The Mangalore Pub attack case is now a few weeks old, but the political battles over it have not died down yet. Personally, I think it is a good idea. These are battles of ideologies, and they have to be fought in court – not in the streets between goons.

Once the Valentine’s Day was over – Pramod Muthalik and cohorts were in preventive police custody – the Mangalore mayor Ganesh Hosabettu filed a case against the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury in the judicial magistrate first class.

The FIR was formally registered against Renuka Chowdhury on 21st February, 2009.

According to the mayor the comments made by Ms. Chowdhury would incite violence and hatred among the people and are aimed at defaming Mangalore.

Renuka Chowdhury had condemned the attack on young women on 24 January in a pub in Mangalore by around 40 members of the right-wing Hindu group Sri Rama Sene (army of god Rama) as “Talibanisation”. Renuka Chowdhury reacted to the news about the FIR by saying, that the mayor must be more concerned about the freedom of women in the town rather wasting time in fighting with her. She also said that this is an attempt to politicize the issue.

The press and online community had immediately picked up the word ‘talibanisaton’ to describe the activities of Sri Rama Sene in Mangalore.

“I haven’t received any notice and they are saying all this to divert from the main issue. They drove a 16-year-old girl to suicide and now they are talking about someone else,” Renuka Chowdhury said.

Maintaining that she was not yet aware of the case, Ms. Chowdhury said that instead of rectifying themselves, these “goondas and lumpen” elements came out of jail and made statements and that was accepted by the government.

Meanwhile, the Mangalore District Youth Congress has charged the Mangalore mayor with attempting to deflect public attention and have also said that they are considering a defamation case against Mangalore Mayor for questioning the mental state of the minister.

The answer, surprisingly, is everyone.

The battle cry has been sounded by Sri Rama Sene chief Pravin Muthalik, and there has been a full-throated response from our heroine of the day, Renuka Chowdhary.

Pravin Muthalik Marriage Bureau

Pravin Muthalik warns all Valentine’s Day lovers that they would patrol the streets of Mangalore, protest against any couple found having fun on Valentine’s Day, and take them to a sub-registrar’s office and marry them off to each other. Probably after delivering a flying kick to the guy, and a whack on the head to the girl as we all saw at Pub Amnesia in Mangalore a few days back. Pravin Muthalik himself is a senior citizen, and obviously he can’t deliver such flying kicks. He is too told, and too fat for that. Therefore, the Sri Rama Sene would employ the services of young people – reported to be coolies and drivers – to more upper class yuppie youngsters whose masculinity usually does not extend beyong typing macho, angry comments on website news pages.

Unperturbed by the recent attacks on women by his Sri rama Sene members, and the outraged reactions it got nationwide, Pramod Mutalik expresses his thoughts about the valentine day,” We are going to protest against Valentine’s Day. We have been opposing it not just this time but have been opposing it for the last 10 years. Let them celebrate it in the church — not outside in society. They can do this in their church or in their homes. We are also requesting those printing Valentine’s Day cards not to do so this time.”

Pramod Mutalik, founder of the Sri Rama Sene who was arrested, jailed and bailed in three seperate cases after the Mangalore Pub Amnesia attacks, considers the celebration of valentine’s day against the ‘Indian culture’. He addressed his party members on Wednesday wherein they came out with a plan stating that five teams will roam around Bangalore with a video camera and a turmeric stub. The turmeric stub would be used to poke you in the eye, and the video camera will be bashed on your head if you don’t comply with the Sene team’s dictats.

If any unmarried couples are found displaying affection in public or dating on Valentine’s Day, they will be made to wed on the spot. Last we heard, several unmarried couples from across India whose parents were in opposition to their marriage are making their way to Mangalore in buses and trains to avail of the services offered by the Pravin Muthalik’s Sri Rama Sene.

It would all be done in the manner the Sene considers proper. After the mandatory flying kicking and some molestation strictly according to Indian culture, the offending couple would be, in the words of T S Vasanth Kumar Bhavani, Sene’s Bangalore city president,”taken to a sub-registrar’s office to solemnize the marriage.” We don’t think couples in true love would mind the kicking and groping – its just a small sacrifice for love.

The Sri Rama Sene probably is the most progressive thing that has happend to Mangalore. Their forced marriage plan does not distinguish between castes, religions and hopefully genders. As caste is one of the major impediments to love marriages in India, Pravin Muthalik’s Sri Rama Sene would erase it at one shot on Valentine’s Day – and complaining parents would not know what hit them as their children come back home smiling from their forced inter-caste marriage, if a little worse for the wear.

We also hear that the said Valentine’s Day forced marriages would only apply to Hindus, as there is no way the Sri Rama Sene would allow dating couples, of which one party is a Christian or a Muslim and the other Hindu, to marry. In such cases, only the flying kicks and gropings would apply.

Mangalore’s Muslim and Christian youth have been reported as very agitated at such developments. The small gay community in Mangalore too have voiced their protest, and demanded the Sene include them in their Valentine’s day marriage ceremonies.

Karnata CM BS Yediyurappa has been quite silent on the Valentine’s day threats, and so has been his home minister Acharya. A few words of encouragement came from S Harish, Bangalore city president, BJP. Reposing in the police to maintain law and order, he said, “No confrontation with the Sri Rama Sene or any other organizations on  February 14. The law of the land should prevail. We will urge the police to maintain law and order on that day.” Usually, that means the Sene is free to do what it wants, and the police and the BJP would remain free to what they want – and the government would take any action only if there is a hue and cry, and unfortunate stuff such as the Sene accidentally marrying off off some RSS leader’s daughter to some visiting Arab Jihadi.

Renuka Chowdhary has said that if people like the Sene take the law into their own hands, the way to counter it is by a “Pub Bharo” andolan. If young people go to pubs in large groups, no one would dare attack them, goes her logic. What Renuka Chowdhary has not taken into account, though, is the sheer desperation of the Sri Rama Sene and their supporters to get close to upper class women wearing the kind of clothes they usually see only in Kannada films. There is no way the Sri Rama Sene can resist the pull of large numbers of women in an enclosed space, and they would make their way in, even at the cost of serious physical damage. Culture would be protected, even at the cost of their lives, said several Sene activists hanging around local markets sticking anti-Valentine’s day posters on walls.

D K Shiva Kumar, KPCC working president said, “We will give all protection to those celebrating Valentine’s Day. I will ask my party workers to fan out in Bangalore and see that the Sri Rama Sene does not create problems”. This sure is a comforting statement for those wishing to go out for the day.

There is one more factor that would ensure the failure of Renuka Chowdhary’s pub bharo andolan on Valentine’s Day. Even in a group, the youngsters who go to pubs are not driven by patriotism and nationalistic fervour which drives the Sri Rama Sene. Also, their party shirts would get ruined.

Mutalik, who is out on a conditional bail the Mangalore pub incident on Jan. 24, told reporters his organization would approach Governor Rameshwar Thakur, CM B S Yeddyurappa, home minister V S Acharya and Bangalore police commissioner to request their support. There is no need for that though, as the Karnataka CM and VS Acharya have already spoken out that they would prefer to see the pub culture end.

We would like to wish all the about-to-be-forcibly-married couples in Mangalore all the best for a happy married life after this Valentine’s Day. And here is some friendly advice: Boys, please ensure that you take the kicks on your shoulder,  upper back or butt as they are more likely to hold up. Girls, wear thick jackets so you do not particularly feel the strong hands of the Sri Rama Sene, and purchase tough leather belts which would ensure the jeans stay on as you ar taken to the sub-registrar’s officer. After all, it would not do to be naked waist-down on your wedding day, especially when the media would be there to capture the glorious occasion to be telecast on national TV!

Update 1: Sri Rama Sene founder was arrested today – though not for the pub attack. The arrest was in a separate case about spreading communal disharmony.

Update 2: Pramod Muthalik gets bail.

BJP President Rajnath Singh has held discussions with the Karnataka chief minister. Reacting to the savage attack by the Rama Sene in the Amnesia Lounge, Mangalore Singh said, “The act is condemnable and whoever is responsible needs to be booked and justice need to be delivered. I would be holding discussions with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on the issue today in Bangalore,” he was quoted as saying.

Photo: Sri Rama Sene activists attacking men, courtesy Hindustan Times

Rajnath Singh is scheduled to stop over in Bangalore on his way to Mysore where he is to attend a rally.

L.K Advani expressed his concern on the matter terming the attack as the work of antisocial elements in society who must be condemned. “State Home Minister V S Acharya spoke to me last night and said that 13 hoodlums had been arrested. The miscreants involved in the attack were anti-social elements, plain and simple. I am told that they have named themselves after Shri Ram, but they have absolutely nothing to do with the party (the BJP),” he said.

The National Commission for Women constituted a three-member team to investigate the attack.

Reports say that 40 activists barged into the pub, found the girls and boys in what they called “objectionable positions’ and attacked them. The girls were chased and thrashed, slapped and kicked. They were tripped while they were running away while trying to escape. In the television reports, one could see at least one girl being tripped, resulting in her falling flat on her face.

27 Sri Rama Sene members have been arrested so far. They have been charged with criminal assault and outraging the modesty of women.

Pramod Muthalik, president of the Sri Rama Sene, was arrested by the Belgaum police on Tuesdayafter he addressed a press conference. The founder of Sri Rama Sene was earlier a convenor for Bajrang Dal, which he left after feeling it was not pro-active enough in dealing with issues. Pramod Mutallik had spoken defense of the Sri Rama Sene earlier: “The ways employed by our boys may be debatable but their objective was absolutely right and justified. In the last one year, there have been eight cases of suicide in Mangalore. By protesting against a culture of drugs and drinking, the boys were only helping the women there come out of this vicious circle. We will continue to fight against asatya, adharma and anyway even if some of our men have been arrested, this is a small price to pay for a larger cause.”

That was hardly television viewers so, though. They saw women being pulled by their hair and thrashed.

Right-wing websites such as Haindava Keralam are reporting that the protest was because the girls were interacting with Muslim boys. Right-wing blogs are also full of accusations of Muslim Jihadi boys luring away Hindu women and therefore, such attacks can be understandable though not justifiable.

When asked about this statement of Pramod Muthalik, Karnataka Home Minister Acharya said, “Our culture doesn’t encourage drinking or pubs, so don’t ask me questions on this. But this Sena is definitely being used by the opposition against us. Also, the pub owners in the state would have to augment security to prevent this kind of incident in future.”

RSS, on the other hand, also gave its comments on the dramatic event that unfolded on Saturday. RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said, “Any attack of this kind is condemnable. While pub culture is alien to Indian ethos, what is needed is public education, not public violence.”

Taking the responsibilty of the attack, Rama Sene was totally unperturbed by the reactions from across the country. Prasad Attavar claimed the attack was a “spontaneous reaction against women who flouted traditional Indian norms of decency.”

In Mangalore, Sri Rame Sene activists set two trucks on fire and stoned four buses in protest against Prasad Attavar’s arrest. A couple of Volvo buses were also attacked.

Deccan Herald newspaper reported that Sena legal advisor Dinakar Shetty, who had claimed responsibility for the attack, has secured anticipatory bail.

While the Sri Rama Sene leaders said that the pub was attacked because there was a rave party going on, and that that drugs were being used, there is no such evidence. In fact, the pub is a lunge bar, and the girls who were attacked had just placed an order for lunch, according to the restaurant.

Sri Rama Sene is not a part of the Sangh Parivar. But it is obvious that the Sangh, RSS and BJP agree on the issue of pubs. The reactions of the BJP and RSS include statements to the effect that they were against pubs and what they called people going against Indian culture. So the only thing that differentiates the Sri rama Sene from the Sangh is the mode of protest adopted. The societal trends they are opposed to remain the same. This is what makes it difficult for the RSS to unequivocally reject the ideas of the Sene. After all, they are their own ideas.

The Sri Rama Sene has said that they might do it again if a similar situation arises.

What is scary about the Mangalore incident is that it could happen to anyone, anywhere. There are likely to be copycat attacks on pubs and restaurants where youngsters hang out, as this has now proven to be an effective means of garneing publicity. When a bunch of angry always unemployed, angry young men enter a restaurant, there is hardly a question-and-answer session where everyone is inaugurated, and only those who do not meet the ethical standards of the group in question are thrashed. It does not happen like that.

These attacks are aggressive, violent actions where anyone could get attacked, no questions asked. Even the Sri rama Sene chief said that mistakes happen when a group of youngsters protest, and it is understandable.

The shameful role of the media in the Mangalore incedent

This is something very few have mentioned, and has been used by the police to attack the media. Certain television channels were informed about the protest in advance, and the TV cameras were rolling when the women were attacked. Like the MNS in Mumbai, the TV cameras are always around. The media would prefer to capture a controversial exclusive, while the publicity is fodder for little goon outfits like the Sene.

Eye witnesses have said that the camera men and reporters from the TV channels reached the pub 15 minutes ahead of the attack, and were well-prepared choosing their angles. Not one of them tried to help the victims – they ran after them with their cameras as they were being thrashed and chased by these goodas from the Sri Rama Sene, and recorded everything faithfully.

Mangalore incident and Sri rama Sene – protest, or molestation?

One of the girls who were thrashed said that they were molested by the attackers. Another eye-witness reported that the protesters went straight to the women, beat them, and then molested them. Take a look at this report in the Hindu:

“One of them stripped a girl and groped her. She was also badly beaten up. We are still trying to trace her,” she said. According to her, several girls were targeted similarly. “They were laughing when they were doing all this. It was just fun for them,” she said. The attackers then targeted the men who dared come to the rescue of the girls. The narrator herself was slapped a few times.

Death threats

Meanwhile, there are reports that some of the witnesses, victims and those who tried to protect the girls received death threats.

What next?

This has to end, right now. It is unacceptable that anyone can do this and get away with it. Every extremist organisation has done this before, and will do it again.

This is not like an individual case of attack against women. When there is an ideology backing actions such as this, that is an extremely dangerous trend.

We should not allow any organisation, or even the government, to set moral standards for us. Laws are a different matter. But women have a right to eat, drink, smoke or dance in a pub and they should be able to do it without fear. Today, this has happened, and tomorrow, we can be sure another little-kjnown bunch of unemployed hooligans will the use the same excuse – “our culture is under threat” – and try to get some notoriety.

If you are a BJP supprter, convey to the party through whatever means you have – whether it is blogs, social networking sites, protests in college – that they have to completely detach themselves not just from this organisation, but the ideology they represent. Which means, they should abandon any problems they have with the pub culture, or women who behave against their standards of decency.