Backlash against moral policing comes to Delhi; students clash with Sangh outfits

The backlash to the cultural agenda which some elements in the Sangh Parivar wish to shove down the throat of the nation might have just begun. In perhaps a sign of things to come, there was a violent confrontation between hundreds of supporters of the Make Kiss and Love campaign and the members of some Sangh outfits at the Rani Jhansi roundabout near RSS headquarters at Jhandewalan. The former were staging a peaceful protest when the violence broke out. The protest organised by students of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University was first interrupted at gate number 2 of Jhandewalan metro station where activists of Bajrang Dal, Hindu Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad stopped protesters from moving towards the RSS headquarters. After the police intervened, protesters moved ahead towards the protest venue raising slogans like Sanghi gundon hosh men aao (Beware, the goons of Sangh) and ladh ke lenge azadi (we will fight for our freedom). [caption id=“attachment_1793647” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] The protesters formed a human chain at the busy roundabout bringing the heavy traffic there to standstill. Addressing the agitators, JNU student Pankhuri said, “We have gathered here to warn the RSS and its supported government that enough is enough. Now, stop moral policing. You will not instruct us how to live and love.” She said the protest is against “moral policing in the name of nationalism and protecting Indian culture…We will no longer tolerate the Love Jihad farce, mahapanchayat, dowry deaths and female foeticides.” When asked what kind of azadi (independence) they want,  protester Gaurav said, “We want independence to fall in love, independence to live life as per our wishes and independence from the excesses being done in the of pseudo nationalism.” Another protester, Om, said, “The RSS with its increasing control over state machinery is dictating what is correct and what is wrong. Today people of Delhi wanted to tell the RSS that we will not accept your diktats.” The peaceful agitation suddenly turned violent when some unidentified men suddenly barged into the human chain and started misbehaving with girls folk. A protester was brutally dragged, abused and punched in full public view. Ironically, the whole drama unfolded in strong police presence. The men were initially supported by the cops but later he fled from the spot when protesters asked him to reveal his identity and forced police to take actions against him. As he left the spot, around 50 Sangh activist gathered at the spot and started disrupting the protest by raising slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Matram and Pashchimi Sabhyata Murdabad. The police struggled to corner and calm them down. “We won’t allow westernisation of country. We will protect the Indian culture at any cost,” Hindu Sena national general secretary told Firstpost. “We won’t allow anyone to express love in public. We won’t allow obscenity and desecration of public places,” said Mangal Pandey, a member of the VHP. Abhishek Mishra of Bajrang Dal told Firstpost, “We are not against love. Do whatever you want in your bedroom but respect public places. Hugging and kissing at public places will badly impact our children. It causes discomfort to elderly people, those who traveling with their mother and sisters. We cross all boundaries to save our culture.” “Instead of protesting against Owaisi brothers who are terrorist, these boys and girls are fighting against our tradition and rich culture. It is ridiculous,” he said. “We will don’t hesitate to spill blood of anyone who will speak against our culture,” said another violent anti-campaign protester. Kisses and hugs were exchanged by the protesters. They had to face stiff resistance from the police as well.