More than bruises on the torso: Begone morale cops
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 10 2011 -

The Sangai Express works under a set of principles and among the more basic of these principles is to steer away from anything that is remotely seen as tabloidisation and it is for this very reason why pictures of naked torsos and dismembered remains of a human are not front page staples or anywhere in the inside pages either.

However there have been times when there was an overwhelming need to publish pictures of naked torsos for the pictures tell a story which no weaving of the words would have been enough.

The first time a picture of a naked butt made it to the front page of this newspaper was when green chillies were allegedly inserted into the rectum of a man by Assam Rifles personnel about 7/8 years back.

The second time was when Assam Rifles personnel, again, went berserk and thrashed a good number of villagers and the beating was so severe that pictures of the naked flesh had to be published to highlight the brutality of the security personnel.

This also happened more than five years back. The latest is the picture of a bruised butt of a woman, published on the front page in the August 9 issue of this newspaper (English edition).

Those who have gone through the news report will be left in no doubt of the extent to which some elements can go in the name of keeping the society clean and free from evil influences.

The black and blue bruises tell the story of not only a single woman who had the misfortune of falling into the hands of the self appointed morale policemen of society but the ignominy to which womenfolk have been subjected to for long.

The picture was a naked butt but what lies more exposed is the sick minds of some demented people, who ironically occupy positions of social importance so much so that they have come under the impression that their writ should be obeyed and not questioned.

A sick mind, intoxicated by the whiff of authority. Just how much society is tilted in favour of the male is again demonstrated by the conduct of the husband who had the audacity to invoke some social practices and expel the woman from his house while in fact it is he who should be penalised, if the story narrated by the woman is anything to go by.

The allegation of rape raised by the woman in addition to the brutal physical beating she had to endure has only gone on to show the sadistic nature of the men in the garb of social vigilantes and this is what is disturbing.

The wounds will heal, no doubt about it, but it will take more than the application of some balm to heal the wound that was inflicted in the inner most recess of her mind.

An arrest warrant has already been issued against the accused and while it is up to the Court of law to decide the fate of the accused persons, it is to be seen how the different social mechanisms respond to the situation.

Will it be another case of calling the character of the woman into questioning ? Will the men have the last laugh ? Will it be a case of social hypocrisy trumping every one else or will there be some proactive action this time ?

Social vigil is no doubt a powerful and effective tool against social evils like drug abuse and drug trafficking. An active vigil at the level of society or a neighbourhood or a locality is an indication of a state wherein the social mechanisms are well oiled and prepared to meet the challenges threatening the social fabric of a society or a group of people.

However social vigil and brutality or giving the license to the social vigilantes or moral policemen to pick up a woman, take her around, sexually abuse her and thrash her is something far removed from the concept and belief of keeping a sharp vigil to fight social evils.

For too long elements with a criminal bent of mind have been given the long rope to do as they please as long as their action comes under the protective umbrella of ‘standing vigil for society.’ A line needs to be drawn and the time to do that is now !

Society cannot hope to progress on a foundation that rests on double standard, hypocrisy and which gives enough room to the sadistic nature of some to come to the fore without any questioning.

Every whip or blow that landed on the woman from Thoubal was a blow on the soul of society. Each and every sexual abuse she was subjected to was a rape of society and the values it stands for.

The humiliation she was forced to undergo was a slap on the collective conscience of the people. And since when was the license given to these self appointed morale guardians or watchdog to pick up anyone they please ?

There may be no official date and time which authorised these elements to flex their muscles but such an act was the cumulative effect of a society refusing to see the reality.

It is a cruel irony that while loud protests continue to rend the air over the manner in which womenfolk from the North East region are stereotyped and subjected to abuses and even rapes in places like Delhi, here we have in our own midst, men donning the role of social vigilantes and morale policemen, picking up a hapless woman and subjecting her to physical assault, even to the extent of sexually molesting her.

Security forces have been pilloried and damned for sexually molesting women under the name of CI Ops yet at the same time we have our own people donning the role of socially concerned people and under this garb exploit the modesty of a woman.

Time to draw the line and ponder deeply whether the culture of morale policemen has proved beneficial or backfired as well as to question who has mandated them.