Kissing in public is a matter of societal interest in India. And the latest ‘accident’ of PDA has happened in Meerut.
Supporters of Hindu Jagran Manch leader Sachin Sirohi gathered at the Nauchandi police station after a video of a couple kissing in front of a photo booth at the Nauchandi fair went viral.
The couple is being accused of “engaging in obscenity at the religious fair.”
First things first—sharing a kiss/peck in public isn’t wrong. It’s a harmless, even sweet, expression of love.
In a world filled with real problems, like pollution, poverty, and corruption, a kiss between two consenting adults is hardly a catastrophe. It doesn’t generate the heat to melt glaciers. So just chill.
But it’s interesting how some people choose to get worked up over a simple act of affection. These self-proclaimed guardians of culture and religion are making a mountain out of a molehill. Sirohi demanded the couple’s arrest, claiming their actions had a negative influence on visitors.
Are we to believe that kissing is detrimental to society’s moral fabric?
The argument falls apart when scrutinised against the backdrop of popular culture and entertainment, where such acts are commonplace and widely accepted. From Rockstar and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara to Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela—the kissing scenes made the theatre go “oooooooh.”
Sp, people taking offence from the Meerut incident are likely the ones who, sadly, don’t have a love story of their own. It’s high time to go get some love, and a life.
Also read: Triptii Dimri is getting heat for steamy ‘Jaanam’. Only men can be proud ‘sex symbols’
‘God is busy’
The notion that a kiss can bring disgrace to a deity or religion is flawed to begin with. Trust me, as a religious person, god is not this fragile and free. He has other important things to take care of.
“We don’t even know the distance between the temple and the photo booth,” the SHO of Nauchandi Police Station told ThePrint.
This statement itself underscores the trivial nature of the complaint, highlighting the overblown reaction to a harmless act of affection.
In many tier 2 and tier 3 cities, fairs are still a popular spot for couples. It’s where their love blossoms. And audiences cheer for on-screen ‘fair’ romances in films like Masaan, but they term real-life expressions of love as inappropriate and vulgar.
This is nothing but sheer hypocrisy.
Unnecessary repression
Cultural norms vary widely around the world. In many places, public displays of affection are completely normal and accepted.
If it’s okay in Paris or New York, why not in Meerut? The discomfort some feel towards public kissing often comes from outdated social norms.
The so-called guardians of “traditional Indian culture” view kissing in public, much like homosexuality, as unnatural.
The Meerut incident reminds me of the ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign in Kerala in 2014.
Long story short: A video of a couple kissing in the parking lot of a cafe in Kozhikode was telecast on TV as an ‘exclusive’ report of immoral activity. Following this, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leaders vandalised the café for endorsing un-Indian behaviour. It was one of the many moral policing incidents that shook the state at the time.
It led to the “Kiss of Love” campaign which had one message: stop moral policing. The method of protest was novel—simply kissing in public.
10 years later, PDA is still seen as an attack on India’s moral fabric. Perhaps we need a few more (public) kisses to break free from psychological constraints.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)