The Moral Police in God’s Own Country

Partying at night in Kerala comes under the jackboot of cops with Marxist support

The Kerala Police employ odd methods to prevent crime. Earlier, they were going after Bob Marley fans to curb narcotics. Now they have launched a drive against parties and night clubs.

A series of raids have been conducted on hotels that host night parties, but with little to show for it. For example, a raid on Greek Cruise, a luxury boat at Kochi, found 400 cans of beer, a few bottles of brandy and 20 gm of marijuana. In the first week of July, a raid was conducted on a hotel at Kochi and the police only found one small packet of marijuana. Such operations seem to be media-driven with TV news channels so fond of airing ‘investigative stories’ on night parties attended by ‘booze and girls’.

There is no consensus even among the police top brass on what or who the target is— drugs, illegal liquor, or boys and girls dancing together. “Night parties cannot be allowed because it is against the Abkari Act. A bar is a place to run a business, and entertainment is not allowed in such a place. They do not pay their entertainment tax as well,” says Rex Bobby Aravin, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kochi. The city’s Deputy Commissioner R Nishanthini has a different take. “We are not against DJ parties, we are only against the distribution and use of drugs at such parties,” he says.

The Democratic Youth Federation of India, the CPM’s youth wing, welcomes the drive because it goes with its stance against Western culture. That Marxism itself is Western does not bother it. “We strongly oppose the use of drugs and liquor in night parties. The very concept of a night party itself is a cultural degradation,” says M Swaraj, the DYFI’s state president. The Kerala Police has also deported six Filipino girls who used to sing and dance at a hotel in Thrissur. The CPM’s youth wing has defended these deportations as well, saying that it stands firmly against singing and dancing at hotels.

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