Pink Chaddi Campaign

Last updated

The Pink Chaddi Campaign (or Pink Underwear Campaign) is a nonviolent protest movement launched by Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose and Forward Women [1] in February 2009, in response to notable incidences of violent ultra-conservative and right-wing vigilantism; against perceived violations of Hindu culture by women, who were attacked at a pub in Mangalore. The campaign was a brainchild of Nisha Susan, an employee of Tehelka political magazine. [1] [2]

Contents

The campaign was conceived particularly in protest against a threat by Pramod Muthalik of the Sri Ram Sena (also spelled as Sri Ram Sene and Sriram Sena), a Hindu extremist group based in Mangalore. Muthalik threatened to marry off and take other action on any young couples found together on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is traditionally not observed in India, as it is celebrated in Western cultures.

Background

On 24th January 2009 a group men attacked a group of women in Mangalore, India. The attack was an isolated incident and allegedly carried out by members of the Shri Rama Sene. Later that month, Muthalik announced an action plan to target couples found dating on 14 February, Valentine's Day. He said "Our activists will go around with a priest, a turmeric stub and a mangalsutra on 14 February. If we come across couples being together in public and expressing their love, we will take them to the nearest temple and conduct their marriage. [3]

On 9 February 2009, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said that "Sri Ram Sene is a threat to the country. The Centre is watching its activities with great concern". [4]

Pink Chaddi campaign

In the midst of the tension, a protest was started by a group of young women, called the "Pink Chaddi" campaign, where they urged a peaceful protest (described as Gandhian in the press [5] [6] ) to all of India, by sending pink underwear ("Chaddi" in Hindi) to Muthalik's office on Valentine's Day. [7] The novel form of protest was initiated by Nisha Susan, Mihira Sood, Jasmeen Patheja and Isha Manchanda [8] As the protest grew, underwear started pouring in from locations all over India in solidarity for the "Love Sena". Over 500 pink chaddis were couriered on Friday. Other cities collected hundreds of such chaddis and decided to courier them directly. [9]

Reaction to the campaign

The Pink Chaddi Campaign received widespread media coverage, [10] and the Facebook [11] group saw numbers of members growing exponentially in the following days.[ citation needed ] A few reports were also critical of the campaign accusing it of trivialising an important issue like attack on women. [12]

There was also political reaction to the campaign as supporters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) objected to use of pictures of RSS members on the campaign blog. RSS had criticised the Mangalore attack and favoured ban on the Sri Ram Sena. The blog owner removed the pictures of RSS members following this objection. [13]

A counter-campaign calling itself "The Pink Condom Campaign" was started by some unknown activists a few days before Valentine's Day. [14]

Preventive custody

As an additional precaution, Muthalik and 140 others of the Sri Ram Sena were held in preventive custody on Valentine's Eve. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bajrang Dal</span> Hindu nationalist militant organisation

Bajrang Dal is a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing Sangh Parivar. The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva. It was founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, and began spreading more in the 2010s throughout India, although its most significant base remains the northern and central portions of the country.

Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK), literally meaning Hindu People's Party, also pronounced as Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK), is a right-wing, Hindu nationalist party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

<i>Tehelka</i> Indian news magazine

Tehelka is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. According to the British newspaper The Independent, the Tehelka was founded by Tarun Tejpal, Aniruddha Bahal and another colleague who worked together at the Outlook magazine after "an investor with deep pockets" agreed to underwrite their startup. Bahal left Tehelka in 2005 to start Cobrapost – an Indian news website, after which Tehelka was managed by Tejpal through 2013. In 2013, Tejpal stepped aside from Tehelka after being accused of sexual assault by his employee. Tehelka had cumulative losses of ₹66 crore (US$8.3 million) till 2013, while being majority owned and financed by Kanwar Deep Singh – an industrialist, a politician and a member of Indian parliament.

Moral police is an umbrella category of vigilante groups which act to enforce a code of morality in India. Some of India's laws, and some actions of police forces in India are also considered to be instances of moral policing. The target of moral policing is any activity that vigilante groups, the government or police deem to be "immoral" and/or "against Indian culture".

The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the Indian Constitution, as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act. The first head of the commission was Jayanti Patnaik. As of 24 February 2024, Rekha Sharma is the chairperson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against Christians in India</span> Anti-Christian violence in India

Anti-Christian violence in India is religiously motivated violence against Christians in India. Human Rights Watch has classified violence against Christians in India as a tactic used by the right-wing Sangh Parivar organizations to encourage and exploit communal violence in furtherance of their political ends. The acts of violence include arson of churches, conversion of Christians by force, physical violence, sexual assaults, murders, rapes, and the destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries.

<i>Karavali Ale</i> Indian Kannada-language newspaper

Karavali Ale, meaning "Coastal Waves" in Kannada, is a local Kannada daily newspaper published in Mangalore, Karnataka, India. The publication is owned and managed by its founders B. V. Seetaram and Rohini S. It is edited by Sathish N. Vaidya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Students' Union of India</span> Indian students organization

The National Students' Union of India(NSUI) is the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress). It was established on the 9th of April, 1971, founded by Indira Gandhi after merging the Kerala Students Union and the West Bengal State Chhatra Parishad to form a national students' organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka</span> Attacks directed against Christian churches

The 2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka refer to the wave of attacks directed against Christian churches and prayer halls in the Indian city of Mangalore and the surrounding area of southern Karnataka in September and October 2008 by Hindu nationalist organisations, Bajrang Dal and the Sri Ram Sena. The attacks were widely perceived by Christians in southern Karnataka to be punishment from right-wing Hindu nationalist organisations because they had been outspoken about 2008 anti-Christian attacks in Orissa, and also because the New Life Fellowship Trust (NLFT), a non-denominational Christian Church, was alleged by Bajrang Dal to be responsible for forced conversions of Hindus to Christianity.

The Shree Ram Sena, or Shree Ram Sena, is a right-wing Hindutva group founded & headed by Pramod Muthalik. It has received media attention for its acts of moral policing, including the 2009 Mangalore pub attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pramod Muthalik</span> Indian Hindutva politician

Pramod Muthalik is the chief of the Rashtriya Hindu Sena, the parent organisation of the Sri Ram Sena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Mangalore pub attack</span>

On 24 January 2009, the Sri Ram Sena attacked a group of young women and men in a pub in Mangalore, India. A group of 40 activists of the Sri Rama Sena barged into the pub "Amnesia – The Lounge" and beat up a group of young women and men, claiming the women were violating traditional Indian values. Two of the women were hospitalised. The video of the incident has become one of the most watched clips on YouTube, though how the TV crew happened to be ready at the 'unannounced' attack is not known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishva Hindu Parishad</span> Hindu nationalist organisation

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is an Indian right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to organise, consolidate the Hindu society and to serve and protect the Hindu Dharma". It was established to construct and renovate Hindu temples, and deal with matters of cow slaughter and religious conversion. The VHP is a member of the Sangh Parivar group, the family of Hindu nationalist organisations led by the RSS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renuka Chowdhury</span> Indian politician

Renuka Chowdhury is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian National Congress, she represented the political party in the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. She has also served as the Union minister of State for Ministry of Women and Child Development and Tourism in the Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political activism in Kerala</span> Overview of the political activisim in Kerala, India

Kerala is a politically-active society in India, with a politically active and aware population. Many of the news events happening in Kerala is related to the political events happening in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harish Iyer</span> Indian equal rights activist

Harish Iyer, also known as "Aham", hiyer and "Harrish Iyer" is an Indian equal rights activist. Iyer engages in advocacy for a number of causes, including promoting the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, children, women and survivors of child sexual abuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Kiss of Love protest</span> Non-violent protest against moral policing

The Kiss of Love protest was a non-violent protest against moral policing. It started in Kerala, India, and later spread to other parts of the country.

The celebration of Valentine's Day in India began to become popular following the economic liberalisation. There have been protests against the celebrations by groups who consider it a Western influence. Almost every year, law and order problems occur on 14 February in many cities in India due to protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pushp Sharma</span>

Pushp Sharma is an investigative journalist known for exposing the malaise of paid news in the Indian media industry through the sting operation series code-named "Operation 136" that he conducted for Cobrapost. The investigation revealed how some of India's biggest news organizations and media houses were ready to influence the elections by favouring a party and by planting false news items against the opposition in exchange for money.

The Karnataka textbook controversy arose in May-June 2022 after Government of Karnataka made changes to the books used by the government schools in Karnataka. They have been accused of reflecting the political views of BJP, the party in power in the Government of Karnataka.

References

  1. 1 2 Krishna, Geetanjali (14 February 2009). "Geetanjali Krishna: A kick in the knickers". Business Standard India.
  2. ↑ "Nisha Susan".[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Bangalore Bureau (6 February 2009). "We'll not spare dating couples on Valentine's Day: Muthalik". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ "Sri Ram Sene is a threat to the country: Chidambaram". The Economic Times. The India Times. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  5. ↑ Herald Correspondent (22 February 2009). "Muthalik wants to start Ram Sene in Goa". Goa Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2009.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ Vishal, Anoothi (27 February 2009). "Yes, we can?". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  7. ↑ "Underwear protest at India attack". BBC News. 10 February 2009.
  8. ↑ Nisha Susan (28 February 2009). "Valentine's Warriors". Tehelka. Tehelka. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Pink chaddis still keep coming in". Cities: Bangalore. The Times of India. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  10. ↑ 'Pink Panty' Women Target Extremist Right Wing Indian Leader Fox News – 10 February 2009
  11. ↑ "Facebook group". Facebook .
  12. ↑ Roundup of comments from various blogs in English and Hindi Mishra, Gaurav (26 February 2009). "Hindi Blogosphere's Reactions to the Pink Chaddi Campaign Show the Divide Between Bharat and India". Gaurav Mishra's Weblog on Social Media & Social Change. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  13. ↑ "Pink Chaddi Blog". 14 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "The pink condom folks portray themselves as "ordinary Hindus, who don't bark on television to defend their faith, but get hurt when some people bark against it." They are anonymous and started this campaign to counter the perception the RSS was behind the Mangalore incident." Express news service (13 February 2009). "Chaddi, condom war approaches V-Day". Story. The Indian Express . Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  15. ↑ "Police crackdown: Muthalik, 140 others held ahead of Valentine's Day". The Times of India . 14 February 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.