Selective Amnesia

Right to Freedom, anyone?

Let’s assume you are at home, after a hard day’s work. Your shoes are off, legs up on the table, a hot cup of coffee by you and your favourite tracks playing on the music system, says Senthazham Poovil. You like the song so much you pump the volume up a bit.
Out of nowhere, your neighbour comes across, slaps you in the face for he didn’t like the song playing. He didn’t like it that you were relaxing while he wasn’t.

Hard to imagine? Well, that in essence what has happened in Madras. The police have arrested two employees of the Park Hotel for alleged violation of Licence Laws.

Cases were filed against them for offences under Section 37 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act (violation of licence condition), 294 of Indian Penal Code (obscene acts and songs to the annoyance of others in any public place) and under Section 24 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition License Act.

All this, because some yellow Tamil newspaper (most tamil dailies are sensationalist in nature) had gate crashed into a private party in the Park, photographed people without their permission, invading their privacy, and then publishing these unauthorised pictures in the newspaper the next day. With degrading titles.

Now, if that weren’t enough, some self-appointed cultural guardian takes offense and registers a case, based on which our progressive state and its able assistants, the Police filed the above mentioned cases.

If this isn’t a gross violation of our basic rights, I don’t know what is. What is really pathetic about this case is the generous doses of hypocrisy.

As Sudish Kamath points out

Tamil dailies that use a staple of sleaze from films today are talking about women and morality. Talk about hypocrisy.

The question is what do we do about it. Well, we can make enough noise, as Chenthil says, about the issue. Make sure that the hypocrisy and double standards are recognised for what they are. And help spread the word.
Chennai Bloggers Nilu, Chenthil have already weighed in with this issue. You too can.