N-test of a different kind

It is just crossing all limits. Pramod Mutalik, the chief of so-called Rashtriya Hindu Sena, and his men are dictating terms to people of Karnataka or rather testing their nerves.

After attacking women in a pub in the name of Indian culture, he now wants to put an end to Valentine's Day celebrations. He says Valentine's Day is an offshoot of Christian culture.. and not Indian! I wonder when Mutalik will demand the government ban Christmas celebrations too.

Mutalik, I hope you will at least try to understand that the crowd in Mangalore pub the day when your men unleashed a brutal attack on them, might have had girls who were Christians or Muslims or Jains too. The Indian culture that you are dying for is purely Hindu culture, right? How can you expect a girl from a different faith to follow Hindu culture?

At a meeting chaired by Mutalik in Bangalore on Wednesday (Feb 4), Sri Ram Sene decided to arrange marriage between dating couples. Sene's five teams will roam around Bangalore with a video camera and turmeric stub. Dating couples will be forced to wed on the spot and will be taken to a sub-registrar's office to solemnize the wedding, according to T S Vasanth Kumar Bhavani, Sene's Bangalore city president. He had the cheek to announce it amid roaring protests from all over against whatever they have done so far. I hope Mutalik will have an explanation where in Indian culture weddings were conducted by partymen rather than by the family of the couple.

Local goons in Mangalore have also issued threats to all young women to desist from wearing noodle straps and tight jeans or face action! Minister for woman and child development Renuka Chowdhury was right. Mutalik and his men are trying to Talibanize India. If he expects that girls would heed to his demands, he is mistaken. He should listen to protests echoing from every nook and corner of the country. Many girls who have never been to pubs have made up their mind to go there at least once. Many girls who were comfortable in long sleeved-dresses are now willing to wear noodle straps and tight jeans! So 'inspiring' were the speech of Mutalik and his men!

I think their brains should be made specimen for some research. It may give links to some creatures that existed before the Stone Age. Mutalik, do you use grinding stone instead of mixer or grinder in your home? Can you ensure that all your family members, including the youngest, have at least seen grinding stones? You cannot link all ancient traditions to culture. It depends on lifestyle.

It is not that all Hindus dress alike or all Christians dress alike. May be if you go to villages, you may find people wearing similar dress, irrespective of their religious or cultural background. Likewise in cities.

If you take the case of Muslims and Christians, they are organized religiously... children are given lessons right from a very young age at madrasas or Sunday schools. I bet there are many youngsters belonging to Hindu religion who don't know who is Rama or Karna. The number will only increase in the coming days.

I wish Mutalik had taken all these efforts and had this determination in curbing female foeticide or rape or dowry deaths or the other umpteen evils with which the society has got fed up. In a country where even two-year-old kids are being raped, I hope you will stand up and say with the same cheek you had while pronouncing punishment for noodle straps, that you will put an end to any one of these evils.