The dwindling employability of the populace in the country has been a matter of stark concern for the ruling government. But, at a time, when the whole nation has been fuming with incidents of atrocities against the minorities and the labour class of the country, came a decision from the Supreme Court against the ban imposed by the Maharashtra government on the dance bars. In 2005, the Maharashtra government had banned the dance bars throughout the state through an amendment. (Source)
However, the high court of the state declared the provision unconstitutional under Article 19 (1) (g). The legal battle went on for years until in 2013; the Supreme Court upheld the HC verdict saying that the ban did indeed violate the Indian constitution. The state government took the decision in a bad spirit and embarked on a journey to find a method, in which they could then, extend the ban on the dance performances in hotels too. We must not forget that, till the dance performances were legalised, a huge array of dancers from all over the country, found employment in the hotels and the bars, but with the ban imposed on them, a throng of women and men went unemployed in a single night. The government says that the ban will put a halt to the illicit practices going on with the camouflage of the dance bars, but it staunchly forgot that the illicit practices could have been managed with the intervention of the police, it is a mandate of the government that when it has failed to control or curb certain practices, it just resorts to the final method, the banning of the practice terming it illegal and immoral.
The then NCP leader and former home minister, R.R. Patil had a personal grudge against the dancers and bar owners’ association, which began when they had staged protests against the Maharashtra government’s autocratic decision. Patil, a senior leader, also had faced numerous charges from the common masses alleging him of moral policing.
The SC on Thursday noted, however, that the state government failed to address the real issues highlighted by the court in its order in 2013 in which it had called the ban unconstitutional. The latest attempt to ban dance bars, it said, was not very different from the previous one.
The government had faced numerous allegations back in the days when it had banned the bars, many were found grumbling about the non-existent night life of Mumbai, which had been so exuberantly highlighted in the films. Not only has a wrong notion about the ‘known to be so liberal’ city spread in the world, also, a long known inefficiency of the Indian administration has sprung up amidst the whole hustle surrounding the dance bars and hotels.
In a report published, it was noted that the dance bars just closed formally while they still continue at the patronage of the local police and the goons. The police previously, had been openly known to be supporting the practices of prostitution and dance bars even after the ban, and the earnings are distributed from the bottom to the top, so why the hypocritical statements by the ruling government?
Sill today, there are many women who have failed to get a grip on their lives, numerous bar dancers have complained about the way in which the men look at them. Even the ban did not change anything; men still look at them as objects to satisfy the male body and mind. The number of dancers entering into prostitution because of unemployment has also seen an increase in the past years.
“The police would harass us 10 years ago, they have harassed us for the past 10 years and they will continue to do so, regardless of what the SC says.” one of the owners of the bar said. The ban has turned a fallacy; an act which was aimed at controlling the illicit practices has over the years turned into a money spinner for the local politicians and the policemen. The prostitution levels have risen; brothels have opened up, rising on the sheer number of unemployed women, many of whom have their own families to run. (Source)
That the dance bars were a major attraction for Mumbai, if it would have been maintained in a clean and proper way, is agreed by many. Adarsh Shetty, president of AHAR, is jubilant at the decision of the SC. He said,
“WE need to provide international quality facilities… I have seen foreign tourists being charmed by a dance bar… We need to break away from the shackles of looking at these places as just dance bars.”
He further laid huge allegations at the police that they found everything obscene in a bar, which held no ground once taken to the court of law. (Source)
But, there is also a demerit of us looking at the whole issue just on the perspective of the dancers, but then we would be only looking at a particular picture because along with them, there were a huge lot of managers, cleaners and waiters too, who ate from hand to mouth depending on the bar. The present government, just like its predecessor, has been providing no meaningful employment to the dancers and waiters and bar managers, who have been thrown off employment. The dance bars need to be re-opened, it’s a question of employment of thousands and millions of women and men, but along with it, there must also be a strict system of maintenance for maintaining theses places as just bars and not hubs of drugs and prostitution.
Amidst the whole scenario going on in the country, the SC decision surely provides a sigh of relief that there is still someone, who is at least, for a bit, troubled with the real problems faced by the masses, the problem of roti, kapda aur makaan, and not on petty issues like beef or pork. Many NGOs who have been working for the dancers along with The dancers and even the previous bar managers and owners have welcomed the decision, saying that it would be a welcome respite from the whole poverty stricken situation they have been subjected to since 2005, when the ban was first imposed.
Note: Image used in this post is only for representational purpose.
