Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has submitted memorandums to administrative officials and educational institutions in South Goa, seeking preventive measures to curb alleged misconduct on Valentine’s Day.
According to a press note issued by Dr Manoj Solanki, State Coordinator of HJS, a memorandum was submitted to the South Goa District Collector in Margao, as well as to the Deputy Collector, local police station and school authorities in Vasco.
The organisation has urged school and college managements to celebrate ‘Matru-Pitru Pujan Din’ (Parents’ Worship Day) on February 14 instead of Valentine’s Day, stating that the move would help inculcate traditional values among students.
The HJS delegation that submitted the memorandum at Vasco included Uday Ibrampurkar, Shivram Revanakar, Arvind Adarkar and Ravindra Salgaonkar. A separate delegation comprising Sanjeev Patil, Nanda Nagvekar and Sudhakar Aglave submitted the memorandum to the South Goa District Collector at Margao.
In the memorandum, HJS stated that February 14 is widely promoted as Valentine’s Day, which it described as a Western practice driven by commercial interests. The organisation alleged that the observance of the day encourages consumerism and immoral behaviour among youth.
The memorandum further claimed that incidents of harassment and violence arising from one-sided relationships are reported around Valentine’s Day. It also referred to an alleged rise in contraceptive sales during the period and expressed concern over instances where young women are allegedly misled in the name of relationships.
HJS has demanded that authorities organise awareness lectures in colleges highlighting what it termed as the adverse effects of Valentine’s Day and the importance of Indian culture. The organisation has also urged authorities not to grant permission for Valentine’s Day celebrations in colleges and to take action in case of any misconduct.
