Moral police pour cold water on beer festival in Mangalore

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Aug 4, 2012: Within a week of the assault on a bunch of partying students, the moral police brigade in Mangalore has struck again, this time forcing the postponement of a beer-drinking competition. Preparing to showcase a chilled out event on August 5 to mark Friendship Day, the organisers — Three Hungry Men — developed cold feet after a veiled threat from Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, a fledgling outfit.

Incidentally, the competition was to be hosted at Beer Factory, the new name of Amnesia The Lounge pub which was attacked by Sri Rama Sene activists on January 24, 2009 — the first instance of moral policing in this coastal town in southern Karnataka.

The organisers apologised to nearly 500 beer fans who had registered for the competition. “We are postponing the event solely for the safety of our valued participants,” said Nikhil Pai of Three Hungry Men.

“The so-called competition is a plot to destroy Hinduism, spoil Indian youth and sell foreign products,” Hindu Janajagruti Samiti spokesperson Mohan Gowda said On Thursday, the Samiti and other right-wing groups had put the heat on the local administration to stop the beer competition.