The humble nightie became a symbol of fightback against the moral police

A spectre was haunting Navi Mumbai, the spectre of a ban on nighties. Thankfully, before it could take hold, the ghoul was exorcised. It was a local women’s group, the Indrayani Mahila Mandal, which issued a notice last Monday at Gothivli village in the Mumbai suburb imposing a ban on the nightie "outside the confines of homes". The reason? Because the woman-next-door’s dailywear of choice, the single-draped nightie was "indecent". A fine of Rs 500 for public nightiewearers was also imposed.

In a case that should become a benchmark against thinskinned loudmouths everywhere who demand bans at a drop of a hat, the local police intervened a few days later and unbanned the illegitimate 'ban'. "Our laws don’t permit of such a ban and personal liberty has been guaranteed by our Constitution," an officer of the law stated with the clarity of a negligee. The nightie, with its associations of everyday allure and utilitarian simplicity, is national couture, if one thinks about it. A recent Bengali movie, Obhishopto Nighty (The Cursed Nightie), explored what happens to various women, including an elderly mother-in-law, when they decide to wear a nightie once owned by a murdered owner. It’s not every day that India can celebrate the law standing up to ban-sters. One hopes the days to come will follow the nightie.