Just a day before we celebrate our independence, something comes up to remind us the kind of threat our freedom faces. The moral police in India is not a new thing and it seems to be rising in intimidation and audacity.
It has only been days since the police in Mumbai raided hotels and dragged couples out of their private space in public, ironically accusing them of ‘public indecency’. Now pubs in Chennai are warning visitors to ‘dress conservatively’, since they fear a raid by the moral police or police in the following week or so.
The warnings included specifically suggesting women to refrain from wearing short skirts and short dresses. The pubs told women to wear pants for a week as a precaution against any unfortunate event, because everyone knows how the moral police raids pubs.
Messages also warned of a possible raid for age verification and suggested that women under influence of alcohol or wearing short dresses, might get in trouble.
While some pub owners refused to comment, many said it might be an after effect of protests against alcohol. The police chief denied having any plans of a raid.