January 25-th: Attack on women in Mangalore in a pub where they had gone to drink and dance.
"They chased the girls into the street, slapping them, pulling their hair and pushing at least two to the ground. The incident was recorded on CCTV.
Their reason? “We are the custodians of Indian culture,” said Pramod Mutalik, the founder of SRS, who claimed responsibility for the assault. "
In response "Pink Chaddi Campaign" was started. Now there are many counter campaigns which have come up in India against the Pink Chaddi Campaign.
When I joined the group "Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women" on facebook it was just with the intention of celebrating the freedom I have to choose - I choose whether I want to go to a pub or not, I choose my definition of what is loose and what is not and I define what is forward.
Yet, sections of Indian Society - with all its struggle with women coming out of the closet, has chosen to blindly believe in a few who believe that as per Hindu tradition, freedom to choose lies solely with the men. Some women are collecting pink sarees and sindhoor (vermillon married women apply on their forehead) and bindis (the small round tikka applied on the forehead) to send to all the women involved in the "Pink Chaddi" campaign.
I do not think choosing how to live will spoil the Indian culture - many of these women are religious and fulfill many cultural aspects than many who do not drink. I go to the pub, I dance, I choose what to do at each point I have a conflict about whether it fits with my cultural education - yet, I pray daily, I follow some festivals, I light the lamp many days, I will not choose to do anything that destroys the happiness and well being of my family. I will be independent because that is how I believe my culture has taught me to be. Perhaps I do not follow everything that has been drummed into me but then that is what education and experience does and how cultures evolve - and then you know you have to be prepared. We are not still following Sati - why? Is that against the culture now?
Yet, I wonder whether anyone has stopped to think for a minute - the protest began against the violent methods used - I cannot believe that people can openly state that they are custodians of Indian culture (whatever that might be... - certainly violence cannot be part of it) and so they went and beat up women. While many times domestic violence might have been a practise behind close doors and eve-teasing was common and abhorred, it has never been so openly touted and has never gone unpunished as it has now. (It reminds me of an incident early 1990's when an Ethiraj College student was killed when she tried to avoid some eve teasing boys outside the college - the furore at that time was against the perpetuators and not against the protesters).
My question to the Pink Condom and Pink Sarees campaigners who have brought out campaigns against the Pink Chaddi: What if this happens to one of your family when they are out in the streets one dark evening on a street and they get beaten up? Freedom is one of our fundamental rights as a part of our constituition. I think all are entitled to that freedom - it is not just men who have the choice. Women have it too. It is time to grow up and out of the shadows of fanatics.