Stop monkeying around!

A great deal has been said about the notoriously uncouth ultra-right wing faction called the Ram Sene which recently caused havoc to the lives of many a civilized Indian in Mangalore. Via this post, I want to showcase their stupid antics and the reactions of many urbane Indians for the benefit of understanding and knowledge of my friends in the international community. I'm sure all of you have been following very closely some of the most despicable acts of these hooligans over the last couple of weeks erupting especially in a place called Mangalore which is located in the coastal belt of the Southern Indian state of Karnataka.

To give you an overview of the incidents, a bunch of utterly uncultured ruffians swooped down on a pub in Mangalore on January 24 and violently beat up a young crowd present there stating that they were in violation of the principles, tradition and ethos of the Indian culture! The alleged 'violators' were, as per these sick self-appointed guardians of Indian values, letting themselves succumb to a culture that did not belong to India. Now, what many of you from outside India would not know is the fact that this radical fundamentalist organization is headed by an outlaw called Pramod Muthalik who is wanted in more than dozen criminal cases pending against him in various courts of law across Karnataka.

So, you now know the kind of people who enforce moral policing in India under the guise of protecting the youth from the corrupting immoral practices purportedly exported from across borders. Sounds more like some gut sickening pathetic joke, right? Wait until you hear more of it. Barely seven days later, on Jan 31, buckling under political and ideological pressure, the ruling BJP government in Karnataka set scott free the man behind the disgraceful attacks and as if to showcase unruly power over the law, Muthalik addressed a press conference outside the court where he said "This is a victory for all those who are fighting against pub culture in Mangalore. Our agitation has won, What we have done in Mangalore is a big success story in out fight against indecency. We are thankful to our Mangalore cadre for everything that they have done." The judiciary instead of taking suo moto cognizance of these statements and regarding them as a measure of glorifying terror and violating fundamental rights of innocent civilians, did just the opposite - sit tight on their fat bottoms and lend a deaf ear!

And then on February 06, a bunch of cronies belonging to the same inglorious faction stopped a bus travelling to Mangalore when they got wind that the daughter of a Kerala legislator was travelling with her classmate's bother. The issue - either belonged to different religions and hence were violating the so called sacred Indian tradition by travelling together! Unbelievable? Let me call Ripley's to have this included in their archives. The Chief Minister of Kerala lost no time in protesting, especially in the wake of such a licentious incident affecting his partyman. The Centre made a hue and cry about lawlessness, but India being India, nothing concrete materialized and in the view of the world, the Home Minister of Karnataka publicly stated to the victim's father that he should be lucky to have his daughter back home in one piece! I wonder what more could be shameful for a democracy! All that the Centre could manage to say was that it was watching and taking note of the ongoing developments in Mangalore. Union Home Minister P. C. Chidambaram stated that "Sri Ram Sene is a threat to the country. The Centre is watching its activities with great concern."

Despite international outrage, the Ram Sene outfit worries not one bit and has continued to uphold its actions while also issuing open threats to people calling upon them not to celebrate the upcoming Valentine's Day saying that it too violated the letter and spirit of the Indian social system! Under its supremely sick tie-or-die program, it has said that any couple caught dating will be forcefully married off!

Now, fortunately, India is country which has more sensible people than the few random, radical instances of humanitarian failure, and while all these incidents have been happening, there has been an outrage across the nation especially among the youth who have been targeted for the most ridiculous of reasons. Blogs have been simmering about the Pink Chaddi campaign which was kicked off on February 05. It is a powerful yet friendly and peaceful initiative to oppose the Ram Sene and its perverted ideology. I would liken it to Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent movement and urge you to please take part in it and show solidarity to the people of India who want to rid their nation of malaise. Today is a time when collective efforts need to made to improve long pending issues such as healthcare, education, self-sustenance, infrastructure and homeland security. Contrarily radical political groups are harping upon pre-historic politics which is totally unacceptable. India was founded on democratic principles and its roots will always remain pluralistic and harmonious irrespective of what is attempted by uneducated terror mongers.

And finally, I am supremely proud of having written this post!

Footnotes:

The Pink Chaddi Campaign Blog

The Facebook Group - Pink Chaddi Campaign

What is the Pink Chaddi Campaign?

Contact:

Benson +919845167575
Areeba +919900569456
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