'Despite the Commissioner of Police Satyajit Mohanty’s assurances to provide necessary security for lovers on the Valentine’s Day, couples in the Temple City refrained from visiting parks and other public places to celebrate the day Thursday. Their fear stemmed from the fact that a local fringe outfit, Kalinga Sena, had threatened to attack couples engaging in indecent activities at public places on the Valentine’s Day with ‘bichuati’ (stinging nettle)...'
'A great fear haunts the body politic: the fear of courting couples and ‘love’ marriages. Thus, India geared up to mark Valentine’s Day today in contrasting fashions: those exchanging flowers and gifts to profess their love or friendship must look over their shoulders for those wishing to play spoilsport. That is the message emanating from Lucknow University where a campus lockdown may be enforced. In Hyderabad, Bajrang Dal has warned pubs and restaurants against hosting V-Day events.
'The Bajrang Dal in Maharashtra's Nagpur has threatened that couple, who will be found celebrating Valentine's Day in public will be married off immediately. The group of people even took a rally in Nagpur on Wednesday to protest against the celebration of Valentine's Day which they claim to be against Indian Culture...'
'Members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad allegedly harassed couples at the Sabaramati Riverfront in Ahmedabad on Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, PTI reported. In videos recorded by passers-by, several people carrying saffron flags and wielding sticks could be seen threatening couples, the agency said...'
'A 23-year-old man who was attacked and humiliated along with his female friend in Kerala on Valentine's Day was found hanging outside his home in Karara, Palakkad. On 14 February, Aneesh and his friend were assaulted by five men near a beach in Kollam. They also filmed the couple and asked the woman humiliating and obscene questions, according to The Indian Express.
'Twenty-three years after it was banned following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the Bajrang Dal on December 6 this year renewed its pledge for a Ram temple at the mosque site. The anniversary of the demolition is technically a day of “valour” (Shaurya Diwas) for the Hindutva outfit. This year, however, Shaurya Diwas wasn’t subdued as in many past years. There were elaborate press releases and there was heightened activity on right-wing Twitter handles in support of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
;Forget cuss words, now even the images of Indian goddesses have failed to make the cut in front of the Indian censor board. In the soon-to-be-released film Angry Indian Goddesses, amongst the 17 cuts that the Indian censor board wanted filmmakers to make, was the blurring of the images of two Indian goddesses -- a picture of Lakshmi in the credits, and later in the movie, a picture of Kali. Movie producer Gaurav Dhingra said that he had failed to make the cut in front of the revising committee.
'On Saturday, senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram admitted that the ban on Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses was unjust. “I have no hesitation in saying that the ban on Salman Rushdie’s book was wrong,” he said. The proscription was imposed 27 years back, in 1988, when Chidambaram was the Minister of State Home Affairs in Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet. The novel had outraged conservative Muslim opinion when it was published.
'Track legend P T Usha has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting against the decision of School Games Federation of India to organise the athletic events for boys and girls separately. In her letter, Usha cited the SGFI calendar, showing that athletic events for boys and girls will be held separately in the second week of January 2016 and fourth week of December this year in Nasik and Pune respectively. SGFI is the national apex body for organising various sports and games among all Indian schools.
'The murder of a Bajrang Dal activist has made Karnataka tense . The Hindutva groups are calling it "revenge" for the lynching of a Muslim in distant Dadri, UP, for allegedly eating beef. Prashant Poojary, 29, was killed in Moodabidri, Dakshina Kannada, on 9 October, according to reports. Poojary had actively worked to close slaughterhouses in the district. He was allegedly murdered by six people who came on motorcycles, wearing masks and wielding knives. It was on the cards, perhaps.
