Girls,interrupted

Whether it takes place in Afghan wastelands,in Mangalore or in Margaret Atwood’s dystopian republic of Gilead,one thing is obvious: every form of religious coercion involves the regulation and control of female behaviour. In a disgraceful incident,around 20 members of the Sri Rama Sena,a stray sprout of the Bajrang Dal,barged into a pub called Amnesia in Mangalore and roughed up the young women drinking there — “in the interests of society”. “There are some activities going on here that spoil Hindu tradition. We’ve just shown our frustration at that assault on Indian tradition. We don’t like such indecent behaviour and tried to stop it,” said a spokesman.

At one level,these actions are sanctioned,and further encourage a latent puritanism,the kind that is deeply threatened by modernity and dark subversions like women enjoying alcohol. They also rouse a visceral disgust among normal freethinking citizens,and it is vital that events like this should emphatically demonstrate whose side the state is on. Some politicians have called it an intolerable “Talibanisation of India”,while others have been reluctant to even label the group “Hindu”. But whatever the credentials and

motives of the organisation,they are undeniably part of the same phalanx of intolerance — one that plays politics with faith and culture,and instrumentalises beliefs for their own malign ends.

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Any act of intimidation (even one as lowdown as a large group of men brutalising a few girls) ensures that these groups get on the national radar. As Raj Thackeray’s tactics in Mumbai have proven,swinging out wildly with your fists and picking on the most vulnerable is the unofficial route to political prominence.

Incidents of barbarity and violence have been steadily rising in Karnataka and elsewhere over the past few years. They range from raids on rave parties to churches being attacked and despoiled by these self-appointed keepers of the Hindu flame. This time,Karnataka appears to have taken this incident seriously,giving the police full authority to clamp down on the perpetrators. But unless we take every opportunity to bludgeon home the point that these tactics will not be tolerated,these incidents will continue to mar India. It is a clash between civilisation and bigotry,and the stakes run deep.