Free expression

The dreaded Government Railway Police (GRP) has played jury, judge and executioner in Bihar's Gaya. The Times of India has the bizarre details: [ Link] Trouble first struck 18-year-old Sweetie of neighbouring Aurangabad district's Rafiganj when railway cops on Saturday morning picked her up from a platform of the Gaya station. She was then waiting for her boyfriend Sunny, scheduled to travel from Patna to meet her on Valentine's Day. Like her sweetheart, he too ended up in the Gaya GRP's lock up...

This guy doesn't give up. Shri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik now says Valentines Day is "anti-Indian culture" and has even warned people of attacks if they try to celebrate it. CNN-IBN reports: [ Link] “We will ban the Valentine’s Day. We will not take law in our hand we will give a memorandum to govt. of Karnataka. This is a western culture which we will not allow to survive here. Everyday is lover's day, but we will not allow this on Valentine's day,” says Muthalik. The warning has been...

The Times of India has something about this hitherto-unknown outfit: [ Link] Sri Rama Sena is a pro-Hindu apolitical organization based in Hubli and promoted by Promod Mutalik, who floated the organization after parting ways with the BJP a few years ago. The organization is known for celebrating all Hindu festivals on a grand scale but is infamous for creating communal tensions and moral policing. It claims to be a ``protector'' of swadeshi ideology and Hindutva.

Here's a snub for the moral police. The Delhi High Court has held that an "expression of love by a young married couple" by stealing kisses in public should not attract the charge of obscenity. The Times of India had a detailed report: [ Link] Justice S Muralidhar stayed an FIR lodged against one Ajit (name changed) and his wife who were booked by the Dwarka police station cops for allegedly kissing each other under the local Metro station even as they awaited word from their lawyer in...

The Supreme Court has refused to review its order declining to initiate criminal proceedings against painter MF Husain for allegedly hurting public sentiments through some of his paintings, including the one on ‘Bharat Mata,’ that were termed obscene. The Hindu reports: [ Link] A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal dismissed the review petition filed by Maharashtra-based Dwaipayan Venkateshacharya Varkhedkar against the dismissal of...

CNN-IBN has a short list of incidents of moral policing in the country in recent times: [ Link] In April 2007, the Mumbai Police overstepped their brief by booking nearly 100 couples at Bandra sea front, under sections of vulgarity and obscenity. Hindu Rashtra Sena vandalised Star News office the same year for carrying news of an intercaste couple who had eloped. VHP and Bajrang Dal came out in full support of cops of Meerut who went around town beating couples in parks in 2005. Three years ago...

This seems to be the rich man's Pramod Muthalik. The polished Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, "against boys and girls walking hand-in-hand in pubs and malls." Yeah, believe it or not. Its from an NDTV report. [ Link] "We have ordered closure of shops near temples and parks. The effort made to bring the young generation closer to the liquor culture will be reversed. I want to end the pub and mall culture where young boys and girls roam about hand-in-hand," said Ashok Gehlot the chief...

Pramod Muthalik, the founder of Hindu right-wing organisation Shri Ram Sena, has been detained in connection with the attack on a group of girls in a Mangalore pub on Saturday. Muthalik was detained immediately on Tuesday after he addressed a press conference in Belgaum, where he condemned the attack. Terming the incident regrettable, he declared that the Sena would continue to 'protect Indian culture'. Rediff.com reports: [ Link] "We will continue to safeguard the culture and values of India...

Nobody in the right mind had heard of this outfit called Shri Ram Sena till it mercilessly assaulted five young women at a pub called Amnesia in Mangalore city. This happened on Saturday. The group went on a rampage, damaging the property of the pub and beating whoever they found. While the girls were beaten black and blue, two women patrons are reportedly critical and admitted to a local hospital. According to reports, the girls were having lunch when the hooligans attacked the pub. While there...

You can't beat this. The nuisance detection squad (NTS) of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on January 23 swooped down on 12 young couples sitting in a position which the squad found "objectionable" and slapped a fine of Rs 6,000 on them. Sakaal Times has all the details: [ Link] This is the first time that the NTS has actually levied penalties, though it claims to have carried out such exercise in the past also. Ward officer Madhav Jagtap said that the action is, however, in no way an...