A skewed and dangerous view of culture
Don’t trivialise violence against women by blaming the West and Valentine’s Day
Recently, addressing RSS volunteers at the end of their training, Indresh Kumar, leader and patron of the RSS-affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch, blamed western traditions such as Valentine’s Day for attacks on women and other social ills. A PTI report quoted Mr Kumar as saying: “In India, love has been sacred and pious .... but western culture commercialised love and gave birth to festival of Valentine’s Day which is now responsible for problems like rape, illegitimate children and violence on women.”
Mr Kumar’s views could have been laughed off had their implications not been dangerous. He was addressing volunteers who should not espouse this regressive, misleading ideology when they step out to work in society. It is such misguided inferences that have made Valentine’s Day the favourite target for these self-appointed custodians of Indian culture. Similar views are shared by political parties such as the Shiv Sena and MNS. Vigilante groups claiming to be custodians of ‘culture’ have attacked gift shops, cafes and other hangouts popular among the youth. India is a young nation and its youth should have the freedom to express their emotions — not be threatened and, worse, attacked. Another consequence of such a view is that it trivialises the issue of attacks on women. To say that such attacks are the result of ‘western’ culture and influences is a denial of what is happening here. Such attacks take place because of a deepseated bias, a wrong sense of empowerment that patriarchy breeds and a lack of respect for women. It is this skewed sense of authority and entitlement that is imposed on women.
To blame social evils on outside influence obstructs constructive discussions that are long overdue on important issues such as attacks on women. Rather than instilling such wrong notions about culture and values, organisations must teach their members to respect individual freedoms and not be prejudiced.