Valentines
The day of love -- Valentine's Day -- attracts a lot of hate in India.
Each year, as heart-shaped balloons fill the streets of metropolitan cities, a small but vocal minority aggressively opposes any V-Day celebrations. Unlike one group in Japan that is against the "passion-based capitalism" that fuels the holiday, those opposing it in India are conservative groups protesting against the Western values they believe Valentine's Day represents.
The actions against the holiday include vandalism (where mobs break coffee tables and windows in restaurants), moral policing, calls to ban any celebrations, and threats of violence against couples who display public affection.
The group that has gained the most attention this year for its opposition to Valentine's Day is the Hindu Mahasabha. The extreme right-wing group plans to marry off singles who declare their love for each other, either in person or through social media.
The president of the organization, Chandra Prakash Kaushik, said that his group would monitor social media sites and when they see couples professing their love, they will ask them to get married. If the couples do not consent, the group plans to "contact their parents — especially those who are active online — and ask them to get them married if they really love each other.”
Swati Sharma
Feb 12, 2015
