The “Kiss of love” activists partially succeeded in kissing and hugging each other at the ‘Kiss Festival’ they celebrated in Kochi on Sunday evening to protest against moral policing, despite stiff protests by hundreds of angry “pro-culture” activists and the presence of a large number of police personnel determined to prevent any public display of “obscenity” at the event.
Police prevented the Kiss of love activists from marching to the venue of the event, Kochi’s Marine Drive grounds and clashing with the large number of pro-culture protesters present there, by taking about 50 of them into preventive custody. However, despite best efforts by the police, a group of young men and women carrying placards against moral policing sneaked into the venue and kissed and hugged each other, turning the Kiss Fest into partial success.
Short-film maker Rahul Pasupalan, one of the organisers of the Kiss Fest, claimed that their protest had succeeded in its “mission”. He said about 2,000 people supporting the Kiss Fest had reached Marine Drive and the activists had hugged and kissed each other at the venue and on the police bus while they were being taken to the police station after arrest.
However, the pro-culture protestors claimed they had succeeded in foiling the Kiss Fest. The “Kiss of love” Facebook-based group had given the call for the Kiss Fest after a violent Yuva Morcha protest on October 23 against a coffee shop in Kozhikode where young men and women were allegedly allowed to indulge in public display of affection. Yuva Morcha activists later alleged that their protest at the coffee shop was against suspected flesh trade.
“Of course, we were not able to turn the programme into a grand success, but that was expected,” said Rekha, an IT professional who had reached Kochi for the Kiss Fest. “But we did succeed in what we had wanted to do, that is, raise our voice against moral policing. Also, we have succeeded in showing the world how primitive the social values and mindset of many Keralites are,” she said.
The scene at Marine Drive on Sunday afternoon was one of confusion and simmering tension as hundreds of anti-Kiss Fest protesters from the Shiv Sena, Muslim groups, Youth Congress, Kerala Students Union, local collectives, hundreds of policemen and thousands of curious onlookers converged there.
The police had a tough time in controlling the situation as pro-culture protestors and onlookers poured into the venue in hundreds. They resorted to lathi-charge at least five times in less than two hours to disperse the protestors at Marine Drive and adjoining areas. Several anti-kiss protestors were also taken into custody by the police.
The Kiss of love protest programme had evoked immense public interest in favour of and against it, from the very first day of its announcement on Facebook. While “pro-culture” organizations termed it as an anarchic attempt to display obscenity, those who supported it claimed that no immoral act would take place at the event which had been organized with the sole purpose of protesting against moral policing.
The Kerala High Court had on Friday refused to interfere in the issue. Though the police also refused to ban or allow the event, it made it clear that they would take stringent action if the fest became a law-and-order problem. However, Intelligence agencies had warned the police about the possibility of violent protests against the Kiss Fest.
Protests were staged late on Sunday evening at Kochi’s Central Police Station where the arrested Kiss of love activists had been taken to. While the activists in the police station said they were being kept in custody without any reason, those protesting outside the police station, allegedly activists of the CPI(Ml), demanded the immediate release of the Kiss of love activists.