Western festivals in disfavor of moral brigade

I distinctly remember during my school and college days there was no particular fetish for “western” festivals like valentines day, mothers day, fathers day, friendship day etc. With the growth of the global economy and with more and more disposal income, marketing whiz kids came out with strategies to tap into this income. If you have observed, it is only in the last five to six years that all these “days” are being talked off and “celebrated”. Indian culture per se is family oriented, though with the pressures of modern day living some of us may not really understand the term family support. All you need to do is be a first generation migrant to the west to truly understand the meaning of “family support”. Earlier we used to have joint families – now we have nuclear families, so much so that children have started staying away from their parents or putting their parents in old age homes. The popular family slogan of “hum do hamare do” probably does not hold good any more as couples think of one child or no child.

With smaller families and friends/relatives being geographically spread – how do you celebrate? This is what the marketing guys probably realized and started pushing greeting cards and products for such occasions. If you observe there is a lot of advertisement, pushing various products just a week before such festivals – it’s all about business, the economy and in the bargain if people decide to express their love and feelings for their near and dear ones – what is the harm? Life is so fast paced that, today, maybe you require occasions to express your love. More the “days” to celebrate more the occasions to show you care, which opportunity may not be there if such “days” were not celebrated. Earlier, families and friends used to meet on local festivals, be it Holi, Eid, Diwali, Christmas – now you have an opportunity to meet almost every month with the celebration of some “day” or the other, the best part of these “days” is that they celebrate various relationships without any religious flavor, thus probably being more in line with the religion of humanity!

Unfortunately the moral police is out in full force to stop or protest against “Valentine’s Day”. It is necessary to understand that this day is not celebrated only by “lovers”, but is also celebrated by friends and relatives to give gifts and renew friendships. In this materialistic world it is necessary to show you care else you will be left with nothing but a hollow shell for a soul. Feelings need to be expressed and not denied due to the biased views of a few.

Today Prof. Manohar Joshi has got into the fray – maybe elections are coming near – I do not know – stating that Valentine’s Day is not part of our culture. How can anybody say for sure what Indian culture is? Over the centuries our culture has absorbed a lot from various invaders and molded itself to become more vibrant and tolerant – so why the intolerance?

Prof. Joshi has joined the all party political bandwagon who want to milk emotions by bringing in “against our culture dynamics” into the equation for petty political gains as the elections are just round the corner. I would like to ask the entire moral brigade what they think is Indian culture by posing questions the way Mark Antony posed to the public of Rome on the fields of Pompeii after Brutus and Cassius had back stabbed Julius Caesar.

Why do politicians change religion to marry another lady? Is it because Mr. Joshi and his ilk are men of culture and think this is part of Indian culture?
Why do politicians murder honest people if they do not bow to their wishes? Is it because Mr. Joshi and his ilk are men of culture and think this is part of Indian culture?
Where does Government aid disappear before it reaches the targeted people, if not into the politico-bureaucratic pockets? Is it because Mr. Joshi and his ilk are men of culture and think this is part of Indian culture?
Why do schools and professional colleges set up by politicians on land obtained cheaply from the Government charge exorbitant fees and premium for giving admission to deserving students? Is it because Mr. Joshi and his ilk are men of culture and think this is part of Indian culture?
Why do politicians wear western clothes in the normal course and not dhoti kurta? Is it because Mr. Joshi and his ilk are men of culture and think this is part of Indian culture?

One could go on and on about how the moral brigade is and how they ought to be – but that is not the purpose of this discussion. The question is - who are these people with no morals or ethics to dictate what one should do or not do in a democratic set up? Suffice it to say that if these guys can control their own children / family in the manner they want to control the rest of the country it would be good enough. But can they?