Couples refuse to be cowed down, celebrate Valentine's Day with gaiety

Couples -- young and old -- celebrated Valentine's Day on Tuesday with flowers and gifts even as a few right-wing outfits played spoilsport in some parts of the country.

Uttar Pradesh Animal Husbandry Minister Dharmpal Singh celebrated the occasion as "cow love day" while the Bajrang Dal held mass recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa to oppose the "spread of western culture".

After two years of muted festivities due to the Covid pandemic, the festival of love was in full bloom with people flocking to malls, restaurants and popular hangout zones in different parts of the country.

With abundant snowfall turning the Kashmir landscape white this winter, love birds made a beeline to resorts such as Gulmarg in north Kashmir and Pahalgam in south Kashmir.

"We came to this beautiful Valley to make Valentine's Day a memorable one. The weather is nice and I am feeling lucky that we were able to plan the celebrations in Kashmir," Madhya Pradesh native Saket Sharma said.

However, members of outfits like the Bajrang Dal were again out on the streets targeting couples accusing them of "indulging in vulgarity" in the name of love.

Bajrang Dal members drove away couples from a garden in Gujarat's Gandhinagar and organised mass recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

In a video of the incident that went viral on social media platforms, nearly 10 Bajrang Dal activists armed with sticks were seen shouting slogans and driving away couples sitting inside the Central Vista garden located opposite the Assembly complex in Gandhinagar.

While the Opposition Congress strongly condemned the act, the Gandhinagar police swung into action and summoned Bajrang Dal activists involved in the protest.

Shaktisinh Zala, convener of the Bajrang Dal's Gandhinagar unit, said the outfit's members entered the garden to register their protest against Valentine's Day, which he claimed, reflected "western culture".

"We were not harassing anyone. Bajrang Dal workers were only opposing western culture and people indulging in vulgarity in the name of love today. It is our duty to show the right path to Hindu youths and daughters," Zala told reporters.

Sources said police officials have summoned protesters seen in the viral video for questioning.

In Nagpur, Bajrang Dal members protested against Valentine's Day by taking out a rally in the city and organising mass recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa at Durga Mata Temple in the Sadar area.

The rally passed through prominent  areas of Nagpur and a large number of police personnel were deployed on the route to prevent untoward incidents.

The rally concluded at the Samvidhan Square, where tributes were paid to the CRPF personnel killed on February 14, 2019, in a terror attack at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides Bajrang Dal members, functionaries of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) were also present on the occasion.

Shiv Sena (UBT) activists raised slogans against Valentine's Day celebrations and displayed oil soaked sticks to deter couples from celebrating the festival of love in public on Tuesday in Sagar town of Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh minister offered jaggery and rotis to cows on Valentine's Day and said that they should be treated as mothers.

He said there is no animal like a cow in the world whose ”mal-mutra” (stool and urine) is ”pious”.

"We have three mothers -- our mother, who gives us birth, gau mata (cow) and Bharat Mata. First love should be for our mother, then gau mata (cow) and then Bharat Mata ko pranaam karna chahiye (should be saluted)," the minister said.

Singh offered gud (jaggery) and rotis to cows in the Bakshi ka Talab area to mark the day.

He urged people to celebrate "cow love day" on Valentine's Day.

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had on last Monday appealed to the people to celebrate February 14 as 'Cow Hug Day'.

The directive was later withdrawn on the directions of the government after the move became the subject of memes on social media.

To "show love to those who need it the most", Delhi-based NGO Wishes and Blessings treated more than 2,000 impoverished children, including HIV positive, visually impaired, orphans and homeless, throughout Delhi-NCR to cupcakes on the day.

Okhla, Vasant Vihar, Nizamuddin, Munirka, Noida, Gurgaon, Madipur village, Sarai Kale Khan, Sadiq Nagar, and Maharani Bagh were some of the areas where the cupcakes were distributed, Geetanjali Chopra, founder of the NGO said.

"We are very grateful to have a group of compassionate bakers and volunteers who have come together to show love to those who need it the most," Chopra said.