Sex is not something to be ashamed of: Abhay Deol slams Madh Island raid

Mumbai, Aug 13: On 8 August, around 40 consenting adults who had checked into hotels in Madh Island and the Aksa beach area in Mumbai, were dragged out of their rooms and taken to jail by the Malvani police.

Their crime? They were alone in a room, possibly having sex. After hours of questioning, a Rs. 1200 fine and even calls to their parents, they were finally allowed to go home. But the damage was done. Their takeaway was lifelong humiliation.

Echoing most of our thoughts about this raid that poses as a threat to basic privacy and rights, Abhay Deol wrote a long message on his Facebook page, concerned about the archaic mentality we have about sex. He starts by expressing his unabashed opinion on it:

"Even I am baffled by our society’s obsession with sex. I enjoy it, I crave it, I pursue it. I don’t hide the fact. I feel a tinge of shame admitting it. It always takes a moment for the logical part of my brain to put the shame aside, and I see reason."

He also speaks about the skewed concept of morality:

" ... [morals] are relative to those who rule. Principles on the other hand, are unchangeable, they are at the root of my culture. That’s what I was taught, so If we have a ‘moral police’, then why not a ‘principal police’ as well? I guess I have resigned myself to a society mistaking itself to be the custodian of my culture."

Deol ends with a comment that sums up our thoughts about this incident as well (in all caps, no less):

"SEX IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE ASHAMED OF WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR SOME PEOPLE TO DIGEST THAT?"