AGRA/MEERUT: With ten days to go for Valentine's Day, Hindutva outfits active in
western UP have warned that couples found celebrating the "foreign
festival" in public will face a variety of punishments. While a prompt
Arya Samaj wedding will be forced on Hindu couples, inter-faith partners will
have to sit through a "shuddhikaran" (purification) ritual, the Hindu
Mahasabha has said. What's more, couples caught with roses in hands and those
who sit in corners and hug each other at malls and parks will be prime targets.
Talking to TOI,
the Mahasabha national president, Chandra Prakash Kaushik, said, "India is
a country where all 365 days are days for love, why then must couples observe
only February 14 as Valentine's Day?"
This year, the
couples who claim to be in love will have to pass our marriage test,
Kaushik warned. "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.
The group, in news recently for both 'ghar wapsi' and the
bid to install a Godse bust in Meerut, has reportedly established several teams
in west UP and even the national capital to identify "guilty"
couples.
Mahesh Chandana, a Mahasabha representative from Agra,
said the organization welcomes inter-faith marriages since "all residents
of India are Hindus". "Hence, the weddings (of couples caught on
Valentine's Day) will be preceded by shuddhikaran," he said.
Interestingly, Bajrang Dal, another Hindu outfit known to
take a similar stand on February 14 festivities, has decided to take a break
this year. Bajrang Dal leader Ajju Chauhan who was in news when Agra's Queen
Victoria statues were vandalized, said the group "will not do anything on
Valentine's Day" this year. "We have our Hindu Sammelan on February
15 and we are busy with that. Hence, no plans for V-day this year," Chauhan
crisply added.
The Mahasabha's Meerut chapter, meanwhile, has said that
it was more important to conduct ghar wapsi of secular Hindus. "The
secular Hindus (who celebrate Valentine's Day) should be converted to Hinduism
completely so that they stop believing in the existence of any other
religion," said Pandit Ashok Sharma, a central working body member of the
Mahasabha from Meerut.
Kaushik is reportedly visiting Meerut on Wednesday to
finalize the plans. "He will visit Meerut on Wednesday and only then will
we be able to talk at length about our February 14 plans. But ours is a
democratic organization and everyone's views have an equal value. According to
me, instead of forcing the non-Hindu partner to convert to Hindu religion, the
boy should convert even if he is a Muslim. Why should only girls sacrifice
their religion?" said Bharat Rajput, the Meerut mahanagar president.
Reacting to the comments, SSP Agra Rajesh Modak D Rao said
the police will be active and will ensure nothing untoward happens to anyone.