SEX IS A taboo subject in Indian society. Individuals as well as organisations try to capitalise on it so they can make money. Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world and the statement is still true in one sense or the other. Some countries have legalised prostitution. Such countries have become the destination of prostitutes from all over the world, assuming the prostitutes are free to go there. Thailand and Australia are good examples. In the process, these countries have been generating revenues too.

I categorise sex under two heads, viz., legal sex and moral sex.

Legal sex is sex that is recognised by law; it has only requirement - the element of consent; but moral sex is something which is far ahead of legal sex and obtains only between the husband and the wife. All other acts of sexual intercourse are invalid. However legal, sexual intercourse has its limitations, at least in India - it should not be an organized act. What I mean to say is that it must be an affair between the individuals concerned. The media’s double standard shows up here – the print media helps in promoting organised sex while the visual media exposes it.

In India, sex is the best selling thing apart from caste, creed, country and religion. But the irony is that it requires concealment given the taboo status it enjoys. Sex rackets are very common in metros and small towns too. News channels hanker for them – much faster than these channels. These news channels claim that they are good at exposing such sex rackets but where does the expose lead to? – A complete fiasco! Their responsibility does not end there. The root cause should be publicised. The involvement of their counterpart, viz., the print media should be brought to light. Just page through the “Times Of India” and you will get to know the telephone numbers of Walter, Maria, Liza, etc, who can have you massaged by Russian, Turkish and Spanish girls. The service can be ‘delivered at your home’ round the clock! What is this? Even a fool can understand what the message in the newspaper tries to convey. Where is the system? Where is the police force? What regulations govern such insertions in newspapers? Who is answerable?

News channels generate more advertisement-related revenues by covering such titillating stories. Sadly, this trend is not healthy for the common man. I am not saying that things have gone wrong but I am suggesting that righteousness must prevail. Do legalize this age-old profession. This is the only remedy. The legal machinery has failed to curb this vice in spite of its best efforts. Let this thing be done in a transparent manner. And my message to visual media is when your print media counterpart is helping your target and giving it space what is the rationale behind trapping the victim? I don’t think that running massage parlours is advisable without obtaining the permission of the authorities concerned and with the covert or overt support of the print media.