Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik and the Mangalore government are going to experience a very special Valentine’s Day, thanks to Tejaswini Chowdhury, daughter of Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury. Tejaswani was so appalled with the way women were beaten at a pub in Mangalore by these self-proclaimed moral police, that she decided to start Pub Bharo, a community on Facebook, which is asking women to fill the pubs on V-Day to teach these “unemployed truck drivers who are interested in spreading fear”, a lesson they will never forget.
“When I read that the girls who were attacked by these men had gone into hiding and saw how these men were going on victory marches I decided to stand up for the women,” says Tejaswini.
Muthalik and his men proudly proclaiming their plan to strike again on February 14 just made her more determined to stand up for scared women and she decided to go back to the same pub which was attacked and raise a toast to women’s freedom with diet cola.
The Mangalore government better help her realise this dream or it will look like it’s unable to control or condemn goons. “Security is a major concern. I don’t mind getting into trouble but I want the girls who are coming with me to be safe,” she says. So what is the government saying? “Well, it says any congregation will be disrupted as the Sene plans to attack again, but these people have been going on victory marches in the city,” she exclaims. If the government can provide a barricade between the Pub Bharo community and rowdy elements it will demonstrate its ability to keep women safe in the city. By not helping, the government exposes its inability to protect women.
By starting this campaign Tejaswani has proven she truly is a chip off the old block. Her mother must be very proud, but isn’t she worried about the security factor at the same time? “My mother is proud of me and she says she sees a bit of herself in me. Security concern is an issue. I am talking to various groups instead of individuals so that we have numbers on our side in case anything happens.” The media is being asked for support too. Unlike most people who only talk, Tejaswani doesn’t want fear to dictate the way women live.
Renuka Chowdhary to seek poll panel action against Sri Ram Sene\
Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhary said she would ask the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action against Sri Rama Sene. A group of about 40 activists of the Sri Rama Sene recently barged into a pub, Amnesia - The Lounge on the busy Balmatta Road in the heart of Mangalore and assaulted a group of young women and men, claiming the women were “violating traditional Indian values”. The girls were punched and their hair pulled by activists of the self-styled moral brigade.
“A team of National Commission of Women has gone to Karnataka and after their return it will submit a report. After that I will write a letter to the ECI to take action against Sri Ram Sene,” Chowdhary told HNN, on the sidelines of a function at Ashoka Hotel here.
Chowdhary had asked the NCW to send a team to Karnataka to investigate the incident.
“It should be clear who they are and to whom they belong. I will request the ECI to take action so that they can never fight elections,” Chowdhary said.
The attack on the girls has been widely condemned by social activists, politicians and people from different walks of life and has triggered a national outrage.
Criticising the incident, Chowdhary said the attack was an attempt at “Talibanisation of India” and was completely unacceptable.
“There is no place for moral policing in our country,” she added.
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