Mangalore pub attack is a culture clash – time to choose your side

A lot of us have been a bit angry and emotional over what we saw as hooligans man-handling young girls, slapping and beating them at Mangalore’s Pub Amnesia. 

We saw the reaction of the media, the Indian government, the Karnataka government, and the various parties.

We have had politicians supporting the ideas of the Sri Rama Sene. We saw how Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Chief Minister declaring he wants to get rid of pub culture in the state. He also had a problem with boys and girls holding hands and walking into malls.

Our gay-friendly Union Health Minister chose to be selectively liberal. The minister probably did not care about boys and girls holding hands, but pub culture was definetely a threat, said the man, and he has plans to do something about it. 

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa said he was against pub culture; his home minister Acharya prompty agreed that pub culture was evil. 

We had a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) trying to ‘understand’ the Rama Sene attackers’ side of the story by meeting them in jail, and blaming the pub and the girls in a statement which had this line “they were dancing in nude clothes”.

We have Ram Madhav, Tarun Vijay and their like condemning the attacks. they also blame the media for playing up such incidents and following the agenda of the Congress.

We have VK malhotra in Delhi protesting pub culture, and Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi CM saying that its between parents and children.

If you are an educated, metro-dwelling, liberal Indian, you now you know your enemy. 

The enemy is whoever has a stake in the existing social system. The existing social system has its hierarchies, traditions, rules whch you are not allowed to break. It does not matter that the so-called rules are not legal. If you don’t submit yourself to them, you will be beaten, slapped, girls kicked and sometimes, molested and sometimes raped so you learn where you stand in India.

You may take your visiting auntie to the nearest lounge bar. You may take your wife to the pub to have an evening of fun. You may meet and dance with your girlfriend in a pub.

All of this is evil, threatening, humiliating to the loyalists of the past.

Understand the hiearchy of moral policing

In the hierarchy of moral policing, there first is the larger society which is still pretty rural, and does not care about liberties or freedom.

The society of India. You, the educated, liberal Indian is an aberration. You are sure increasing in number, but you are still a minority limited to some pockets of metros.

The pubs and discos and restaurants where you hang out are only temporary refuges. There is anger in the larger society against you. 

You are the leaders of a new social system where women are freer, people drink, have pre-marital sex if they want to, live in, have boyfriends or girlfriends, indulge in occasional publi display of affection, and are optimistic about life.

There is the larger Indian society where none of these things apply. They are threatened, and feel powerless, due to the high visibility that you enjoy thanks to the media, TV and movies. And when they resent, they would attack.

The patriarchs are usually from the swamis, RSS, and yes, the Gehlots and the Ramadosses of the world.

Their resentment is usually limited to issuing statements. 

These statements lead to nastier corner meetings and right-wing groups (yes, some left-wingers are resentful too).

These translate to the local auto driver, cleaner, coolie and unemployed hooligan who feel disempowered deciding to walk into a pub and hit your friend or sister. Your wife’s jeans offend them, a teen’s skirt offends them, some call-center girl’s snazzy belt offends them. And they kick your girls, wives, mothers about the head.

That is where we are.

So what are you going to do?