Archives: Drinking

The Bangalore police arrested 101 young people, including 37 foreigners, violating the Karnataka Excise Act for illegal sale of liquor. They were arrested from a place on the outskirts of the city. That, of course, can be a valid charge. However, the police also booked them for obscene acts and songs in a public place. This is where it gets interesting. Obscene acts? At a private farmhouse party? From the Times of India: [Link] The attempt to nail them on the charge of obscenity smacks of highhandedness. For Sec 294 IPC, which imposes imprisonment up to three months,...

This seems to be the rich man's Pramod Muthalik. The polished Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, "against boys and girls walking hand-in-hand in pubs and malls." Yeah, believe it or not. Its from an NDTV report. [Link] "We have ordered closure of shops near temples and parks. The effort made to bring the young generation closer to the liquor culture will be reversed. I want to end the pub and mall culture where young boys and girls roam about hand-in-hand," said Ashok Gehlot the chief minister of Rajasthan. Gehlot's new liqour policy aims to curb what he calls the liqour...

Pramod Muthalik, the founder of Hindu right-wing organisation Shri Ram Sena, has been detained in connection with the attack on a group of girls in a Mangalore pub on Saturday. Muthalik was detained immediately on Tuesday after he addressed a press conference in Belgaum, where he condemned the attack. Terming the incident regrettable, he declared that the Sena would continue to 'protect Indian culture'. Rediff.com reports: [Link] "We will continue to safeguard the culture and values of India. If anyone violates our culture and traditions, we would not hesitate to protest," he told...

Nobody in the right mind had heard of this outfit called Shri Ram Sena till it mercilessly assaulted five young women at a pub called Amnesia in Mangalore city. This happened on Saturday. The group went on a rampage, damaging the property of the pub and beating whoever they found. While the girls were beaten black and blue, two women patrons are reportedly critical and admitted to a local hospital. According to reports, the girls were having lunch when the hooligans attacked the pub. While there is a public outrage over this issue, the Shri Ram Sena has defended and justified the...

The moral police in Mysore city too has decided to prevent organisers of New Year's events from holding celebrations if they find them against the culture and tradition of the land. Whatever that means. The manglorean.com website says: [Link] Bharatiya Janata Party city unit president B.P. Manjunath on Friday said five groups, each comprising 15 to 20 people, would be constituted and these people would visit hotels, resorts, clubs and community halls here where the New Year eve celebrations were organised to prevent the display of vulgarity in the name of celebrations. Complaints ...

The saffron brigade in Gujarat has issued its warnings over New Year's celebrations well in advance. Five major resorts and clubs and over half a dozen restaurants and hotels in Rajkot had begun bookings for the New Year bash, before the Shiv Sena announced that it would 'chalk out an action plan' to enforce a boycott. The VHP, on the other hand, has only appealed to the people to cancel all celebrations, says the Indian Express. [Link] “We must boycott New Year celebrations in the city since so many people have lost their lives in the Mumbai attack. In a day or two, the Shiv...

The health minister, S Ramadoss, is at it again. This time he wants to ban liquor advertisements. He has expressed “disappointment” over alcohol advertisements at airports across the country and has written to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel for their removal, according to CNN-IBN. [Link] Ramadoss has written to the civil aviation ministry for removal of advertisements of alcoholic drinks on display at airports in Delhi and elsewhere across the country in August but no action was taken. “However, the minister for health and family welfare has found that the hoardings and...

Assam's moral police found a novel way of saying Happy New Year—Asom Sena activists decided to turn party pooper by keeping a "watch" on parties. [Link] Asom Sena Chief Organiser, Lakshman Das, had this to say to CNN-IBN: "We want to ensure that no damage is caused to our culture and tradition. In the New Year celebrations this year we will make sure that parties are held without any violation of decency and that revelry stays within the moral norms." ...

Oh, its happened again. This time in Pune. Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Yuva Morcha (BJYM) barged into a popular restaurant in Pune's Kalyaninagar on Saturday night to protest against the “pub culture”. The activists, carrying party flags, entered Soho’s hall where music was being played, shouted slogans and demanded that the restaurant be closed for running an illegal dance floor cum pub and for violating the 11.30 pm deadline. “The rich culture of the city is being sullied by the pub culture. Youths indulge in illicit activities at these pubs under the garb...

So it is. One was wondering when the self-appointed moral cops would be raiding a pub. One does not have to keep wondering. Activists of a hitherto unknown Karnataka Yuva Vedike went on a rampage Saturday night at a popular pub to express their protest against the "pub culture." These marauders barged into the Athena pub located in the plush Leela Palace and ordered customers to leave the premises. They then went around damaging property and threatening those seated inside. These knowledgable activists claimed that the pub culture was foreign (uh, huh) to India and hence had...