Valentines Day

** UPDATED**

The big controversy here right now is about Valentine's Day.

Apparently there is a Hindu fundamentalist group here that is concerned with the influence of Western culture on traditional Indian/Hindu culture. They oppose all of the 'Days'-- Fathers Day, Mothers day, Valentines Day, etc -- on the grounds that they are just an excuse to market and sell western products, and that love and family should really be celebrated throughout the year. Frankly in principle I agree with them... however they took it a bit too far.

The group's leader publicly announced that they would have groups roaming the streets of Bangalore on VDay, scouting for your couples expressing public displays of affection, and force them to get married on the spot! There was of course an outcry and scandals in the paper.

What really amused me however was the fact that a group formed, thanks to social networking websites, named the 'consortium of loose and pub-going women' to protest this group. And their protest consisted of encouraging women to send the leader of this group pink 'chaddis' (panties!)

Its the same thing you see all over the place. In a democratic society, you have the right to live pretty much how you choose to, until your actions infringe on the rights of others. The problem comes when people get the misguided notion that they have the right to control every aspect of their society, by controlling the actions of others. The funny thing is that the will of the people will always win out in the end. And these guys, by making such a big stink about nothing, have ended up catalyzing not only people who were on the fence about their cause, but people who at first did not care one way or another. Now there is a huge organized resistance to them, and its not going to go away anytime soon. Power to the Chaddis!

This controversy made it on MSNBC

Also I was interested to note that the office I am working in made a point of decorating for Valentine's day, to make a statement in support of freedom of expression. Rock on.