Students protest Mangalore pub attack

A large number of students mobilised by the Students Council of the Panjab University gathered at the Students’ Centre to protest the act of moral policing in Mangalore by Ram Sene where women were unabashedly dragged out of a pub and beaten in full public view.

“It is not the first incident of its kind. Artists,historians,writers and actors who do not subscribe to cultural fundamentalism have been subjected to torture and humiliation by the so-called guardians of ‘our national culture’. Such high-handedness in the name of culture is not only immoral and uncivil,it is also against the republican and secular ideals of the Indian Constitution,” said Prof Manjit Singh,Convener,Voices of Civil Society. He expressed serious concern over the rise of self-styled guardians in the Indian polity.

Dr Rabinder Nath Sharma,Senator,addressing the gathering,cautioned against the growing Talibanisation of South Asian culture. He asked,“Do we wish to live as a free citizens or are we here to condone the acts of cultural barbarism as minor aberrations?”

Sahil Nanda,President,PUCSC,and Brinder Dhillon underlined the urgent need of speaking against the Mangalore incident.