Mahasabha seeks ban on mobile phones

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jind, November 30

The widespread criticism from modern society of the state has failed to stop Hindu Mahasabha Haryana (HMH) from going forward with it’s demand to seek a ban on the use mobile phones by girl students and impose a dress code for them. In a state executive committee meeting here today, the HMH announced to meet Haryana Chief Minister next week and launch a campaign to seek help from college managements for the same.

Interestingly, known for their diktats against girls and love marriages, Haryana khaps (caste councils) this time have come out in the support of girls. They said girls had same fundamental rights like boys and no one had any authority to impose any dress code on them.

All leaders from Rohtak, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Hisar and other districts held a meeting here under the leadership of state vice-president Dharmpal Siwach. During the meeting, issues of rising cases of live-in relationships, rapes of college going girls and misuse of mobile phones remained main points of discussion. Leaders also alleged that Western countries under a planned conspiracy had been spreading such evils in society to kill the moral ethic values and rich Indian culture.

“It’s really shocking that neither law enforcing authorities nor our so called social welfare organisations are coming forward to control the rising influence over attire of our future generations. If we make wearing Indian dress mandatory in colleges and schools and ban jeans and skirts, we will see decline in crime against girls. We will meet the CM next week. We plan to meet heads of colleges and school authorities for the same,” said Siwach after meeting in a local rest house.

Despite facing ire of society, all alleged that western clothes were mainly responsible for crimes against women. Some members of the Mahasabha disclosed that they had been collecting details of colleges and schools at district level to conduct separate meetings with their managements.

About students, they said youth members would launch a special campaign to convince students to shun western clothes.

Meanwhile playing safe, khaps have distanced themselves from the Mahasabha. “Why dress code and ban mobiles only for girls, who also have fundamental rights like boys, who can wear whatever they want. Crime against girls can be curtailed by giving self-defense training to them and not by such diktats,” said Kuldeep Dhanda, convener of the Sarv Khap Panchayat (SKP).