Thiruvananthapuram: Kiss-in and halla-bol, is the rights activists' way of hitting back at the moral police.
Fed up of the spate of moral policing incidents over the last few months, protestors and campaigners came together to hold a counter-protest by locking lips, literally, in Kochi, as part of a 'Kiss-In' protest on Wednesday.
A sub-inspector, who was at the spot but couldn't stop the self-proclaimed upholders of morality, was suspended, while eight other police officers were transferred for lapses.
The 'Kiss-In' campaign included street plays, musical performances by local bands, demonstrations by the LGBT community and, of course, many activists simply assembling and kissing in public. While it was mostly by random campaigners who had got together through social media, activists from Leftist groups like the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the Students' Federation of India and the Youth Congress too joined in, taking out marches along Marine Drive.
"It's high time we all come together and stand up for our rights. Things are going in a dangerous direction, where people are beating up others. Society has to change according to changing times. They have to accommodate new thoughts and ideas. We cannot go back to the dark ages," said Syed Aamir, one of the protestors.
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In Kochi, SFI activists said they would join hands with like-minded student unions to fight moral policing.
"We cannot accept this kind of moral policing. There are healthy relations between men and women, and that has to be accepted. We feel that these people have ventured out in such activities (like caning young lovers) for cheap publicity," said M Vijin, SFI State Secretary.
"Kerala is a land known for social reforms, but now fascist tendencies and groups are trying to take it back to square one. We will not let this happen. We will fight it with all our might. Everyone should be vigilant against such acts," he added.
"In order to handle the so-called 'moral policing,' State police should cover public areas like parks, bus stands, railway stations, malls and outside cinema theatres, etc. at the relevant time, after appropriate briefing (by superiors). The police should not only prevent such illegal action, but also take prompt and firm action against the perpetrators, when such activities are noticed or brought to their notice," a police notification states.
The police force too faces some allegations about their patrol officers behaving inappropriately with the public, asking irrelevant questions of young couples and intruding on their privacy.
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