Kiss of Love: Delhi chapter opens amid right-wing threats

The sky a mosaic of blue and red, coupled with the crisp wintry air, seemed to be the ideal setting for the event. For Pankhuri Zaheer, an M.Phil scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), events like these are routine. Now, with the agenda to rally against the saffron wave that threatens to deluge the country, the protest took a slightly different form. Taking cue from Kochi, students of JNU and DU called for a rally outside the RSS office at Delhi.

The event saw 600 people in attendance at Jhandewalan. The RSS office at Keshav Puram was fortified by the cops, so the protestors walked for 2kms to Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, where they were stopped by 40-50 slogan-carrying RSS workers.

The event was organized by Pakhuri Zaheer, Abaar Sumitran of JNU and Pratik of DU. All three were flooded with calls and messages from RSS affiliates, with the Bajrang Dal giving an open call on Facebook to attack the protestors.

Speaking to dna, Vishnu Gupta, national president of a Hindutva youth outfit called the Hindu Sena, which led the attack against the Kiss of Love protestors, said, "We are not against love – I am a young man too. But we oppose any expression of love that goes against our traditions, against Hindu society. The country also has a law against indecent behaviour in public. These are a few misguided youth who are affiliated with NGOs and want to attract media attention."

Gupta claimed that two members of his outfit had also been detained by the police. "In the next day or two, we will organise a march in JNU through our affiliate body, Hindu Vidyarthi Sena," he added.

While the protest at Kerala was an outcome of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha volunteers vandalizing Downtown Cafe in Kozhikode, the rally at Kolkata was triggered because of a 17-year-old girl being refused entry into the Star Theatre for wearing a skirt.

It is because of the large number of murders and suicides which occurred as an outcome of Khap panchayat orders, that became the reason behind the Delhi chapter. Zaheer stresses that the form of protest isn't important, as long as their message is clear.

London-born Ansh Mittal, 29, is against 'western culture'. "I'm really not against kissing, but what's the point? This is against our culture. People say kissing is better than raping.. Toh kiss kar ke kaun sa rape ko rok rakhe hai?" commented the UK resident.

All India Students Association member Urvashi Joshi attended the event, despite coming from a hard boiled family background of right-wingers. She said: "My family told me to attend the event if I wanted to, but cautioned me against supporting Muslims."

Speaking to dna from Chicago, Indian-origin Jayash Nair is indignant at those who scream hoarse about 'Westernization' corrupting the Indian culture. He asks: "What culture? A culture where men can force themselves on a woman without their permission? That which blames women for getting raped? A culture where a wife-beating man finds sympathy if his wife leaves him?"

Mumbai-based graphic designer Syed Rizvi, 44, said: "The idea of a 'single civilization' is dangerous. When democracy is throttled, people will react in ways that will make these extremists uncomfortable. And they should."

Though there were no major injuries or physical acts of violence reported, three people were detained for breaching security at Keshav Puram. All three were let free after the event ended – around 6:30pm. Police then escorted the participants to R.K Ashram metro station, 1 km away.