India: Hindutva outfits seek ban on Sunburn electronic dance music festival

The Indian Express

Hindutva outfits seek ban on Sunburn festival
Sunburn was being organised in Goa annually for the last nine years, but the Goa government’s ban forced the organisers to shift the venue to Pune this time.

By: Express News Service | Pune | Published:December 13, 2016 3:55 am

Describing it as against Indian culture, Hindutva outfits in the city have come together to protest against Sunburn electronic dance music festival, which will be held at Kesnand on Pune-Ahmednagar highway. The outfits claimed that the festival promotes consumption of narcotic substances and obscene activities.

Sunburn was being organised in Goa annually for the last nine years, but the Goa government’s ban forced the organisers to shift the venue to Pune this time.

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Members from the women’s wing of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Shiv Sena, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, besides other Hindutva groups, on Monday protested in front of the Lokmanya Tilak statue in Mahatma Phule Mandai. They distributed pamphlets, shouted slogans and started a signature campaign against the festival.

Pratiksha Korgaonkar, state organiser of Ranragini, said, “In 2009, a girl died at Sunburn in Goa due to drug overdose… Such events mislead the youth.”

Sarita Ambike of VHP’s Durga Vahini said, “We should not allow western events like Sunburn festival to take place in Pune, which is the cultural and educational capital of the country.”

Sunburn CEO Karan Singh said, “We do nothing illegal…. We work very closely with all government authorities to ensure a safe event.”