The self-styled 'culture cops' are on the prowl again in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country. Their latest target, as it was around this time last year, are all those who wish to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Aggressive activists of the Hindu Jagran Manch attacked shops selling Valentine's Day cards in the industrial hub of Kanpur, about 80 kilometres from Lucknow on Saturday, February 10. And their compatriots teamed with Shiv Sena activists in Lucknow to warn card dealers to take Valentine's Day cards off their shelves.

While card shops owners in Kanpur have given in to these warnings and stopped displaying Valentine cards, leading card shop owners in Lucknow have approached the local police to ensure safety of their shops. Chander Prakash of the Hallmark gallery in Lucknow's Hazratganj area said on Saturday, "We have not received any direct threats. Yet, we are on the alert as we have been getting feelers that we could be targeted by some misguided youth."

It was a precaution that did not help. Greeting card shops in Hazratganj were compelled to down their shutters for nearly two hours on Tuesday afternoon after volunteers belonging to the Bajrang Dal and the Hindu Jagran Manch attacked the both the Archies and Hallmark Galleries, demanding they instantly stop the sale of Valentine cards.

A band of youth carrying saffron banners kept banging at the downed shutters. Harried customers had no choice but to remain in the shops until arrangement were made for them to leave safely through the rear exit. "The goons kept banging at the shutters for some time, but decided to leave after making loud protests and issuing oral warnings that they would return on Valentine's Day," said an agitated Chander Prakash.

The Archies Gallery next door was their next target, but owner Rajiv Tiwari managed to save his shop by pulling down the shutters as soon as he heard of the attack on the Hallmark Gallery.

Their attempts to ransack yet another card shop in the neighbouring Janpath Market was, however, thwarted by the shopkeepers, who promptly gathered outside, arming themselves with whatever they could lay their hands on. "Since we had come to know of the attack on the Hallmark and Archies Galleries, we knew trouble was brewing, so we got together to face the hoodlums," said Vijay Arora of Modern Book House.

Asked about the role of policemen who had been specially put on patrol since Monday, February 12, Arora said, "Far from coming to our rescue, the police only seemed to be encouraging the goons. And the the presence of the electronic media emboldened the hoodlums to intensify their protest so that they could earn some cheap publicity."

Restaurant owners, too, are a worried lot. Ravi Khanna, who owns the popular Ritz chain of restaurants in Lucknow, said, "We are keeping our fingers crossed as police usually turn up only after much of the damage is done."

Lucknow University, too, has declared a holiday. "It was unanimously decided to keep the university closed in view of the apprehension of violence and vulgarity on Valentine's Day,'' said a senior member of the university board. "Eve-teasing has been on the rise in and around the campus and Valentine's Day will give undesirable elements a chance to take undue liberties, which could spark off violence."

Meanwhile, on Saturday, February 10, mobs led by the Hindu Jagran Manch, a frontal body of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, stormed into big and small shops stocking Valentine's Day cards in Kanpur's prominent shopping centres. They broke glass panes, ransacked the counters, grabbed Valentine's Day cards and stacked them into bonfires on the roads outside the shops. They warned shopkeepers to stop selling these cards, which, according to Manch's Suman Kumar, "were only expressions of vulgarity and sex."

Panic-stricken shopkeepers, as a result, downed their shutters and sought police protection. A visibly terrorised Arti, who manages the Archies Gallery store on Kanpur's Mall Road, said, "We have decided against carrying Valentine's Day cards; it is the only solution that will end our harassment. After all, we have already suffered enough damage on Saturday." Similar sentiments were expressed by Rajendra Singh, who manages the Archies Gallery in Kanpur’s Arya Nagar area.

Kanpur Senior Superintendent of Police G P Sharma seemed sure the police would be able to deal with the situation. "We have deployed policemen at all strategic points to prevent the recurrence of any such incident; instructions have been given to deal unsparingly with anyone who attempts violence on Valentine's Day revellers. Besides, what these protestors are doing is absolutely ridiculous. These fellows have no business to force their own social rules on others."

"Heavy police deployments," he added, "have been made around all shops selling Valentine cards, as well as outside prominent hotels and restaurants where Valentine Day celebrations are planned. The police will also patrol outside schools and colleges. And flying squads in jeeps will remain on the move around the clock to keep a strict vigil on all parts of the city."

Undaunted by police warnings, state Hindu Jagran Manch chief Suman Kumar said he would go ahead with his plans of "not allowing anyone to observe the festival," which he termed as a "nothing but a sex-oriented Western expression of love. We will continue with our campaign and will not allow anyone to sell Valentine cards; they are simply loaded with nudity and sex."

Kumar, born Robert Solomon, was a Christian who converted to Hinduism in 1990. "I am against the very culture of Valentine's Day," he said, "which means nothing more than promoting nudity and sex. This is blatantly visible in the greeting cards currently flooding the market. Our society has morally degenerated entirely because of the penetration of this Valentine type of culture among our youth. This is also why a crime like rape is on the increase."

Significantly, however, the Manch's stance is not being supported by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. State VHP chief Purshottam Narain Singh was categorical when he told rediff.com, "We have nothing to do with these protests."

The BJP's student wing, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, too denied any involvement with the Manch's current tirade against Valentine's Day. ABVP's Kanpur-based secretary Praveen Shukla, who was an active participant in a similar campaign last year, said, "We are currently engaged in arranging relief for the quake victims in Gujarat, so we have not undertaken any campaign this time." Last year, Shukla had also spearheaded a move to prescribe dress codes for girls in Kanpur.

State BJP chief Kalraj Misra said, "We have nothing against Valentine's Day as such, but surely any kind of vulgarity must be opposed. In any case, the people must realise that any extravagance in the name of Valentine's Day must be avoided if they have any consideration for the thousands who have been rendered homeless in Gujarat."

The only support the Hindu Jagran Manch has received is from the Shiv Sena, which does not have much of a presence in Uttar Pradesh. However, the Sena's general secretary and state spokesman, Anurag Shukla, said, "We have no intention of attacking or ransacking shops. Our only objective is to ensure that Valentine's Day revellers do not indulge in vulgarity or any kind."

Shukla also issued a warning, "Contingents of our women's wing -- the Bhavani Sena -- will keep a constant vigil in different parts of the city to prevent any kind of vulgarity. They propose to deal with such unseemly sights in the typical Shiv Sena manner, so mischief-mongers had better watch out."

Also read: Romance in the Snow

Illustration and design: Dominic Xavier

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