By Sharanya Gopinathan
You know how every time someone talks about India and a lack of conversations around sex, someone will say, “We are the country that created the Kamasutra, so the current situation is very weird” or something like that? Looks like the Bajrang Sena wants to put a stop to that kind of thing.
Bajrang Sena activists in Chattarpur are tying themselves into all kinds of logical knots over the Kamasutra and Khajuraho temples. Members of the outfit complained to Chhatarpur police that “obscene books and figurines” were being sold inside inside the Western Group of Temples, which is the most famous of the Khajuraho Temples. They’re famous, of course, for the erotic sculptures on the walls representing diverse, athletic sexual expressions, some requiring basic amounts of teamwork.
The activists complained that the sale of obscene books and figures in these temples, especially in the tourist canteen, is against Indian culture and tradition, and tarnishes the image of India in the eyes of foreigners. The Bajrang Sena activists, led by local president Jyoti Agarwal, submitted a detailed memorandum of their demands to the sub-divisional officer of police there.
When Agarwal was asked by Hindustan Times why she does not object to the actual sculptures on the wall, she responded by saying (with no hint of irony discernible in print), “Whatever has been depicted can’t be allowed to happen here now. What sort of moral values are we passing on to our younger generation?”
Well, I don’t know, I want to say that since the sculptures on the walls of the Khajuraho temples were made back in 950, it could very likely be values encoded in Hindu mythology and history.
She went on to add, “These temples have religious significance. There is a Shiva temple here. How can you allow Kamasutra to be sold in the sacred premises?”
An earlier version of this piece incorrectly referred to Bajrang Sena as Bajrang Dal. This has now been amended.