Campaigns against Sene gain ground

This Valentine’s Day will be remembered for the series of campaigns that have been initiated both for and against it.

While Union minister for women and children’s development Renuka Chowdhury backtracked from her ‘pub bharo’ war cry, her daughter Tejuswani has initiated a campaign with the same name on networking website Facebook. The group with 1,500 members, and counting, plans to congregate at pubs on V-Day to give a fitting reply to any person or organisation opposing the celebrations.

“Join me on Feb 14 to fill every pub across India in a show of solidarity between all religions and both sexes,” reads Tejuswani’s posting on the social forum.

The ‘Consortium of Loose, Pub-going and Modern Women’, which is already drawing a lot of attention and support for its ‘Pink Chaddi campaign’ has also started a ‘Pub Bharo and Hug Karo Campaign’. The Pub Bharo campaign will take place in Bangalore on February 14.

The campaigns are not limited to college campuses. “We think the idea of sending Valentine’s Day cards to Muthalik is a good idea,” said Atrima Dey, a software professional. “We have joined a Facebook group and are getting people to collect cards together and send it to his office.”

Other online groups have also become big hits with netizens. One such reads, ‘Practice Kamasutra, it’s Indian culture, Mr Muthalik’.

There are 10 Facebook groups that are anti-Muthalik and two fake profiles, while Orkut has 13 such groups.