anchor of a game show on rival Jaya TV. Soon, leaders of the BJP, Paattali Makkal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dalit Panthers of India aired their views about how Khushboo was "denigrating" Tamil women and "encouraging women to be immoral." The DPI and PMK were especially shrill since they had joined hands to launch the Tamil Protection Movement earlier this year. The DPI led the street protests with slippers and brooms, demanding that Khushboo apologise or leave Tamil Nadu and "return to her Bombay".

Although S Anand does a good analysis of the recent developments, his interview with Kanimozhi (Karunanidhi’s daughter) leaves much to be desired. Kanimozhi vents out her feelings against the Tamil media and tries to speak for women. It’s difficult to digest her speech because her family controls most of the Tamil print and TV media (atleast the dominant ones). It would have been good if S Anand had grilled her on those lines. Excerpts from the Kanimozhi interview:

The media-triggered public debate on women and Tamil culture is depressing and distressing. From clothes to sexuality to social norms, why is it that only women are made to bear the burden of morality and what gets defined as 'Tamil culture'? The media abets the process by using women's 'honour' to sell newspapers and magazines. The same Tamil press thrives on splashing pictures of semi-nude women from all parts of the world to boost sales. They sensationalise any reportage concerning women. All this will only lead to increased violence against women. If tomorrow a woman walks out of a star hotel or a cinema, we should not be surprised if she is attacked for being 'amoral'. A jean-clad woman standing at a bus-stop is liable to be sexually assaulted, and such an attack would even be justified given that public opinion is being mobilised against women. Recipients of such violence would be seen as `deserving'.

There are major issues that concern women in Tamil Nadu—in Salem and Dharmapuri districts female infanticide is still high, there's a spurt in HIV positive cases and TN leads the country in AIDS, dowry deaths continue unabated, there's everyday violence against women. Of late, several incidents of child sexual abuse are being reported. Men are at the forefront of all these forms of violence. Somehow, these are not of concern to the media or the political class that claims to uphold 'Tamil culture'. Anyway, what is Tamil culture? In the classical Sangam poetry in Agananooru, every second poem discusses female sexuality. In Kuruntogai, scores of poems discuss pre-marital sex. What should we do with these canons? Should we brand them as alien to Tamil culture?

The withdrawal of Park Hotel’s license is likely to send wrong signals to the business community and to the IT and ITES companies which are making a beeline to the city. Expats Seth and Hanna had to move out of the Park Hotel in the light of these developments. A friend also told me that many more expats live in Park Hotel on a medium to long-term basis and even they might have been affected because of this.

Other reactions in the Blogosphere: NDTV's Alaphia wants to know whether anybody is looking for Dinamalar’s photographer.