24 March 2009

Militants target women drinking in Goa bars

GOA - A Hindu nationalist group has warned it plans to target women drinking alcohol in the beach bars of Goa, India's popular tropical tourist resort.

The UK Daily Telegraph reports that the Sri Ram Sena group's threat comes after a string of attacks on couples courting in public and young women drinking in pubs.

It claims the gang rape and murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling in the tourist paradise last year was an example of 'Western culture' causing tragedy and harming India.

The group has been denounced as a 'Hindu Taliban' for its violent protests against what it sees as the creeping westernisation of tradition Indian values and culture.

It launched a number of assaults on couples celebrating ValentineÃ¢â¬â¢s Day.

Last month the group provoked nationwide condemnation when its supporters forced their way into a pub in Mangalore, Karnataka, and attacked middle-class girls having an after-work drink with male colleagues.

One Indian minister denounced the group and called on the country's women to go to the pub as a protest against the attack on their freedom.

The attacks won many admirers in India, however, from Hindu traditionalists, including some women's rights campaigners, who believe women are at risk in pubs.

One member of India's National Commission for Women said girls dancing almost "nude" in the pub were to blame for the attacks.

Since then Sri Ram Sena leaders have been expanding their presence throughout India and now plan to target Goa's notorious tourist resorts to raise their profile further.