The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has endorsed a controversial plan to ban mannequins displaying lingerie, annoying most shopkeepers and businesses involved in such trades.
The proposal was unanimously passed by the 227 member strong civic body and is currently under active perusal of BMC CEO Sitaram Kunte.
The latest measures are viewed as an example of how morally conservative politicians and orthodox bureaucrats are aiming to solve India's problems in their own muddled manner.
Incidentally, it was a lady corporator of BMC, Ritu Tawde, who undertook this crusade against display of shapely mannequins to display women's wear including lingerie.
"Mannequins wearing lingerie and undergarments, which are the underwear of a woman, are being placed in the open. It is ironical that Mannequins wearing two-piece are placed on the roadside or inside a store, this must be stopped because firstly, it affects the children and secondly the minds of all the perverts in the society gets fuelled by them and they commit crimes on women," said Tawade.
However, the traders deemed such a move by the civic body as ridiculous.
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Sharing his concern over possible adverse impact on their trade, Viren Shah, President of the Federation of Traders Welfare Association in Mumbai questioned the logic behind this dictum issued by the City Fathers.
Further he observed that the mannequins are inert moulded plastic figures whereas coloured advertisement with semi-clad models posing in more aggressive and provocative postures are featured in the newspapers and magazines and other media.
"This is completely wrong because this kind of display of undergarments on mannequins has been there for many years. This resolution that has been passed by the BMC Standing Committee in the general body, but it is wrong to say that mannequin makes dirty remarks and mannequins make people lead to crime and rapes. There are so many other items like posters, hoardings, which are there. There are big newspaper advertisements for lingerie and they are with live model. This is only mannequin and plastic bodies and this does not affect anything," said Viren Shah, President, Federation of Traders Welfare Association.
Sex crimes are common in India. The National Crime Records Bureau says more than 24,200 rapes were reported across the country in 2011 -- about one every 20 minutes.
Police are investigating the recent alleged rape of a 21-year-old Irish woman working as a volunteer with a non-governmental organisation in West Bengal.
The latest shocking incident that hit the headlines was about an American tourist being gang raped in Manali region of the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.
The gang rape of a 23-year-old Indian para-medic student in a moving bus on December 16 last year in New Delhi brought thousands of people onto the streets in protest, demanding better policing to prevent sex crimes. The trainee physiotherapist later died from the grievous injuries inflicted upon her by the five brutal rapists.