K
Was surprised to find this news on timesofindia.
Girls have finally woken up.
Ram Sene bully gets pink slip
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
*profile.ak.facebook.com/object3/1438/114/n49641698651_8503.jpg
The Sri Ram Sene might be in for some tough love this Valentine’s Day if the plans of a new internetbased group materialise.
The group, which describes itself as The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women, has launched the Pink Chaddi Campaign to send a stack of flouncy, lacy pink underwear to Sene chief Pramod Muthalik and his “bully boys’’ who stormed a pub in Mangalore and roughed up women whom they accused of being loose and unIndian.
More than 3,000 women and men—from housewives to journalists to corporate executives—have signed up and promised to send in an item or, in some cases, a whole boxful of underwear.
A day before Valentine’s Day, the organisers intend holding a press conference in Bangalore before dispatching the collection to Muthalik by post.
Nisha Susan, a Delhi-based media professional originally from Bangalore, who initiated the movement, told TOI that it was a deep sense of frustration that triggered the idea. “After the attack on the pub in Mangalore, I felt I had two options. One was to stay quiet and accept everything. The other was meet these people head-on and make fun of them. So, I started this group on Facebook last Thursday,’’ she said. “The chaddi is slang for right-wing hardliners and the saffron agenda, while pink stands for things that are frivolous. The combination is offensive.’’
The Sri Ram Sene said the Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women was free to protest any way it thought fit. “It’s a free country after all. However, we would like to know the backgrounds of these people since nobody from good families would resort to such steps which are very cheap,’’ its Bangalore unit president Vasanth Kumar Bhavani said. Pink wave to counter saffron orthodoxy
ABangalore group which calls itself The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women has decided on a Pink Chaddi Campaign on Valentine’s Day to protest the Sri Ram Sene’s attack on women in a Mangalore. The instructions to the sisterhood are clear—look in your closet or buy them cheap. Make sure they’re dirt cheap. Those who can’t mail it can drop their packages at Chaddi Collection Points.
“I’ve bought a pack of three different shades of pink,” says Reena Wadhwa, an interior designer in Mumbai. “Let’s hope they reach the right person (SRS chief Parmod Mutalik) on Valentine’s Day. The gift is as frivolous as the SRS is.”
“The response is cool and unlike most internet campaigns, the support is unanimous. Women have written to say despite not visiting pubs or drinking, they support the cause,” Susan said.
“It’s absurd how women were harassed in Mangalore. I wanted to take a more proactive stance instead of just being defensive and so I’ve joined the campaign,” says Bishakha Datta, documentary film-maker. “The content and the form of the movement enthused me. It’ll make a point in a cheeky way. This is a way of taking
back the space the guardians of morality are trying to take from us. This movement isn’t just an activist movement, it’s by ordinary women who want to speak up and fight back.”
Manasi Subramanium, a Chennai-based publishing editor and campaign supporter, felt the movement was a contemporary interpretation of old feminist ideas. “This is an old feminist response, akin to braburning. I believe in the statement this group is trying to make and I am not at all surprised by the response,” she said.
However, Susan and her fellow organisers will have put themselves through significant personal risk to ensure the campaign’s success. But the woman who started the pink wave to counter saffron orthodoxy says with gumption, “What’s the worst that can happen? They could probably kill me.”
Women have also been exhorted to join the Pub Bharo Andolan. “Join Us on February 14, Valentine’s Day, the day when Indian women’s virginity and honour will self-destruct unless they marry or tie a rakhi. Walk to the nearest pub and buy a drink. Raise a toast to the SRS.” TNN
Expel Renuka, says Mutalik
SRS chief Pramod Mutalik has urged the Congress to expel Union minister Renuka Chowdhury from primary membership of the party, saying her Pub Baro call is in breach of the Congress principle of not supporting alcoholism. Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa also said he would request the PM to rein in Chowdhury, who has been unleashing “baseless charges” against the state government.
SRS has crossed limits, says PC
The SRS was put on notice by the Centre, with home minister P Chidambaram saying the outfit had crossed all limits and was a “threat’’ to the country. TNN
*www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=49641698651
Girls have finally woken up.
Ram Sene bully gets pink slip
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
*profile.ak.facebook.com/object3/1438/114/n49641698651_8503.jpg
The Sri Ram Sene might be in for some tough love this Valentine’s Day if the plans of a new internetbased group materialise.
The group, which describes itself as The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women, has launched the Pink Chaddi Campaign to send a stack of flouncy, lacy pink underwear to Sene chief Pramod Muthalik and his “bully boys’’ who stormed a pub in Mangalore and roughed up women whom they accused of being loose and unIndian.
More than 3,000 women and men—from housewives to journalists to corporate executives—have signed up and promised to send in an item or, in some cases, a whole boxful of underwear.
A day before Valentine’s Day, the organisers intend holding a press conference in Bangalore before dispatching the collection to Muthalik by post.
Nisha Susan, a Delhi-based media professional originally from Bangalore, who initiated the movement, told TOI that it was a deep sense of frustration that triggered the idea. “After the attack on the pub in Mangalore, I felt I had two options. One was to stay quiet and accept everything. The other was meet these people head-on and make fun of them. So, I started this group on Facebook last Thursday,’’ she said. “The chaddi is slang for right-wing hardliners and the saffron agenda, while pink stands for things that are frivolous. The combination is offensive.’’
The Sri Ram Sene said the Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women was free to protest any way it thought fit. “It’s a free country after all. However, we would like to know the backgrounds of these people since nobody from good families would resort to such steps which are very cheap,’’ its Bangalore unit president Vasanth Kumar Bhavani said. Pink wave to counter saffron orthodoxy
ABangalore group which calls itself The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women has decided on a Pink Chaddi Campaign on Valentine’s Day to protest the Sri Ram Sene’s attack on women in a Mangalore. The instructions to the sisterhood are clear—look in your closet or buy them cheap. Make sure they’re dirt cheap. Those who can’t mail it can drop their packages at Chaddi Collection Points.
“I’ve bought a pack of three different shades of pink,” says Reena Wadhwa, an interior designer in Mumbai. “Let’s hope they reach the right person (SRS chief Parmod Mutalik) on Valentine’s Day. The gift is as frivolous as the SRS is.”
“The response is cool and unlike most internet campaigns, the support is unanimous. Women have written to say despite not visiting pubs or drinking, they support the cause,” Susan said.
“It’s absurd how women were harassed in Mangalore. I wanted to take a more proactive stance instead of just being defensive and so I’ve joined the campaign,” says Bishakha Datta, documentary film-maker. “The content and the form of the movement enthused me. It’ll make a point in a cheeky way. This is a way of taking
back the space the guardians of morality are trying to take from us. This movement isn’t just an activist movement, it’s by ordinary women who want to speak up and fight back.”
Manasi Subramanium, a Chennai-based publishing editor and campaign supporter, felt the movement was a contemporary interpretation of old feminist ideas. “This is an old feminist response, akin to braburning. I believe in the statement this group is trying to make and I am not at all surprised by the response,” she said.
However, Susan and her fellow organisers will have put themselves through significant personal risk to ensure the campaign’s success. But the woman who started the pink wave to counter saffron orthodoxy says with gumption, “What’s the worst that can happen? They could probably kill me.”
Women have also been exhorted to join the Pub Bharo Andolan. “Join Us on February 14, Valentine’s Day, the day when Indian women’s virginity and honour will self-destruct unless they marry or tie a rakhi. Walk to the nearest pub and buy a drink. Raise a toast to the SRS.” TNN
Expel Renuka, says Mutalik
SRS chief Pramod Mutalik has urged the Congress to expel Union minister Renuka Chowdhury from primary membership of the party, saying her Pub Baro call is in breach of the Congress principle of not supporting alcoholism. Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa also said he would request the PM to rein in Chowdhury, who has been unleashing “baseless charges” against the state government.
SRS has crossed limits, says PC
The SRS was put on notice by the Centre, with home minister P Chidambaram saying the outfit had crossed all limits and was a “threat’’ to the country. TNN
*www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=49641698651
