KOLKATA, India - After Kochi, Kolkata has witnessed
its own version of ‘Kiss of Love’ organised mostly by students of two
universities to show solidarity against those affected by moral policing
and to promote gender equality.
Forming human chains, holding
placards, enacting skits and indulging in public displays of affection,
students of the prestigious Jadavpur and Presidency universities hosted
the “Kiss of Love” event in the city, to protest against much-derided
moral policing.
the “Kiss of Love” event in the city, to protest against much-derided
moral policing.
Alleging the “rise of
religious fundamentalism and fanaticism”, student activists participated
in a protest rally in Jadavpur, while in north Kolkata, a large number
of students of the Presidency University gathered in front of the iconic
Indian Coffee House on College Street holding placards as a show of
support for the movement that started in Kerala.
“The state or the country
cannot dictate whether or not an individual can kiss in a public place
or get into a relationship with a person of a different caste. We will
do what we feel like,” one of the organisers, Bandana Mondal.
“Kiss of Love” was meant to protest against
the vandalism of the Downtown Cafe restaurant in Kozhikode by activists
of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (Youth Brigade) claiming “immoral
activities” were encouraged there.
In Kochi, as many as 80
people were arrested after they hit the streets to protest against
police harassment and moral policing at public places.
“Love has no
boundaries and it cannot be confined on the basis of gender, caste,
religion. Irrespective of our sexes, we kissed each other as a mark of
protest against the rising instances of moral policing,” Jadavpur
student Nabottama Pal, one of the key organising members said.
- Pal said plans were afoot to organise a “kiss of love” event involving students across the country.
- “It is time to protest against encroachment on our personal liberties and freedom of expression. I want freedom to choose whom and where to kiss. It is individual right. To kiss is the highest form of affection and I should decide who will get it from me. So we are protesting against the moral policing. We don’t want to fight with them and we are trying to spread the message of love,” said a student who participated in the protest along with her brother.
- “This protest is to show our solidarity with the movement which started in Kochi. We are in touch with the organisers in Kochi for guidance,” another student commented.
- Though many agreed, that such one-day protests will not change anything as a section of society will always try to force people in the name of Indian culture and stop them from expressing themselves openly.
“The entire society has to
come together or else people will try to curb our freedom. Such violence
occurs in Mumbai during Valentine’s Day. Now people in Kerala are
suffering.
This trend to curve individual freedom has not entered
Kolkata, but at times police is seen attacking couple who tend to
express affection in public. This must stop,” another protester said.
Source: Agency
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