Rubber stamped

Will our netas let us mind our own business and pleasure? Even if condoms vibrate

At a time when the upcoming race for president has stretched the party-political lines especially tight and clear in the capital, a rare consensus is unfolding in Madhya Pradesh. 8220;Sex toys can have serious repercussions on the Indian way of life,8221; says BJP leader and state PWD and IT minister Kailash Vijayavargia in a three-page letter to the prime minister. It is

8220;8230; bound to have a harmful effect, especially on youngsters8221;, chimed state CPM secretary Bahadur Singh Dhakad. Undoubtedly, the local Congress notable has also made a statement to the same effect. All parties are united in their demand for an immediate prime ministerial ban on a ribbed condom with a vibrating ring marketed by the government-owned Hindustan Latex Ltd.

Parties across the political spectrum have shown this meeting of minds earlier. Invariably, it has been on issues of 8220;morality8221;, of protecting 8220;India8217;s culture and tradition8221; supposedly under siege. There was the unanimity on the banning of dance bars in Mumbai. There was the complicit acceptance of a move by a secular government to ban a book for allegedly offending the sentiments of those who revere Shivaji. Earlier, a resounding silence followed lumpen rage against film actress Khushboo after her statement on pre-marital sex. There has been silence, again, by all parties whenever the I038;B minister presumed to decide what can or cannot be construed as healthy viewing for adult Indian audiences and chopped and banned television programmes and even whole channels. We8217;ve had ample warnings of this cross-party restrictiveness.

Yet the Madhya Pradesh controversy is worryingly instructive. It shows us that the fight against the 8216;moral police8217; is not out there, against a clearly identifiable enemy. The moral police is often an agreeable animal of every political persuasion, waiting to strike, catch us unawares. The condom marketed by Hindustan Latex is not the issue, though the government-owned enterprise deserves commendation for its show of marketing verve and imagination. The point is, we need to tell our political parties that we can mind our own business, and pleasure.