Catholic bishop slams attack on women in pub

MANGALORE, India (UCAN) -- A bishop in southern India has joined the chorus of voices condemning a Hindu group's attack on female patrons in a pub.
The attack on the women was "beastly" and "inhuman," Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza of Mangalore said in a Jan. 29 press statement, adding that he wants the government to protect people from "anti-social elements."
His diocese is based in Mangalore, a Christian stronghold on the western coast of Karnataka state, where the attack took place.
On Jan. 24, several members of Sri Rama Sena (army of Lord Ram), a Hindu right-wing group, attacked a pub and its female patrons as agents of decadent Western culture. Women drinking beer violates Indian culture, they reportedly told some media people present.
Vivian Pais, the pub's floor manager, said about 20 people, mostly students, were having lunch when the Hindu group attacked without warning.
The incident made newspaper headlines after a news website released a video of the attack and television channels broadcast it. The media reports sparked a national debate over private groups imposing their moral code on others, with a number of organizations and cultural groups condemning the incident.
Police have arrested about 30 people including two leaders of the attack.
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa condemned the attack, but said his government also opposes the pub culture. "We won't allow this pub culture to grow. But on the other hand, those taking the law into their hands will be dealt with very firmly," he said in televised remarks on Jan. 30.
Yeddyurappa, who heads the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian people's party) government, has denied any link between Sri Rama Sena and the party. The BJP is considered the political arm of right-wing Hindu groups that want to make India a Hindu nation.
Bishop D'Souza, in his statement, urged law-enforcement authorities to initiate "stern action" against "anti-social elements." He also called for all "democratic forces" to come together to fight fanatical acts.
The incident also triggered street protests. Students of Church-managed Roshni Nilaya (house of light) and St. Aloysius College marched in the town on Jan. 31, demanding justice for the victims and security for women.
Rita Noronha, who teaches in Roshni Nilaya, told demonstrators the attack shamed Indian society and culture, which respect women. "There are constitutional ways to solve a problem in a democratic setup," said the professor, who insisted that women have the right to live as they choose.
Father Bijo Karukappalli, a Catholic priest who joined the march, said privately that "moral policing" by a fanatical group reveals chaos in the state administration. "If this trend continues," he warned, "there will be no security for people."
Joslyn Lobo, who heads a college teachers' association at Mangalore University, slammed the attack by "self-styled protectors of moral and culture." In a Jan. 29 press release, he said such acts of hooliganism are "clear violations of human rights" and bring disgrace to "highly literate and educationally progressive" Mangalore.
courtest ucan