February 15, 2003	Saturday	Zul Hijjah 13, 1423

MUMBAI, Feb 14: Hindu hardline party Shiv Sena on Friday disrupted Valentine’s Day celebrations in India’s largest city by burning cards and forcing shops selling cards and gifts to shut down.

A group of Shiv Sena activists stormed a shop in Borivli, a northern suburb of Mumbai, and burned Valentine’s cards and other items while shouting anti-Valentine slogans.

“Yes, we did burn the cards and forced the retailer to close his shop. We do not believe in this bad western cultural influence on our land,” said a Shiv Sena activist.

“We believe in celebrating Kalpana Day and not Valentine’s Day.”

Indian-born American Kalpana Chawla was one of the seven astronauts killed when space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas earlier this month.

Apart from the incident in Borivli, Valentine’s Day was celebrated with full fervour in the city, although most Mumbai residents had to do without their usual greeting cards as leading stores refused to stock cards explicitly associated with the holiday.

Bombay shopowners said they were selling only generic “love” or “friendship” cards as they feared attacks by Shiv Sena.

“Those who do not want violence will not celebrate Valentine’s Day,” Shiv Sena’s working president Udhav Thackeray warned last week.

Militants of Shiv Sena, a Bombay-based group which is allied with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Bhartiya Janata Party, on Thursday smashed up two shops in the Indian capital that were selling Valentine cards.—AFP