Bangalore, whose name turned into a verb with globalization and 'bangalored' came to denote the free movement of jobs, is suddenly caught up in a very ugly mess.

An outfit called the Sri Ram Sene first pulled the caveman act on young women in a pub in Mangalore – not far from this city – dragging them by the hair, slapping and pushing them around. And now approaching Valentine's Day, the same group is threatening to forcibly "marry off" couples caught celebrating romance in Bangalore.

Women drinking beer in pubs, wearing 'tight jeans' as well as public displays of affection are against Indian culture, says the Sene. Its leader Pramod Mutalik wants to put a stop to all Western cultural imports.

All this dissonance is jarring for the thousands of young people in Bangalore whose lives are increasingly tangled with the West. They work for Western companies. Many work in outsourcing firms which execute projects for Western firms. A lot of them talk to Western customers on the phone or on web chats. But westernized behaviour is suddenly taboo.

A week to Valentine's Day, Bangalore's young population is scared and edgy. Who wants to go out with a girl and have her slapped and shoved around by thugs, they ask. You have watched them in action on television channels. It is not worth the risk, they say.

If I am out with a guy on any day of the year, why should it be anybody else's problem, asked a college student. My friends and I wish we could form a 'Sita Sena' to return the slaps they delivered to the girls in Mangalore, she said.

... contd.