Love Hindu Style!

Sure, it's lame, but when you've run out of reasons to be a violent theocracy, 'because it's a Western concept' always works.

Indian Hindu Nationalists Burn Cards in Valentine's Day Protest

from AFP

MUMBAI - Hindu nationalists declaring they were not against love ransacked a shop in Mumbai and torched a pile of Valentine's Day cards to protest what they said was a Western concept, media reports said.

About 30 activists from Shiv Sena, or Lord Shiva's Army, inspected shops across the city Sunday before barging into one and seizing cards they then burned on the road outside.

"We had warned all shops in advance not to sell these cards. We are not against love but we don't want people to celebrate Valentine's Day as it's a Western concept," a Shiv Sena official told the Hindustan Times.

Colleges in the city warned students not to mark Valentine's Day on campus because of concerns about violence, the reports said.

In Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, Hindu activists threatened to publicly humiliate couples celebrating Valentine's Day.

"Our volunteers will monitor all the parks and restaurants. They will click the couple exchanging flowers and show the same to their parents," Vijay Tiwari, a local Shiv Sena leader, told AFP. "The faces of those couples not heeding our warning will be blackened and their heads tonsured."

Hindu groups were also threatening couples caught celebrating Valnetine's Day with instant marriage.

Many Indians frown upon the concept of dating, so young people are often forced to meet in secret.

While Hindu groups regularly attack shops selling Valentine's Day cards and gifts, many newspapers are running articles on celebrating the day, advertisers are promoting romantic evenings and many Mumbai shops are selling chocolates, heart-shaped trinkets and soft toys.