A nationwide campaign calling couples to kiss, hug and indulge in public display of affection in city parks is finding resonance with Hyderabadis, who say they are tired of moral policing.I will hold hands with my friend, and we will even hug —all this in broad daylight, in a public place — the Sanjeeviah Park,” says Amritha Lawrence, a freelance photographer from Hyderabad, who’s all set for ‘Park mein PDA’, a nationwide campaign that is an answer to increasing instances of moral policing in India.Going one step ahead is Satya Routray, member of Queer Campus Hyderabad, who says he will “run around trees and sing songs with my partner, and upload the pics and videos” on social media with the hashtag #ParkMeinPDA. “It’s time we stopped sitting back and cribbing; we should go out their, display our affection, claim our rights,” adds Satya.The campaign which kickstarted on Monday, and will go on till October 3, aims to “assert unequivocally that moral policing in public, or worse, private spaces, is unacceptable”.The idea for this mass movement against moral policing was born out of an online discussion, after the infamous Mumbai moral policing case where couples were arrested from hotel rooms for ‘obscenity’ and ‘indecency’. While the Mumbai incident earned the cops much flak, the truth is that most of the time those who police young couples and harass them in the name of the law, simply get away. “The Mumbai incident was the trigger, but in Hyderabad as well, there are so many instances of couples being harassed just because they are seen holding hands, or kissing, or hugging. Sometimes couples are harassed even for just being together in public,” says Gitanjali Joshua, a member of Hyderabad for Feminism, who is leading this campaign in the city. “Even on campuses, if two youngsters are seen holding hands, they are asked to behave or shooed away! This results in couples living in constant fear, because they are made to feel that they are doing the wrong. But no, it’s not they who are wrong, it’s the moral policing that is wrong,” asserts Gitanjali, who is also a student at UoH.What started off as an online discussion initiated by Feminism in India, the movement found resonance with various groups across the country, including Hyderabad for Feminism, Wajood Hyderabad, Why Loiter — The Movement Mumbai, Reclaim The Night Delhi, Take Back The Night, Kolkata, Zehen Mumbai, to name a few.The idea is to reiterate that citizens have the right to be in a public place with whoever they want to, without fear. No one has the right to detain, hassle, question or threaten anyone. “We will freely claim spaces that belong to everyone in the public, no matter which region, religion, caste, class, gender, sexual orientation, we identify with,” reads a message on the official page of ‘Park Mein PDA’.But why only parks? “because parks are generally associated with romance. Even in Bollywood you will see actors romancing, singing songs, kissing, hugging, running around trees, and even making out in parks. So, we thought why not indulge in some PDA in parks?” quips Gitanjali, who’s quick to add, “However, the campaign does not restrict couples to only parks, they are free to indulge in PDA at any public space — a park, a garden, the beach, the waterfront, the river-side, a street bench — and upload the pics.”“If the number of people turning up for this campaign is big in the city, I think it will start a dialogue on moral policing. That’s our real motive. we live in a democratic country, and anyway, couples displaying some affection — in public or otherwise — should be the last of our worries,” says Amritha, adding, “Also, I don’t think ‘obscenity’ is clearly defined by our law. So in such a scenario, how can anyone call hugging, kissing or cuddling ‘obscene’ and arrest/threaten people? It’s a breach of privacy!”Tejaswani Madhubashibi, a feminist from the city is hopeful that, “Just like it happened with the ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign, ParkmeinPDA will help people understand that PDA is not the crime, moral policing is. And it’s time we fight it, in whichever way we can.” She adds, “Couples who are not comfortable about revealing their faces, can write messages on placards and take pictures of that. Or even show themselves in silhouettes — anything, as long as you participate in the campaign and claim your right to public spaces.”