Kiss Me With More Love

I still remember my friend telling me during the recent parliament elections that he strongly doesn’t want a fundamentalist type of government coming to power. The reason he told me was “I don’t want any Sanghi creating a scene while I’m walking around with my girlfriend.” He may not have been very far off the mark.

Hindutva is very often misinterpreted as Hinduism. This far right wing construct – Hindutva has only been in existence for just over a century and though claims itself to be anti-western, it borrows heavily from western fascist ideologies and Victorian morals. Sangh Parivar comprising of BJP and its ideological mentors such as RSS, VHP, Bajrang Bal etc., seem to be trying very hard these days to propagate and impose their views on society. Thus even simple gestures such as different sexes holding hands, kissing, hugging or even walking together seem to be provoking backlashes.

The ‘Kiss of Love’ protest movement was ingenuously conceived by the Kerala youth when the Hindutva brigade attacked a cafe in Calicut for allegedly allowing youngsters to mix freely with each other. The protests started in Cochin and received lot of support as well as extreme hostilities and attacks by the communal forces. The police were not far behind the communalists in its obstruction and instead of protecting the protesters, ended up arresting them!

This event has definitely sparked off a movement in many major cities in India such as Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and more could soon follow. Delhi deserves special mention, cause youth here did not just want to hold another ‘Kiss of Love’ event at the usual designated protest spots such as Jantar Mantar. They almost took it right in front of the RSS headquarters in Delhi and thus confronting the issue head on with the fountainhead of the Sangh Parivar itself!

And what about the Prime Minister – Narendra Modi? Why is he so mum on this issue or many other issues that affect the vast majority of the population, such as Sangh Parivar deviously conceived ‘Love Jihad’ campaign in Uttar Pradesh? Instead of endless selfies and photo-ops (real and manufactured) around himself, it is high time he comment on these issues in his twitter feeds (since he is scared of facing journalists!) and let everyone know what his real views are and where his intentions lie.

The New Socialist Alternative (CWI-India) stand in solidarity with the ‘Kiss of Love’ protest movement against the decadent culture of moral policing of various religious orders, among whom the Hindu Fundamentalists play the most pernicious role in this country.

Vyshakh Thaliyil

Bangalore