Valentine's Day in India has been marred by a spate of attacks on young couples as Hindu radicals battle what they claim are foreign influences corrupting Indian culture. Valentine's Day has recently become hugely popular in India but public shows of affection are still considered taboo by many.
Six men from the Hindu group, Shiv Sena, were arrested in Agra, the home to the Taj Mahal, after they cut the hair of overtly romantic couples in a park on Valentine's Day. In Pune, western India, two couples were stopped by activists from the same group and forced to "marry" on the spot by exchanging flower garlands. Five more members of Shiv Sena were arrested in Delhi for threatening couples.
In the central Indian city of Ujjain, a mob of Hindu fanatics beat a brother and sister they mistook for a couple displaying affection. Meanwhile activists blackened the faces of many couples they said were behaving inappropriately in the cities of Aurangabad and Bijnaur.
Last month a Hindu nationalist group, called the Sri Ram Sena (Lord Ram's Army), brutally attacked a group of young women drinking and dancing with men in a pub in the south Indian city of Mangalore. The Minister for Women and Children, Renuka Chowdhury, accused the Mangalore attackers of wanting the "Talibanization" of India.
Since the recent attacks several senior politicians have lamented the rise of "mall and pub culture", which has recently blossomed among India's affluent middle classes. Nevertheless, Hindu fanatics show no sign of dropping their opposition to Valentine's Day.
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