Moral Policing

In News

Recently, the police arrested five teenagers for ‘moral policing’ in Malappuram, Kerala.

Background

• The arrest was made in connection with the attack on a 23-year-old man.
• The incident came to light when a video of the attack was circulated on social media.

About Moral Policing

• It is a kind of a social as well as a political act which coercively imposes cultural values upon the people of our society without their consent.
• The roots of moral policing were laid down in the very essence of the idea that Indian culture needs to be ‘protected’ from falling prey to the vices of the western culture.

Reasons For Moral Policing in India

• Subjective Belief: The first factor which leads to moral policing is a subjective belief of Indian society which is solely responsible for aggravating moral policing.
• Cultural Superiority: The non-state actors claim that the Indian culture is pure and sanctified in relation to the western culture which is supposedly deemed as immoral and impure by them.
• Opposition to Western Culture: A few vigilante groups oppose and restrict social ideas that they regard to have been foreign made from the Western culture.
• Patriarchy: Some non state actors want to maintain the patriarchal principles through arbitrary means which have been responsible since its inception for the violence against women.
• Indecent Depiction of Indian Culture: There have been various cases where a fairly aggressive group of vigilantes have forced shut many art exhibitions, where they believed that their ‘culture’ was depicted in an indecent light.  
• Social Responsibility vs. Morality: The idea of merging social responsibility with morality is what has led to the perpetration of these moral crimes. The act of aggression is taken out on an unsuspecting citizen because they unknowingly ended up hurting someone’s religious or moral sentiments. 
• Discretion of Police: In India, the Sections 292 to 294 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), 1860 utilized to manage obscenity.  However, there is an absence of definition of “indecent” and it is left at the discretion of the police officer to decide as to what constitutes an act/behavior to be decent/indecent. 
• Social networking platform: Acts as a catalyst towards moral policing as fake news are shared by the perpetrators to develop enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, etc. 

Impacts of Moral Policing

• Promotes Conservatism: The acts of moral policing impede the development of our society as a whole because it acknowledges in a very strict manner, the role of the different genders which ultimately promotes conservatism in our society. 
• Gender Biasness: It promotes gender biasness which makes it difficult for the women of our society to move freely and act independently. E.g. aggressive groups issuing diktats for women against western clothing. 
• Hinders Fundamental Rights: Cultural groups have proved it time and again that democracy and the fundamental rights of the citizens of India do not stand a chance when a certain act does not fit the ideals of their cultural values. 
• Rising Intolerance: Moral policing is a dangerous situation as it does not leave even a tiny space for difference and toleration to exist which leads to altercation and conflicts in the society. 
• Affecting Educational Institutions: Moral vigilante groups inside the campus of their educational institutions keep a check on the activities of their students or more so for maintaining the gauge of the ‘moral compass.’ 
• Mob Lynchings: Lynching is a collective hate crime. It occurs due to the sharing of fake rumors on social networking platforms, the immobility and inactive attitude of the politicians, police officers and so on.
• Cultural Terrorism: The extra constitutional actors such as political outfits, cultural groups try to impose their subjective belief through use of physical violence. These actors are more coercive and arbitrary in nature. 
• Honor killing: It is one of the most disdainful offences because it is psychologically complex and sociologically intricate and also it is one of the morally distressing violent crimes against humanity.
• Cow Vigilantism: It threatens the lives of minorities in India such as Muslim and Dalits. The reports further point out that this kind of moral policing is on the high rise.

Way Forward

• Spreading Awareness: Public discussion and debates should be promoted in schools and colleges to create awareness and sensitization towards different moral policing. One must understand that Moral Policing is against the law.
• Educating Students: Education begins at home. Our children need to understand that such a group of people do not come from a well educated background and they do not have a proper understanding of the real law. 
• Overhauling Criminal Justice System: There is a need to carry out reforms in the criminal justice system, so that sensitivity and awareness about constitutional values can be imbibed in the administration.
• Training of Police Officials: It could play a very important role in regulating such activities in society. Though the majority of police officers were well behaved, the laxity on the part of a few was spoiling the image of the department. People in the force should be able to handle provocations intelligently.
• Tackle Fake Rumours: There is a need to have a better agenda towards tackling the fake rumors which spread pervasively on the social media platform and need to have separate laws which works with a standard operating procedure to tackle such grave violence.
• Understanding mob psychology: To comprehend their energy, one must comprehend their mindset. Independently, they are powerless and regrettable. Obviously, they take cover behind a political, religious, or good agenda. 

Source: TH