What’s Kerala’s ’kiss of love’ protest all about?

mangaloretoday.com

A ‘kiss of love’ protest organised by a group of youngsters in Kochi on Sunday against vandalism by the Bharatiya Janata Party at a coffee shop in Kozhikode has drawn the ire of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

On Wednesday, the VHP tore up posters and placards being prepared for the protest against “moral policing”.

 

A coffee shop in Kozhikode was vandalised last week, allegedly by members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, a youth wing affiliated to the BJP, alleging immoral activities.

Following the incident, a group of youths led by short filmmaker Rahul Pasupalan opened a Facebook page for “kiss of love”. 

 

 

Around 2,600 persons have accepted the invitation to kiss in public "as an expression of love" at Marine Drive at the shore of Kochi. The protest will be held at 5 pm on Sunday.

The organisers said their aim was not to target any political party or group but to draw attention to the fact that it was not acceptable to disrupt someone’s privacy citing flimsy moral reasons.

 

 

“Criminalisation of affection and love is really bad. The attack against the coffee shop was just a trigger. Sadly this tendency is growing everywhere,” said S Rahul, one of the organisers.

The event is reminiscent of the 2009 Pink Chaddi Campaign in Mangalore where hundreds of people sent pink underwear on Valentine’s Day to the office of a right-wing group that allegedly attacked some women at a pub.

The event planners said they may conduct such drives in other cities after gauging the success of their first attempt. While some Bengaluru-based software professionals said they would drive down to Kochi to participate in the event, the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bi-sexual and transgender) community, too, has pledged its support.

The organisers expect at least 10,000 couples to be present at the mass-kissing programme.

“Lovers will kiss each other. We want to send a strong signal to the moral police that violence can’t overcome love,” Rahul said.

“Moral policing is a criminal activity. Most political parties and religious organisations try to do that. A group of young bloods join their hands together to prove to the society that kiss is the symbol of love,” says a Facebook page put up by the organisers, which has over 14,000 likes.