Cultural bigotry rises as India sees social change

A barrage of kisses on Shilpa Shetty's cheeks, paintings of naked Hindu gods, Valentine's Day, Fashion TV and sex education -- all are unacceptable according to India's increasingly sensitive moral police.

Small but growing and ever more vocal groups of cultural vigilantes are attacking anything that does not conform to their notion of purity and morality, from paintings, books and films to modern dress, Western attitudes and even beauty salons.

It is an assault some ascribe to the dislocation caused by a booming economy, and the gap between an affluent, urban youth embracing Western values and the more traditional rest of society, whether older or poorer.
"Lopsided economic growth has created a dispossessed population which cannot relate to Western cultural values and norms," said S. Parasuraman, head of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. "The political class exploits this."

More often than not, the religious card gets played.

As the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party tries to reach out to the moderate centre of Indian politics and redefine itself after its national election defeat in 2004, its radical fringe is looking for issues to reinvigorate itself.

With a profusion of 24-hour television news channels, these groups get disproportionate air time and publicity which media analysts say only emboldens them further.

Earlier this month, an art student was beaten up and his exhibition destroyed for portraying Hindu deities in the nude. The student, Chandramohan, was himself arrested on charges of offending religious sentiments, but later freed on bail.

No charges have been laid against the vandals, who were surely encouraged by the success of like-minded radicals in forcing one of India's top painters, M.F. Husain, into exile about a year ago for a similar offence.

In April, effigies of Hollywood star Richard Gere and Bollywood actress and "Celebrity Big Brother" winner Shilpa Shetty were burnt after they kissed at a public event. An Indian court even ordered Gere's arrest to face charges of obscenity.

Meanwhile, anything from Valentine's Day to sex education in schools is denounced as an alien Western import. Lovers are beaten up for kissing or even holding hands in public.

"Western countries are fighting psychological warfare to influence Indian youth," said Abhimanyu Gulati, a BJP leader.

"We are saving the country from cultural anarchy and they call us the Indian Taliban."