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Women hold thaali removal event in Chennai
A group of 21 women voluntarily removed their ‘thaalis’ (mangalsutras) at 6.45 am on Tuesday in Chennai; then came the news that the Madras High Court had cancelled the permission for the event. The Dravidar Kazhagam - an organization which says it is committed to promoting the ideology of rationalist leader Periyar, had planned a twin protest on Tuesday.
Chennai: A group of 21 women voluntarily removed their ‘thaalis’ (mangalsutras) at 6.45 am on Tuesday in Chennai; then came the news that the Madras High Court had cancelled the permission for the event. The Dravidar Kazhagam - an organization which says it is committed to promoting the ideology of rationalist leader Periyar, had planned a twin protest on Tuesday. "A beef banquet" was meant to express its opposition to the ban on beef introduced in Maharashtra.
The group had also said that nearly 170 couples would stand in solidarity as wives removed their mangalsutras - a sacred thread worn by married women - because it is a symbol of a woman's enslavery. After protests by Hindu groups, the event was banned by the local police, which said communal tension could be inflamed, but on Monday evening, a judge at the Madras High Court said the Dravidar Kazhagam's right to freedom of expression must be upheld.
That decision was overruled on Tuesday morning by two other judges on the basis of an appeal by the state government.The Dravidar Kazhagam planned its protests after a television channel discussing the relevance of the mangalsutra in modern society was targeted with crude bombs at its Chennai office. "We will seek legal remedy," said Dravidar Kazhagam chief K Veeramani. "We will not defy the court order...we are against any curb on freedom of expression," he added.
A woman participant said she felt "relieved" as she saw it as only as a "symbol of insult." There will be no problem for me if there is no thaali tied around my neck, she said. Several participants attired in black were seen at the function. The matter pertains to a petition filed by DK against the orders of Assistant Commissioner of Police restraining them from performing the function.
All India Hindu Maha Sabha had filed a complaint against holding the programme. As there was no action, they moved the Madras High Court on which Justice PN Prakash directed it to file a complaint before the jurisdictional police which in turn would have had to file an FIR if cognizable offence was made out. Sabha vice president Dhanasekharan did so and police filed an FIR against Veeramani, following which DK moved the High Court.
