~ Reetu Bajaj ’12
Activists of a radical group gathered in Coimbatore ahead of Valentine’s Day to show their views against the celebrations of Valentine’s Day, a day filled with romance by the courting friends and couples.
They protested by burning Valentine’s Day greeting cards while holding the banner of Hindu Makkal Katchi (Hindu People’s Party). They threatened on bullying all youngster lovebirds. Arjun Sampath, head of the forum, stated that the protesters would make certain that the couples found dating or romancing and celebrating Valentine’s Day would be detained.Activists of Sanskriti Bacahao Manch (Save Our Culture), another forum in Bhopal, also planned on beating couples if found courting.
These groups look at Valentine’s Day as a commercial holiday that goes against Indian culture. “The youth should banish the western culture from our country on this Valentine’s Day. They can choose some other day from the whole year to express their love, but not Valentine’s Day. Despite our efforts, if the youth does not listen, then we have performed this ritual of worshipping the sticks and gathered our whole group,” noted Chandrashekhar Tiwari of Sanskriti Bacahao Manch.