14 DAY TRIAL // A group of self-defined “pub-going, loose and forward women” from India, tired of being discriminated against by members of the Sri Ram Sena, a Hindu militant group, decided to finally end their tyranny and to send them thousands of pink knickers for Valentine's Day. In addition to dispatching the unusual “mail,” the females also went “bar hopping” on February 14th, turning up at many pubs in a single night. The protest was sparked by a recent incident, when individuals from Sri Ram Sena banished a woman from a bar because the group had branded outgoing females as immoral.
Indian females didn't take this type of behavior too kindly, and decided to protest in the best way they could think of. The incident, which took place in January in the southern city of Mangalore, sparked heated debates throughout the country as to the rights of women in the traditional Indian society. According to the views of the militant Hindu group, women should only stay at home and cook for their husbands, and not visit pubs for entertainment. Needless to say, the group has no female members.
Over the last few years, the rapid modernization that swept India has prompted the appearance of a new kind of women in the nation. And while those born in the countryside still respect the old traditions, those who are born in the cities are subjected to Western influences and become more and more reluctant to accepting traditions that enslave them. As a direct result, they come to be easy targets for religious groups, which seek to impose their views onto the liberal youth.
Old politicians are also unsatisfied with the way youngsters are growing, and they too want to see a return to the traditional values that have ruled India for centuries. Like many other societies before it, India too will try to stay the same. There will be some victims, and the changes may take a little while to occur. But progress is inevitable, and, in the end, religious groups and aging politicians will have no saying in the way young people grow and behave.