What the ‘Morally Loose’ Woman told Self-Appointed Custodians of Indian Culture

Vigilantes,

Renegades,

The Heroes our city never asked for

I don’t think of all you as

Saffron-robed, lathi-brandishing, right-wing bhakts

I’ve seen you in school buses,

Segregating girls and boys,

Lest they began to feel comfortable in each other’s company

I’ve seen you standing beside coffee shops,

Threatening its owners to install CCTV cameras,

Lest young lovers forget they live in a surveillance state.

I’ve seen you in the back rows of seedy single-screen theatres,

Perking up your ears to catch the sound of smooching

And swooping down on consenting lovers

Lest the ‘vulnerable woman’ gets trafficked into ‘flesh trade.’

I’ve seen you on the censor board and the

Ministry of Propaganda and Hogwash

Butchering films for being ‘woman-centric’,

Banning public service announcements for

‘Sexually objectifying’ women, and being ‘immoral’

Lest such films show the country its own shame.

I’ve seen you swivelling in high-back chairs

Reserved for megalomaniacs of educational institutions

Killing careers of artists for painting

your hallowed Gods and Goddesses in an ‘Obscene manner’

Lest we ever shed the baggage of Victorian morality, and

Act nonchalant around nudity.