'Moral policing has caused much controversy across India

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The security guards at Cubbon Park have been tasked to look out for couples indulging in “inappropriate behaviour” on the park premises.

This will be apart from the guards' existing duty of sending away visitors from the park after closing hours and ensuring the ban on littering is followed. Acting on complaints received by families who visit the park along with their children, frequent walkers as well as senior citizens, the Horticulture Department has decided to police inappropriate behaviour.

The complaints said that couples were found in indecent situations at certain corners of the park, invoking an uncomfortable feeling among the visitors. Megaphones have been provided to security guards for the purpose. They have also been asked to correct those displaying inappropriate behaviour.

“We ask them not to indulge in indecent acts and sit decently,” a security guard has said. The horticulture department has said that calm corners around the park may house snakes and hence, they want to keep crowds away from such nooks. However, the young crowd believes that the rules are ambiguous and might lead to moral policing. Simultaneously, they have acknowledged that boundaries need to be maintained.

“Moral policing has caused much controversy across India, through then and now, with people and police acting on their own initiative. The younger generation now prefers having dates in cafes and cinemas instead of public spaces, a privilege many can’t afford. The quality of public space is the bellwether of a healthy society, it draws the diagram of a civilised society," said a visitor to the park.

"How we behave in public, how we interact with others and what happens within public spaces are the essence of a community. It is important to turn public spaces into a safe space for interaction between any gender,” said a college-going student and a frequent visitor to the park.