After a young couple was harassed on the Kolkata Metro for allegedly "standing too close", the youth of the city today registered their protest against the moral policing by offering free hugs to people outside the Tollygunge Metro station.
They sang songs, showered smiles and hugged strangers to spread the message of love -- "All we need is love, love is all we need".
"Hugging is a sign of affection. It isn't vulgar," a protester, who was strumming the guitar, said.
The incident had occurred around 9.30 pm on Monday, while the unidentified couple were travelling in the train with their arms reportedly wrapped around each other. An argument ensued after a number of co-passengers, mostly elderly men, raised objections.
The man was roughed up soon after the two got off at Dum Dum station around 9.45 pm. When the woman tried to prevent them from assaulting him, a few blows landed on her too. No complaint was lodged either with the police or metro authorities.
“We did not receive any complaint, and nothing could be found in the CCTV footage either. The security official present at the station did not report anything,” said a Kolkata Metro spokesperson.
However, many lashed out at the attackers on the social media. Although a few objected to “people getting intimate in public”, they were outnumbered by those speaking in support of the couple.
Even exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen took the opportunity to criticise the incident of moral policing. “A young couple embraced in the Kolkata metro. It made a bunch of frustrated old losers angry. They beat them up. Scenes of hatred are allowed. Scenes of love are considered obscene,” she tweeted.
Another youngster said, "I am here because I strongly believe in love. Seeing others support and promote love is giving me strength. This is the Kolkata I grew up and want to live in. If I meet those attackers, I will give them a heartfelt hug and tell them not to be so angry."
Then there were others who said what happened on the train that evening was a "breach of freedom". "Why is affection not normal to normal people? We want to send out the message that affection is all right. It shoudn't be denormalised," said a young hugger.
"It is an expression of love and what happened has sent out a wrong message by the society. Those who attacked the couple need counselling," added another.
At times, the protests even assumed political overtones. “Lies are being spread. I was not present at the spot. I did object to the behaviour of the couple, but that was only after reading newspaper reports,” Debtanu Bhattacharya, leader of far-right organisation Hindu Samhati, wrote on his Facebook wall after some alleged that he was involved in the incident too.
Others came out to protest the portrayal of their relatives as alleged perpetrators of the crime.
“I experienced another kind of harassment tonight. My father-in-law’s profile has been unethically and shamelessly shared as one of the harassers in the Kolkata metro assault case... He was at home with his family the entire evening. He is a man of knowledge and dignity, and would never ever hope for such things to happen,” a young woman posted on the social media.
