Hindu and Muslim extremists burn Valentine cards
As a Valentine’s Day card smoldered, more
than 100 members of the Hindu extremist group Shiv Sena chanted “Death to
Valentine’s Day” and “People who celebrate Valentine’s
Day should be pelted with shoes!”
As a Valentine’s Day card smoldered, more than 100 members of the Hindu extremist group Shiv Sena chanted “Death to Valentine’s Day” and “People who celebrate Valentine’s Day should be pelted with shoes!”
Valentine’s Day has in the past two decades made strong inroads in India as the country has slowly opened itself up to the outside world _ its economic boom bringing in not just foreign investment but also aspects of Western culture virtually unknown here a quarter century ago.
It’s a state of affairs that enrages Hindu and Muslim hard-liners, who on Wednesday vented just as they do every Valentine’s Day _ burning cards, holding rallies and even threatening to beat couples caught canoodling in public, a strict no-no for those who claim to defend traditional Indian values.
“This is a conspiracy to misguide the young people of our country,” said Jai Bhagwan Goel, chief of the Shiv Sena’s north India branch.
It was Pope Paul VI who had Valentine’s Day removed from the liturgical calendar. Not surprising, since one of the most persistent tales of the saint says he was beheaded for his anti-war activism.
Posted: Thu - February 15, 2007 at 06:29 AM