India's morality police send bored city to sleep
By Krittivas MukherjeeThu Feb 9, 7:34 AM ET
Nightlife in India's entertainment capital has become deadly dull, youngsters in Mumbai complain, as the authorities continue a crackdown on discos and bars that they accuse of corrupting impressionable young minds.
The city's nightlife -- not so long ago pulsating, risque and never-ending -- has become a non-event, they say, ever since officials declared a war on adult fun in August, forcing hundreds of popular dance bars to shut their doors saying they bred crime and prostitution.
After the ban, thousands of dancers found themselves out of work, with many moving to other states to earn a living. Others are reported to have become prostitutes.
As if that was not bad enough for Mumbai's party set, police are now reining in the city's ordinary watering holes, asking them to obtain a dozen licences, pull down the shutters at midnight, and make their guests behave.
"This is moral policing at its best and we don't need any of this," said Sebastian Ambrose, a computer professional and a regular pub-goer. "They say this city never sleeps. Now Mumbai sleeps by 12. This is boring."
More than 30 pubs have closed in the last two weeks, with the police often kicking out drinkers as they relaxed after work, and many more look set to follow unless the authorities relent.
Anyone hoping to serve alcohol needs to spend more time in government offices than pouring drinks, with permits for parking, pest control, the playing of music (one each for live or recorded sets) and many others needed before opening time.
"A pub owner here has to go from table to table seeking more than a dozen licences that may take more than a year to obtain," said Kamlesh Barot, secretary of a hotels and restaurants association.
While only four of the permits have been introduced recently, in the past many licences were more often than not overlooked.
But not any more.
Bar owners say the crackdown is just an excuse for government officials and the police to collect bribes.
"We don't mind licences but the wait for getting them should not be endless. Files don't move till officers' palms are greased," said Jehani Farhang, the director of a south Mumbai pub.
NO FUN, PLEASE
It is not just the bar owners who are coming under pressure. Police are stepping up patrols outside popular nightspots.
"We feel like criminals with police watching over outside the pubs and nightclubs. They have to stop being a bully," said Sanjay Khadas, a young advertising executive.
"The dance bars are gone. Now they are after the bars to ensure there is no entertainment in Mumbai," said Paritosh Sehgal, a college student.
For pub owners, the early hours of the morning are when they do their best business, and early closures are hitting them hard.
The police are unapologetic. "We are targetting only those that don't comply with rules. All of them have to get licences," said Ashutosh Dumbre, deputy police commissioner.
Local newspapers have gone to town protesting police "excesses", saying officers were spending more time watching over pub and nightclubs than solving murders or catching rapists and fraudsters.
"For cops, public is public enemy No.1," said a headline in Times of India on Thursday. "Moral policing is easy to do and gets policemen and politicians a lot of cheap publicity. Never mind that the public enemy number one becomes the public itself," the newspaper said.
