BATTLE OF
INDEPENDENCE
Style Or Indecency
Sandip C. Jain

Pretty Young Things and even Handsome Young Things better watch out- chances are that your sleeveless and low cut T-Shirts or Tan tops or Skin tight pants or even your fancy ear studs may win you more embarrassments than admirers. With the moral cops, both in khaki or self-styled, out in the prowl- fashion has suddenly become a dreaded word in Kalimpong!!
The Main Roads of Kalimpong which on Independence Day over the years had become more akin to one huge Fashion Ramp, suddenly this year, became too dangerous for ultra fashionable youngsters to venture on with members of several women organizations patrolling the streets intent on stopping fashion lovers from crossing the thin line between looking trendy and looking indecent.
The efforts by the several women organizations of Kalimpong, with the blessings of certain Officers of the Kalimpong Police, on Independence Day to keep a check on skimpy clothing has understandably generated a lot of heat in Kalimpong with two distinct schools of thought emerging. One which celebrates the curb on fashion and one that thinks that this effort is an infringement on individual rights given by the Indian Constitution to its citizens.
The drive by certain men in khaki to rob citizens of Kalimpong the right to wear ear studs seems to have generated even more heat. One particular police personnel seemed to have almost made it his full time duty looking out for “kundalays” (local slang used for people who wear ear rings). The Police view this drive as being a part of a drive to maintain law and order. But almost all locals who spoke to Himalayan times call it a way of harassing people and an infringement of their individual rights. Says Norbu Lama of Kalimpong College, “If I wear an ear ring it does not make me a criminal. I as a citizen of free India have a right to wear any type of ear ring without breaking any rules of the land.” His friend interrupts to say, “I do not wear any decorations on my ears but if in case I did and I am ordered on the road by some policeman to remove it and throw it down a drain, I will surely file a case in the court of law.”
Though there were not too many people willing to defend the Police in the ear ring episode, the responses to the crack down on skimpy clothing managed to evoke mixed reactions from the general public. While senior citizens and the more conservative public supported the drive, others spewed fire against the drive. Jyoti Karki, coordinator of the Women organizations who led the crack down says, “The youth of today is getting carried away in the name of fashion. We too believe in fashion but there should be a limit. We have no bad intentions and are doing it all in good faith.” The Inspector in Charge of the Kalimpong Police Station, Mr. P.K.Dahal, supporting the women organizations says, “We are supporting this drive. Girls wearing revealing dresses which attract the attention of the boys should be discouraged.” But not everyone seems to agree with Karki and Dahal. Anil Lopchan, a prominent youth activist of the town, says, “People wear dresses in which they feel comfortable. You cannot wear a sweater in summers. No one should be embarrassed in Main Road just because the cloths they are wearing is not to the liking of certain people.”
Says sixteen year old Deepu Gurung of Topkhana, who was given a verbal thrashing by some of the women activists on Independence Day for wearing a short T-shirt, “How could they shout at me in such a way in front of so many people. Just because I wore a T-shirt which was a little short does not mean that I have a loose moral character. It could be that a girl wearing tight jeans and short tops could have an exemplary moral character while someone else covered from head to toe in a burkha may have questionable moral values. So what’s the point in treating cloths as an indicator of a persons moral character?”
Surprisingly another sixteen year old Anita Tamang supported the drive by the women organizations. “Some of my friends sometimes dress so outlandishly that it is hard for us to even walk a short distance without getting provoking looks from people walking in the streets. I feel style should be done in such a way that it makes you look beautiful rather than making you look vulgar.”
The controversy is all set to continue with the women organizations vowing to continue with their efforts. Says Jyoti, “Our activities are not confined only to Independence Day and we intend to continue with our cause.”
The battle lines are clearly drawn between the good and the evil (but who is exactly evil and who exactly is good depends on which side of the divide one belongs to). But one thing is certain; if such controversies persist then very soon the festivity associated with Independence Day in Kalimpong will probably die an unnatural death.