Cheerleaders pose a 'moral dilemma'

Mumbai: After shunting out bar dancers from the city's nightlife in 2005, R.R. Patil, state home minister, may now have to decide whether cheerleaders should be allowed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches in Mumbai.

The controversy came up after Bharatiya Janata Party Maharashtra President Nitin Gadkari raised the issue in the Legislative Council on Wednesday. "If the state has banned dance bars, then how is it allowing vulgar dances by scantily-clad cheerleaders in IPL matches?"

Accusing the government of double standards, he wanted to know whether it would ban cheerleaders from dancing at IPL matches since it was degrading to women. Gadkari also said the cheerleaders were no better than bar dancers.

But this time, Patil is in a fix because his mentor and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar heads the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has launched the IPL, the ambitious cash-rich Twenty20 cricket venture.

He told reporters yesterday that he was not aware who these cheerleaders were and would find out what the issue was all about.

Work permit

However, Minister of State for Home Siddharam Mhetre told reporters that he too found the cheerleaders' performance on the field obscene and that the government would try and see how it can be stopped within the law.

By picking up a technical loophole, the state government is likely to put restrictions on cheerleaders since they would need a work permit to perform at stadiums. Whether the IPL franchise owners have got the necessary permit for the cheerleaders is not clear.

The owners of the eight IPL teams have all flown in cheerleaders to entertain cricket fans. Though some have openly said they enjoy watching their performance, many people have complained that such dances on sports field were unnecessary and were against Indian culture.

On the other hand, a national newspaper reported how cheerleaders were themselves not too happy about performing before Indian spectators. The Hindustan Times reported, "The kind of comments they have 'had to endure over the last week from the Indian public' had left them 'disgusted and disturbed'."

One of the cheerleaders in Hyderabad said, "It's tough to dance and keep smiling when the people behind are giving you hell. It's obvious that people here think we're morally loose women."