Date:17/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/17/stories/2008021753860400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

Valentine’s Day and moral policing

Syed Muthahar Saqaf

“The act by the Munnani volunteers was in gross violation of human rights”

— Photo: R. Ashok

All for love: Members of the Lovers Protection Association presenting a petition seeking action against Hindu Munnani volunteers to T.R. Rajasekaran, Assistant Commissioner of Police, in Tiruchi on Saturday.

TIRUCHI: Valentine’s Day has all these years been the occasion for lovers to roam around freely in and around the city and spend hours in ‘live dream’.

But, this time around, they had to scamper for cover. They were forced into such a predicament by volunteers of the Hindu Munnani, who put forth an unexpected demand in a situation of intimidation.

On the prowl in the vicinity of the much frequented Rockfort, Thiruvanaikovil and Srirangam temples, the volunteers brandished mangalasutras to the lovers. They made tying of mangalshutra a pre-condition for the lover couples to enter the temples. While a few entered into a wordy duel with the Munnani men, other lovers managed to flee the scene.

The result: The surfacing of Lovers’ Protection Association. After smarting for a day, the affected lovers joined hands under the aegis of the association protesting the moral policing. Led by the president of the association, Karathe Muthukumar, over 50 youths marched in a procession to the Fort Police Station on Friday to register a complaint against those who allegedly harassed the lovers on the Valentine’s Day.

They complained that the act by the Munnani volunteers was in gross violation of human rights. They threatened to intensify the agitation by mobilising the support of common people and other organisations if no action was taken against the Munnani men.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police, City Police, T.R. Rajasekaran, pacified the youths following which they dispersed peacefully.

Meanwhile, the district unit of the Communist Party of India–Marxist (CPI-M) condemned the act of the Hindu Munnani men and urged both the district administration and the police to take stern action.