We, are a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic.
We have been blessed with a huge list of rights and duties. The right to
equality, the right to rape women and not get punished, the right to education,
the right to become a minister while you are still a fourth grade fail, the
right to freedom of religion, the right to forcefully convert people belonging
to other religions and so goes the list. But the most appreciated among them is
the right to freedom. You are free to urinate in the public, you are free to
bribe the authorities, you are free to walk around, you are free to fall in
love, and you are free to walk around with the person you love. Oh wait, not on
a Valentine’s day though. On this day, the freedom of the Hindu Maha Sabha to
marry off any young couple seen together in public would surpass your own
individual freedom to decide for yourself. So you dare to walk on the streets
and if you are an unmarried couple, they marry you off. And what if you are a
married couple? Well, inferred from all the jokes on marriage, will a married
couple really be going out on a valentines day? Or any day for that matter?
This crazy idea is a boon in disguise for couple whose
parents are dead against their relationship, so goes the grapevine. They could
even be found deliberately marching in front of the Sabha’s offices so that
they are forcefully married and the Sabha can answer, rather question their
parents. It is also heard that some parents are even encouraging their off
springs to fall in love and go out on a valentines date. Need not waste your
time wondering if you find the couple being rightly spotted by the MSS (Moral
Sabha Squad) very shortly after they step out hand in hand. The whistleblower
is none other than the girl’s father. Guess why? Because he married his
daughter off for free! No dowry!
The Sabha has a point. Valentine’s day isn’t our culture. We
are not supposed to ape the west and imbibe their nonsensical ways of
celebrating life. Our culture is pure and serene, those bestowed upon us by our
Gods. “Hindu Gods” specifically. Say for example, to roam around with many
women, fall in love with one of them and get married to someone else (remember
Krishna?) or bring a wife home and share her with your brothers (remember
Draupadi?) or give birth to a child secretly, give him off, hide the news and
marry someone else (remember Kunti?). With a culture as rich as this, how can
you even think of celebrating the Valentine’s? How can you degrade our morals
and beliefs with a mere February 14th?
