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February 12, 2009

Dekho gadha moot raha hai...

I have no idea why I started thinking about that, y'know, the phrase in the headline. In English it would mean, 'Look a donkey is pissing.'

The whole idea of writing it on walls -- apparently to dissuade Indian men from marking their territories/ walls/ parks/ benches with their piss -- is to shame them into not pee-ing in public. BUT given that more than half the Indian population cannot read, what's the point? As for the laptop-toting brigade that pulls over their Santros and Toyota's and pisses on the wall, perhaps they can't read Hindi.

Hello, Sri Ram Sene, are you listening? How about a campaign eh? We can call it -- Bharat Maata Moot-Rahit Campaign (Mother India Piss Free)-- where your goons, er, cadets can beat up men who pee on Mother India's pavements and walls? What do you say? Ma par mootna nahi chahiye, Hinduism says so.

For those who don't know what I am talking about: Sri Ram Sene is a supposedly 1000-strong (has anyone really checked?) group of staunch Hindu men who go around attacking pubs, punching and slapping women for doing non-Indian/Hindu things like drinking and dancing. Sri Ram Sene ji... what about Bhole Nath/ Shivshankar/ Nataraj/ Shiva? We ALL know he is associated with dancing. AND what about the bhaang (cannabis) that is legally sold through government shops on Holi? Men AND women drink it and get absolutely friggin' high and do all sorts of things.

OHO!! Bhagwan Krishna -- hare Rama, hare Krishna anyone? -- is KNOWN to have danced with all the gopis in Vrindavan. Why were you not around back then Sri Ram Sene... to control him? Ah, and the dandiya during Diwali where young girls and boys dance with each other... Are we going to get them married? I suggest we do, statistics show that we have a rise in pregnancies during the dandiya season. Of course you, Sri Ram Sene, know that babies are not created just by dancing with sticks. The timing would be perfect, there's nothing more auspicious than Diwali time, no?

Sri Ram Sene says pubs, Valentine's Day, drinking and dancing with boys (and boys dancing with girls) is all anti-Hindu and anti-India. SRS also says that Muslims are anti-India and of course anti-Hindu... Sri Ram Sene has released statements saying "those women were with boys of a different religion".

"They are trying to spread a rumour that I am a Muslim but I am not a Muslim. My name is Pawan Shetty," said the Mangalore hero.


But SRS, please, given the economic crisis that the world is facing, let's just hold on to the Muslim persecution for a while. We need the money and we need some glory.

Like Yousuf and Irfan Pathan gave Sri Lanka a solid beating two days back and we (India through ICC, ostensibly) earned a lot of money through the IPL series. And of course, a week back it was the mixed doubles pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza (psst, Muslim) that got us the Australian Open Mixed Doubles award. Not to mention... if we remove Shah Rukh KHAN, Aamir KHAN, Saif Ali KHAN and Salman KHAN from the Hindi film industry aka Bollywood, the industry collapses. Hai na?

While Sri Ram Sene is busy, I sincerely hope, targeting the Khans -- who strangely never, ever say a word when it's needed -- I have a question for everyone. Especially those who are sending chaddies (panties) and what not to SRS. I understand the idea behind sending chaddis - one nonsense for another nonsense -- but is that enough?

This is about FEAR tactics where a group of thugs is scaring people through violence... whatever be their purported reason. It's about Gabbar Singh in the name of Ram.

"...The report also says that a fear-psychosis prevails among youngsters in the city and with Valentine’s Day coming up, the panic is palpable..."

I mean, if it's pink versus khaaki...why not a laat (kick) versus a chaanta (slap)? If 28-odd men could beat up a few women, why not the other way round? Why was there only ONE man with balls enough to stand up against them? Apparently the chaddi-club has 486 confirmed guests and there are 24, 990 (still counting on Facebook) plus members on another group for 'pub-going, loose and forward women'.

Someone mentioned that this -- the panties-for-perverts -- is like the Gandian non-violent movement. Sure, applaud. But can anyone deny that the extremists in the Indian freedom movement -- the men and women who blew up offices, rail lines and gave us an eye-for-an-eye -- did not contribute to the freedom of India as well?

How about a 50-strong group of men and women taking up the cause? The idea is to give out the same kind of justice. Laaton ke bhooth, baaton -- aur chaddi -- se nahi maante.

On New Year's eve, two women WITH their husbands are disrobed. The year before that another girl faces a similar fate. Rizwanur Rehman's murder is STILL being investigated and now a senior police office-turned-witness has been found murdered in EXACTLY THE SAME way. STILL no solutions... HOW much longer before those reading this blog and other blogs and joining Facebook groups is going to lose someone close because of something like this? Panties will not stop it. Neither will Renuka Chowdhary. A good beating might just.

Someone give answers please.

PS: Am I being 'intolerant'? Perhaps so. But some itches you've got to scratch, tickling them doesn't really help.

A brilliant, brilliant post
It was pretty fashionable for women to wear sleeveless blouses in the 60's. Once, on a bus, a bunch of young men took razor blades and slashed the exposed arms of women in such blouses. Overnight, it seemed, women stopped wearing them.

Related stories:
Can't drink to India culture: Women attacked in Mangalore pub
Moral policing: ABVP protests pub culture
Sri Ram Sene men get bail
Pub attack: Govt sends enquiry team
Man who fought pub attackers threatened
Pink underwear against moral police

26 comments:

Mamma mia! Me a mamma? said...

I do agree with everything you say. WHile I am one of the loose, pub-going women that these so-called Ram bhakts would like to purdah-fy under 'mota sindoor' and 'ghomtaa', I think we should also morph into the 'Belan Brigade'...carry belans wrapped in pink chaddis...armed, ready, dangerous and making a statement to boot!

Unknown said...

Jai Ram ji ki! Heartfelt thankyou for saying that Mamma Mia!!

I COMPLETELY and sincerely agree that women need to DO something... 1. would be to not go out alone and go in groups 2. each member of that group should carry something, anything that can be yielded as a weapon. 3. If it's three or lesser men and its a group of say four girls, we CAN beat them back.

Ah. Someone has to give it back. It's reverse mob psychology... if one man starts to tear a woman's clothes and other join in...we need to use it the other way round. We KNOW that everyone in India loves a free tamasha, a free fight... i am SURE that as two women start beating up a guy...others will join in. Then the women should leave it to the crowd and walk away.

Or maybe shoot a video and put it up on You Tube.

Kotho bhoye pabo baba?

Sree said...

I'm JUST back home after a video shoot where I got to beat up 5 men!!That was but class project and 5 nice guys.

Are we heading to a time where men will have sex with a woman and then at the next moment beats her to death for having sex with him.

Glad you and many have written about this.Even if its a chaddi campaign,its a start.

moonstruck maniac said...

While the mellow tone of Debussy's composition on your blog gives me the perfectly calm demeanour for a gorgeous morning (we in England don't get to see that much sun as you in Australia would), the post and the related incident(s) do not necessarily share the same tone.

It is unfortunate... and reflective of a clash of some sort of global cultures that is creating chaos in our country. We wish to be global but are not. So a woman wearing choodas with jeans appears as confused to me as these blokes who, in the name of religion and India's long standing integrity, unashamedly insult women. Pata nahee yeh log Bharat ko mata ka status kyun dete hain?
I sense your anger and, for the lack of a better word, itch. Yes, you are being intolerant but I guess that is needed. Since everything in India is politically (in all senses of the word) and bureaucratically (again in every possible sense of the word) controlled and regulated, we need to identify methods to tell a mob that it is a goddamn mob - it can and should be crushed as easily as a peanut under heel.

P.S. Don't try and sound crass for there is some difference between you and 'em Jhoomur. :)
I must confess that the music widget is nice even though I was surprised to learn that you would be listening to Bach, Debussy et al.

Unknown said...

oh-ho! Moonstruck. this comment and what you write on your blog don't go together. was your id stolen for a bit?

moonstruck maniac said...

I don't understand. I really don't.

Vidooshak said...

I dunno how you found me but I am glad I found you. I admit, the only reason I followed your blog is because I couldn't understand the angrezi in the comment you left for me-- plus I liked your smile. Too bad the bikini in the banner is not reflected in the banter on these pages. Sigh!

Regarding the Sen(il)e issue, I think I agree most with Sree's comment above. The way we have started intolerating, judging and hypocrating that is exactly what may happen. And our Home Ministers will award Param Vir Chakra to such men for bravely destroying temptation in the form of that woman (like how Sri Ram destroyed evil in Ravana).

In the 60s, such men were called Psychopaths. Today they are known as Acharyas.

Sree said...

I dont know, Vidooshak,if i'm not understanding your angrezi or over reacting.But I think certain lines of the first paragraph of your comment does shout out the very 'intolerance' we all are talking about here.

SD said...

I am so with you on this. Laaton ke bhoot baaton se nahin maante. There has to be strict,. hard action on them once, so that they don't dare repeat these cheap acts. But just like the Shiv Sena and MNS have for long been carrying out these acts, with no stopping, these goons will do the same.

Vidooshak said...

hehehe, yes Sree, that was part sarcasm. It was pointed at the sub-heading for this blog which I found very cute. couldn't resist a dig :-)

As for the intolerance, well, the mere fact that these guys have managed to generate a debate is scary proof that a lot of "men" among us would still love to see Taliban'd women.

Every time we see an Irani film, I long for the days my wife would be as well-behaved as those women there.

Samster said...

I think its bloody high time we get intolerant..and stop taking this filthy shit.

Read this brilliant article that my teacher sent me the link for...

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Feb82009/sundayherald20090207117139.asp

It seems to put into (excellent)words what i've been thinking...

so, now we need some Strong forceful action, beyond pink chaddis!...(though, that will garner press too)...but the message will simply not be strong enough...

Samster said...

Ps- by 'get intolerant'... its directed at not tolerating physical or mental pressure from any of these so called guardians of morality.

Vidooshak said...

I'd say the message was received loud and clear. Mutt decided not to show his face in Bangalore and better still, called off the protests. The weasel is now going after Tier-2 cities where the eves are yet to be emancipated... :-)

Good to see change, even if slow and trickling. Maybe we will NOT allow another Shiv Sena/MNS to fester...

Sree said...

Hello again Vidooshak,was plain lazy to type a reply.
And I thought you read the sub-heading as 'bikini'.To me the
same sub-heading is enough to know that this blog belongs to a woman.I can also read
the emotions behind those words.

As for the Taliban'd Itch,am I glad its just an itch!Sending your
way a virtual donkey trained to scratch his masters itch
every time an Irani movie
is played.He will also call his master an Acharya.
Takecare :)

Unknown said...

Goofy Mumma --> I would like to believe that perhaps another Shiv Sena would not happen. Historically, Shiv Sena was NOT what it is in its current avatar. Their vada-paav for employment idea was novel when they started out. It's once they confused and mingled their self-sustenance views with casteism that things started going wrong. Currently, there is no semblance of any ideology in Shiv Sena.

Sri Ram Sene on the other hand -- please do read DP Satish's blog on ibnlive.com -- started out as something entirely different. The group even tried to have Hindu suicide-bombers. A group that's policy of perpetration is violence should NOT be allowed.
Anyway, am getting carried away.

Vidooshak --> Hello, the angrezi on your blog meant, 'glad to read you, you are funny'. Definitely not a "come and check out my bikini". But thankyou, for such attention to detail.

Sree --> As usual, the defender of my e-virtue! :) But give Baingan-lore a break, dont think he was trying to be a pervert; a tad quick to judge, but well, that happens here a lot. If he/they dont judge, i am perhaps losing my touch!

Go-Phish --> good to see you here again. Pink chaddis are being responded with saris (allegedly). And beyond getting the media interested -- more due to the sheer idea of generating curiosity, headlines and hit counts than a belief in the campaign -- pink chaddis will not do anything more. And as DP Satish points out in his blog, it makes the issue "joke".

Anonymous said...

SRS is the voice of millions of hindus whose culture is being destroyed by muslims and christians. if not for them, they would convert whole of dakshin kannada into some allelhuya screeming mad set of people or some hell hole mullah land.

funny to see all you arm chair secularists talk of violence. I am sure you wont even have the guts to step out of your ac car. you want to run revolutions using a mouse and a blog. Really pathetic to see such a huge disconnect.

Come on to the real heartland and stop deluding yourself of the India we live in.

First come out and then lets talk of kiska booth kisse manti hai.

shiv

Chandan Mulherkar said...

Dear Anonymous-->

I am a Hindu. Yet, I have not a spec of doubt that learning from the noble teachings of Jesus and Mohammad would only enrich my life and culture, never destroy it. God is too big to fit into one religion, Sir.
Do not insult my religion and me by saying that SRS is the voice of millions of Hindus. They are just a bunch of hypocrites who try to teach one value by violating another(or do you think that beating up females is right in our culture?)
You talk about guts and about 'coming out in the open', while u yourself prefer to hide behind the mask of anonymity? Who told you that all bloggers are geeks driving ac cars, 'disconnected' from the real India? Blogs are only tools. It is indeed true that to clean your house, you need to get your hands dirty; but given the size of our country, we are going to need many hands-reaching out to them and uniting them is what our blogs do.
We are much better connected to the real India than those people who only blame others and pretend to be courageous men. Giving opinions is easy, sir. Trying to find real solutions without taking sides is what requires courage.

Vidooshak said...

@chandan - second you completely. well said. over the weekend, have met many friends (educated and affluent) who agree with SRS motives-- and by extension their methods. it shook us to the core because it was much more comfortable to assume SRS support was among uneducated, irrelevant India.

Unknown said...

Chandan, Vidooshak: thanks for the clarity of thoughts. Also, Chandan, 'Shiv-Anonymous' is no 'sir'.

Anonymous: Hallelujah. Your problem is more with those who drive around in ac cars. I am guessing that you were typing your comment from an internet cafe while probably looking for 'desi porn' in the time you get off from sitting at the nukkad chai ki dukaan and eyeing girls who get out of their ac cars.

Seriously, if we ever meet -- I will ensure that first i kick you in the ball, then slap you in the face and finally give you to the police. Because, you see, I am sure you will give me reason enough for all of that.

Dont tell me what is and what is not good for Dakshin Kannada.. YOU definitely are not. And dont confuse SRS with the issue with conversions that you have. EVEN if say certain charities convert 'Hindus' -- poverty stricken, disease ridden Hindus who have been forgotten by YOU and the Hindu state -- neither Christianity nor Islam asks for girls to go to pubs. THAT was the reason given by SRS for beating up Hindu girls who going to the pub.

The SRS men need a job (and beating), Muthalik needs a jail term (and beating) and men like you who support violence against other people, particularly women, need a mental check up and of course, a good beating. One day soon. Hallelujah.

Unknown said...

and kick you in the 'ball' because am sure you have only one, full of air.
(there, that should get some more asinine vitriol going)

Chandan Mulherkar said...

I only used the term 'sir' bcoz ppl are much more likely to actually listen to you if they think u are giving them some bhav, even if what you really want to do is play hockey with their balls.

Unknown said...

@ Chandan: hahaha, go hockey!

Anonymous said...

interesting read...my posting a chaddi to the ram sene drew flak from a few friends...guess people still have a long way to go before they realise the importance of voicing dissent...or maybe they were angry coz it wsnt pink...baah...humbugs!

SD said...

True Shiv Sena started off with some sense, but it has been a downhill force for long now. MNS ofcourse is plain and simple power and attention hungry, no morals involved.

SRS is pathetic, and more so for calling themselves 'patriotic'. Yikes. They need to be punished,legally.

This guy 'shiv' has left comments on a lot of blogs which posted against the SRS. I love your reply to him. Superb!

Anonymous said...

@Eve aka JB - Empty rhetoric and absolutely no value. You should see for a change what havoc is being caused in dakshin kannada. While you sit and do some e-protests, there rae some who are prepared to act. Its your right to disagree with them. Its the right of those who wish to see their land and culture protected. This has been so for a long time in india. Very similar to the anti-arrack agitation by women in andhra. The fact is you are appalled by the violence of it shown on t.v. we are appaled by the silent violence unleashed on millions of hindus day in and day out.

Your rhetoric about kicking my balls has no value. If you wish to do that, lets meet and see. Weather you like it or not SRS has effected change in dakshin kannada and will continue to do so.

I like to see all you self righteous dimwit rile.

@Chandan - Many of us were like you before. Before the christians started converting calling parvati a prostitute and shiva a pimp. Before they called the gods and goddesses heretics and those who dont believe in jesus as lost souls. Remember one day your daughter and son would be converted into some "hail jesus mary" group and you remember to call SRS. We will fight for you and save them from the christians and muslims.

Every time a bomb explodes, someone gets killed. Remember a muslim somewhere is waging jihad bent on wiping out the hindus. You may ignore this at your own peril.

shiv.

Chandan Mulherkar said...

..YAWN..
Anonymous,
You're still nothing but a spineless coward , you know that?