Why tolerate intolerance?

Renuka Chowdhury has described the recent Mangalore incident as 'Talibanisation' of the Indian society. Are we really becoming an intolerant people? Mumbaikars tell DNA that bigots should be dealt with firmly

Expert view

Don’t turn local goondas into stars
India has unfortunately witnessed a lot of violence especially against women. We have to understand that these people don't belong to any religious group; they are closer to a certain kind of goondaism and hooliganism. They target middle class women especially those who are more open with members of the opposite sex. Basically this lot doesn't like women hanging around with men in public places. They are organised groups and they target places where they think they can get away with violence and bullying.

I think such incidents are going to happen more and more often. But let's not term it as Talibanism as Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury has. We need to do a healthy analysis as to why these events occur rather than worry about using smart jargon. Talibanism is different from this because its followers have some perspective. These goons who attacked women in Mangalore have no perspective and they are not even a political force. Why are we comparing them with forces of history?

Taliban are much more dangerous and have survived despite the drive against them. Every local goonda or MCP cannot be associated with them. They are just local goondas who are behaving badly and we shouldn't turn them into heroes. Such people cannot be avoided and incidents like these are bound to occur when different kinds of values combine in a society. They have to be tackled firmly and immediately to send the right message.

Everyone is looking for some kind of political agenda, so the act must have been politically driven to some extent and this is dangerous. Let's not make a hoo-hah about it and let justice prevail. The reaction must be such that we make sure that we will not tolerate it again. Sexual frustration among a certain section of the society that believes in a repressive social code will always acute. But if handled properly this kind of incident won't happen again. If we treat them like movie stars then we give them reasons to repeat themselves.
—Shiv Vishwanathan. Sociologist 

Attacking a way of life
The Mangalore incident is an attack on a whole way of life, what is termed as the 'westernised' way of life. These few fundamentalists have their own way of thinking and deciding what is right and wrong. They appoint themselves the nation's moral policemen with the right to decide on how people should behave. Severe action must be taken to ensure that such incidents don't occur again. There is also a lack of law and order in the society. There is no way one group can dictate how the rest of the society should live.
This group probably has the backing of a political group.
—Nandini Sardesai. Sociologist

They disguise insecurity as ‘duty’
What happened in Mangalore is shameful for the entire nation. Westernisation is not necessarily a bad thing and just because a certain section of the society cannot handle the change does not mean that everyone else has to fall in line with its thinking. We are a freethinking society and should not tolerate intolerance. People disguise their insecurities as 'duty' and virtuously talk about protecting the society from 'obscene behaviour'. The men in the pub were drinking too but women were targeted because they were more vulnerable. In a bigger city like Mumbai no one would have tolerated this mindless aggression. But the outrage that followed the incident shows that we are no longer willing to be bullied by a small group of hooligans.
—Shimoni Shah

Our society is still schizophrenic
This is a sign of the deteriorating law and order situation in our country. Incidents like these actually disturb social harmony. People who create this atmosphere should be punished severely. Our society is split at many levels: there is one group that is westernising rapidly and then there are those who believe that all things modern will degrade our culture. When those in the second group turn aggressive and violent you have incidents like these. They justify it as an act necessary to 'teach' young people how to behave. I think they targeted women because that would get them maximum media attention. Everyone has the right to live life on their own terms. We don't need any moral police to terrorise people into submission.
—Deepak Uphale

This is not a women-centric issue
We live in the democratic country and we have a right to live life as we like. Such incidents occur because we still have very conservative people in our society. They see around them young people who are much more liberal than them in their approach to the opposite sex and resent it. As I see it if you want to spend a couple of harmless hours at a pub having a few drinks, it is okay. Why should it irk anyone this much? I don't think this is a woman-centric issue. This kind of moral policing is inflicted on men as well. I feel that groups like these are going to multiply in our society in the coming years. They will try and inflict their views on the liberal pockets of our society more often.
—Abha Chitalia

Violence can’t change society
You cannot teach anyone a lesson using violence. A lot of our young people believe that smoking, drinking and wearing western clothes amounts to modernisation. Real modernisation lies in being strong. Increasingly we hear of women in small towns being
brutalised for not adhering to a certain code. I think this issue must concern everyone, especially the government. Crime must be punished to set an example. I think this group deliberately chose Mangalore and not Bangalore because they would not have got away with what they did in a big city.
—Sanyukta Dhangar

Not an isolated incident
How can a random group of people believe they have the liberty to change what they think is 'wrong' by using violence? This isn't an isolated incident; it has happened in other cities too. A few months ago, I saw a TV report on how some 'social activists' roughed up boys and girls for holding hands in a park. If you are so upset, complain about it to the right authorities. Or lobby for a change in the law governing these issues. Beating up helpless young women is no way to change society. We do have conservative people in our society who believe that young women should not hang around at pubs, because it is not 'moral'. But not many of them would resort to violence. 
—Abhishek Magotra