Say I love you on social media and get married: Hindu Mahasabha and their bizarre ideas

Hindu nationalist party Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, which was earlier in the news because the partymen wanted to install the statue of Nathuram Godse in Meerut, is making headlines again. The latest salvo by the right-wing group is aimed at all those who have big romantic plans for Valentine’s Day. According to this report in The Times of India, if you are seen with your boy/girlfriend, or have a rose in your hand or are caught in corners hugging each other, you will (wait for it) be married then and there. Not only this. The Hindutva group is keeping up with times. In a latest report,  the group said that they will be tracking social media – Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp – and anyone posting “I love you” messages will be forcefully get married! According to  the national president of Hindu Mahasabha, Chandra Prakash Kaushik, display of love in the entire week of Valentine’s Day is against Indian traditions and therefore “anyone found displaying love on Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp will be caught hold of. A total of eight teams have already been formed in Delhi to keep a check on social media,” Kaushik said. The report further added that Hindu couples will be forced into a prompt Arya Samaj wedding while the inter-faith couples will have to undergo “shuddhikaran” or purifying ritual. The group has earlier been in news for love jihad and ghar wapsi and caused enough embarrassment for the Narendra Modi government. Defending this bizarre action, Kaushik said that the couples who claim to love each other must pass the marriage test. “We are not against love, but if a couple is in love then they must get married. In case if the couples claim that they need time to think about marriage, we will tell them that if they are not certain, they should belittle love by openly going around together. We will also inform their parents,” added Kaushik.

We, at Firstpost, take a look at other bizarre things that the right-wing group earlier said which made headlines: Hindu Mahasabha to Super Khans: If you love your wives convert In the editorial for their weekly publication Hindu Sabha Varta, the group challenged Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan to become Hindus if they “really loved their wives.” In this Hindu report, the editor and publisher of the weekly Munna Kumar Singh said: “It is our challenge to these Khans of Bollywood if they actually love their wives then they should also try to convert to Hinduism and adopt their religion and culture.” The “challenge” was extended to Fardeen Khan and Emraan Hashmi as well.

Declare item girls as prostitutes A Hindu Mahasabha leader sparked an outrage over his demand that actresses performing item numbers in films wearing “skimpy” outfits be branded as prostitutes, PTI reported. The demand by Navin Tyagi, general secretary of the UP unit of Hindu Mahasabha, a right wing outfit, was condemned as “regressive” by political parties and the National Commission for Women(NCW). Tyagi also sought a ban on wearing of skirts and jeans by girl students in schools and even said they should not be allowed to carry mobile phones, PTI report further added. “The girls who perform item numbers in films and remove clothes should be declared prostitutes. We feel the women who earn money by indulging in obscenity are prostitutes. They are spreading filth in society,” Tyagi said, adding he will take the matter to the Supreme Court.

Mahasabha planned to build a statue of Nathuram Godse The group, in 2014 December, said they bought land in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh where they would build a statue of Nathuram Godse — Mahatmaa Gandhi’s assassin. This Firstpost report added that the group plans to keep Godse’s ashes, which are in a urn in Pune with his niece Himani Savarkar, in the temple and will start construction on the temple on 30 January. India considers 30 January a day of national mourning as it marks Gandhiji’s death anniversary. Speaking to Times of India, Hindu Mahasabha spokesman Sharad Gupta said: “However, since the BJP is not showing much interest in the Hindu agenda like the Congress, the Hindu Mahasabha has decided to come up with a temple on Godse,” Gupta said.