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The '''Pink Chaddi Campaign''' (or Pink Underwear Campaign) is a nonviolent protest movement launched by ''Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose and Forward Women''<ref name=susan /> in February 2009 in response to notable incidences of violent conservative and right-wing activism against perceived violations of Indian culture, when a group of women were attacked in a pub in [[Mangalore]]. The campaign was a brainchild of Nisha Susan, an employee of [[Tehelka]] political magazine.<ref name="susan"/><ref name="sihayi"/>

The campaign was conceived particularly in protest against a threat by [[Pramod Muthalik]] of the [[Sri Ram Sena]] (also spelled as ''Sri Ram Sene'' and ''Sriram Sena''), an orthodox group based in Mangalore. Muthalik threatened to marry off and take other action on any young couples found together on [[Valentine's Day]]. Valentine's Day is traditionally not observed in India, as it is celebrated in Western cultures.

==Background==
{{see also|2009 Mangalore pub attack}}
On 6 February 2009 a group men attacked a group of women in Mangalore, India. The attack was an isolated incident and allegedly carried out by members of the Shri Rama Sene. Later that month, Muthalik announced an action plan to target couples found dating on 14 February, Valentine's Day. He said "Our activists will go around with a priest, a [[turmeric]] stub and a [[mangalsutra]] on 14 February. If we come across couples being together in public and expressing their love, we will take them to the nearest temple and conduct their marriage.<ref name="thehindu" />

On 9 February 2009, Home Minister [[P. Chidambaram]] said that "Sri Ram Sene is a threat to the country. The Centre is watching its activities with great concern".<ref name="economictimes" />

==Pink Chaddi campaign==
In the midst of the tension, a protest was started by a group of young women, called the "Pink Chaddi" campaign, where they urged a peaceful protest (described as [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Gandhian]] in the press<ref name="goanews" /><ref name="busstand" />) to all of India, by sending pink underwear ("Chaddi" in [[Hindi]]) to Muthalik's office on Valentine's Day.<ref name="bbc1" /> The novel form of protest was initiated by Nisha Susan, Mihira Sood, [[Jasmeen Patheja]] and Isha Manchanda<ref name="tehelka" /> As the protest grew, underwear started pouring in from locations all over India in solidarity for the "Love Sena". Over 500 pink chaddis were couriered on Friday. Other cities collected hundreds of such chaddis and decided to courier them directly.<ref name="toi13.2" />

==Reaction to the campaign==
The Pink Chaddi Campaign received widespread media coverage,<ref name="foxnews"/> and the Facebook<ref name ="fb" /> group saw numbers of members growing exponentially in the following days.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} A few reports were also critical of the campaign accusing it of trivialising an important issue like attack on women.<ref name="Gaurav1" />

There was also political reaction to the campaign as supporters of [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|RSS]] objected to use of pictures of RSS members on the campaign blog. RSS had criticised the Mangalore attack and favoured ban on the Sri Ram Sena. The blog owner removed the pictures of RSS members following this objection.<ref name="blogspot" />

A counter-campaign calling itself "The Pink Condom Campaign" was started by some unknown activists a few days before Valentine's Day.<ref name="express1" />

==Preventive custody==
As an additional precaution, Muthalik and 140 others of the Sri Ram Sena were held in preventive custody on Valentine's Eve.<ref name="toi14.02" />

==See also==
{{colbegin}}
*[[Eve teasing]]
*[[Besharmi Morcha]]
*[[Kiss of Love]]
*[[Blank Noise project|The Blank Noise project]]
*[[Sexism in India]]
*[[Human rights in India]]
*[[Feminism in India]]
*[[Rape in India]]
*[[Sexual harassment]]
*[[Groping]]
*[[Rape culture]]
*[[Napkin Protest]]
{{colend}}

==References==


{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name=susan>{{Cite news
|url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/geetanjali-krishnakick-inknickers/00/25/348984/
|title=Geetanjali Krishna: A kick in the knickers|journal=Business Standard India|date=14 February 2009|last1=Krishna|first1=Geetanjali}}
</ref>
<ref name="sihayi">
{{cite web
|url=http://siyahi.in/2011/06/nisha-susan/
|title=Nisha Susan
}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
</ref>

<ref name="thehindu">{{cite news
|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/06/stories/2009020657590100.htm
|title=We'll not spare dating couples on Valentine's Day: Muthalik
|last=Bangalore Bureau
|date=6 February 2009
|accessdate=27 February 2009
|url-status=unfit
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308160858/http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/06/stories/2009020657590100.htm
|work=[[The Hindu]]
|archivedate=8 March 2012
}}
</ref>

<ref name="economictimes">
{{cite news
|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Sri_Ram_Sene_is_a_threat_to_the_country_Chidambaram/articleshow/4099436.cms
|title=Sri Ram Sene is a threat to the country: Chidambaram|date=9 February 2009
|work=The Economic Times
|publisher=The India Times
|accessdate=27 February 2009}}
</ref>

<ref name="goanews">{{cite news
|url=http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=17631&cid=2
|title=Muthalik wants to start Ram Sene in Goa
|last=Herald Correspondent
|date=22 February 2009
|work=Goa Herald
|accessdate=27 February 2009}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
</ref>

<ref name="busstand">{{cite news
|url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/yes-we-can/00/03/348953/
|title=Yes, we can?
|last=Vishal
|first=Anoothi
|date=27 February 2009
|work=Business Standard
|accessdate=27 February 2009}}
</ref>

<ref name="bbc1">
{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7880377.stm
|work=BBC News
|title=Underwear protest at India attack
|date=10 February 2009}}
</ref>

<ref name="tehelka">
{{cite news
|url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Op280209valentine_warrior.asp
|title=Valentine's Warriors
|last=Nisha Susan
|date=28 February 2009
|work=Tehelka
|publisher=[[Tehelka]]
|accessdate=10 June 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218032942/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Op280209valentine_warrior.asp
|archive-date=18 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|df=dmy-all
}}
</ref>

<ref name="toi13.2">{{cite news
|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Pink_chaddis_still_keep_coming_in_/articleshow/4121276.cms
|title=Pink chaddis still keep coming in
|date=13 February 2009
|work=Cities: Bangalore
|publisher=[[The Times of India]]
|accessdate=14 April 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="foxnews">[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,490690,00.html 'Pink Panty' Women Target Extremist Right Wing Indian Leader] Fox News – 10 February 2009</ref>

<ref name ="fb">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.facebook.com/people/Pink-Chaddi/633271350
|title=Facebook group}}
</ref>

<ref name="Gaurav1">
Roundup of comments from various blogs in English and Hindi {{cite web
|url=http://www.gauravonomics.com/blog/hindi-blogospheres-reactions-to-the-pink-chaddi-campaign-show-the-divide-between-bharat-and-india/
|title=Hindi Blogosphere's Reactions to the Pink Chaddi Campaign Show the Divide Between Bharat and India
|last=Mishra
|first=Gaurav
|date=26 February 2009
|work=Gaurav Mishra's Weblog on Social Media & Social Change
|accessdate=30 May 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502043812/http://www.gauravonomics.com/blog/hindi-blogospheres-reactions-to-the-pink-chaddi-campaign-show-the-divide-between-bharat-and-india/
|archive-date=2 May 2009
|url-status=dead
|df=dmy-all
}}
</ref>
<ref name="blogspot">
{{cite web
|url=http://thepinkchaddicampaign.blogspot.com/2009/02/logo-show-go.html
|title=Pink Chaddi Blog|date=2009-02-14}}
</ref>

<ref name="express1">
"The pink condom folks portray themselves as "ordinary Hindus, who don't bark on television to defend their faith, but get hurt when some people bark against it." They are anonymous and started this campaign to counter the perception the RSS was behind the Mangalore incident." {{cite news
|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chaddi-condom-war-approaches-vday/422817
|title=Chaddi, condom war approaches V-Day
|author=Express news service
|date=13 February 2009
|work=Story
|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]
|accessdate=30 May 2009}}
</ref>
<ref name="toi14.02">

{{cite news
|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Muthalik-140-others-held-ahead-of-Valentines-Day/articleshow/4125413.cms
|title=Police crackdown: Muthalik, 140 others held ahead of Valentine's Day
|date=14 February 2009
|work=[[The Times of India]]
|accessdate=14 April 2009}}
</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Pink Chaddi campaign}}
* [http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue23/banerji1.htm The Pink Panties Campaign: The Indian Women's Sexual Revolution.] by Rita Banerji in ''Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific Issue 23, January 2010 ''
*[http://thepinkchaddicampaign.blogspot.com/ Consortium of Pub-going, loose and forward women]
* {{cite news|author1=Nisha Susan|title=Valentine's Warriors: The Pink Chaddi Campaign: why it began and how|url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Op280209valentine_warrior.asp|work=[[Tehelka]]|date=28 February 2009|access-date=1 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083207/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Op280209valentine_warrior.asp|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

[[Category:Social movements in India]]
[[Category:Feminism in India]]
[[Category:History of Mangalore]]
[[Category:Internet-based activism]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

Pink Chaddi Campaign - Revision history

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