Gays will celebrate V-Day in Capital

It is going to be a special Valentine’s day this year for the gay community in the Capital. The High Court ruling in July last year which decriminalized homosexuality, and holding there was nothing wrong in gay relations between consenting adults, has resulted in the community boldly coming out of the closet. The Capital even saw a rally recently by homosexuals, which included men and women, some with faces masked.

A party is being held on Feb 14 in a Delhi restaurant at which over 200 participants are expected. Some malls too might see same gender groups holding hands or even kissing each other. Mohnish Malhotra of Queer Delhi has no reservation in admitting that he was throwing a special party for his gang of boys.

In a sign of changing social mores, Archies which specializes in greeting cards for all occasions, has displayed a few for the gay clients too. A message on one of such cards says” For my boyfriend, from your boyfriend.” The five varieties of the cards are available in all Archies outlets across India.

In earlier years, Shiv Sena activists used to terrorise romantic couples in parks or malls on Valentine’s Day arguing that it was against “Indian culture”. But this year, the city has been relatively quiet with the Sena busy targeting Shahrukh Khan and his latest film.

The Shiv Sena’s role has been, however, taken over by another right-wing outfit, Sri Ram Sene, which is active mainly in Karnataka protesting Valentine’s Day being celebrated. The Karnataka bandh called by Ram Sene to protest the blackening of its leader Pramod Mutalik's face allegedly by youth Congress activists evoked a mixed response on Saturday.

In Udupi district, unidentified persons pelted stones at the residence of senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes and also at that of former minister Vasantha Salian at Kaup. Vehicular movement was affected in coastal districts of Udupi and Mangalore. Traffic was also affected in Mangalore, Gadag, Belgaum and Hubli, where the Sene men forced shop owners to down their shutters.

Mutalik's face was blackened and an attempt made to assault him prior to a discussion on Valentine's day celebration organised by a regional TV channel at an open air theatre in Bangalore on Thursday. Sri Rama Sene, whose activists were blamed for the attack on women at a pub in Mangalore in 2008, has threatened to disrupt Valentine's Day celebrations. That incident led to hundreds of angry women sending him pink panties to expose his outdated views on women’s morality.

Accusing the BJP government in Karnataka of maintaining a “deafening silence” on the violent activities of the Sri Ram Sene, CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat said its approach legitimised the “retrograde” outlook of the right-wing group.

In Chandigarh, over 1,000 policemen will be deployed on Valentine's Day Sunday to avoid any untoward incidents. " We have identified certain sensitive points in the city and our special emphasis will be at those places," a police officer said.

- Asian Tribune -