Kochi: A few days after the ‘Kiss of Love’ protest against moral policing fizzled out, following the opposition of a conservative section of the public from across the religious divide, and the police clamping down on its protagonists, a group of students at Ernakulam’s Maharaja college, initiated a new form of protest against moral policing – the ‘Hug of Love’.

It is learnt that the protesting students were inspired by the ‘Kiss of Love’ event, recently held in Kochi, against self anointed moral police vandalizing a cafe in Kozhikode. The hug of love supporters rallied under the banner of ‘Hugs of Love’ and put up posters inside the college.

Their protest came to an end after the college authorities took disciplinary action against those students, who they said were acting in contravention of the code of conduct of the college. Earlier in the campus several clashes took place among student organizations on this very same subject.

The students were suspended for 10 days by the principal T V Francy for organizing the event inside campus without informing the authorities in advance. The authorities had made an announcement not to hold such events inside the campus. However, the supporters of this event went ahead with the protest in front of teachers who kept watching them.

An organization named Students Federation of India supported the group that organized the ‘Hug of Love’ event and condemned the college authorities for suspending the students from the college. Vysakh Mohan, Maharaja College unit secretary of the organization, said that the protest was inspired by the recent ‘Kiss of Love’ event. He also said that the organization would hold a protest against college authorities.  He averred, “We will fight for the student’s right to hold a peaceful protest”.

‘Kiss of Love’

The ‘Kiss of Love’ protest was announced by a group called the ‘Free thinkers’ after the Bharatiya Janatha Yuva Morcha volunteers vandalized a cafe in Kozhikode,  claiming that they were prompted to do so, by the “immoral activities” that took place in the cafe. Media speculation indicates that this was a reference to footage of youngsters kissing in the café telecast by a local TV channel.

The Face book page for the protest event, says that ‘…young bloods join their hands together to prove to the society that kiss is the symbol of love’.

The Shiv Sena reportedly declared the protest a new form of ‘love-jihad’ and said that it would cause sexual anarchy in Kerala. In addition to the Shiv Sena, right wing activists from across religious lines including the Yuva Morcha, ABVP, Bajrang Dal, Social Democratic Party of India and radical Hindu and Muslim groups were united in their protests against the ‘Kiss of Love’.

Although the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition to prohibit the event, the police eventually rounded up and locked up over fifty organizers and supporters of the ‘Kiss of Love’ and rendered it a ‘non-event’.

The spirit never dies though. The mass campaign quickly spread to other cities in the country. In Kolkata, over 300 activists, comprising present and former students of Jadavpur University and Presidency Universities, marched to Jadavpur Police Station, where they hugged, kissed and raised slogans like ‘Amar shorir amar mon bondho hok raj sashon’ (It’s my body, my mind, I won’t allow moral policing).

Conservative conscience

The protest against moral policing and to promote gender sensitization was opposed by professors of both the universities. This indicated a contrast in the thought processes and value systems between generations and between the taught and the teachers.

The opposition to both events and its triggering factor has unfortunately thrown up a very disturbing facet of our society – fundamentalism and hatred have no religion. Take the Shiv Sena and its terming of the Kerala ‘Kiss of Love’ event as an instance of ‘love jihad’ oblivious to the fact that extreme Islamist groups also support punishing all displays of public affection.

Sadly, the implementation of the law too by the public authorities, reflected muscular public opinion rather than the law itself, thus making it an instrument of further oppression. This does not augur well for a vibrant democracy, such as ours.