Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is a convergence of conservation, community participation, and history. Once affected by deforestation and poaching, the sanctuary has emerged as a model for modern conservation, where local communities play a central role in protecting wildlife and restoring balance to
Goa: ‘Tales of Kamasutra’ event scheduled for Christmas scrapped after citizens’ groups object
The Goa Police on Sunday directed organisers to cancel an event titled “Tales of Kamasutra and Christmas Celebration”, which had been scheduled to be held in December, after civil society groups and members of the Catholic community objected to it, The Indian Express reported.
The groups said that the event projected Goa as a “sex tourism” destination.
A poster for the event that detailed explicit acts sparked outrage, prompting the police to intervene.
The event was scheduled to take place between December 25 and December 28, according to the poster.
The Goa Police said that it has directed the organisers to remove the advertisements from social media. Police stations have been asked to keep an eye on upcoming events in their jurisdiction.
The poster said that the event had been organised by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Foundation.
Swami Dhyan Sumit, the facilitator of the event and founder of Osho Ludhiana Meditation Society, told The Indian Express that it was a “meditation retreat based on tantra”.
“In the poster, we mentioned Christmas celebration with the intention that festivals…are for celebration,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “It has been portrayed incorrectly as something indecent was being organised. It was a retreat for meditation.”
Sumit added: “We got a call from the authorities that sentiments of the Catholic community have been hurt, so we have decided to cancel the event and withdraw all the posters.”
Sumit was quoted as saying that the poster having the words Kamasutra and Christmas celebration together had led some people to misunderstand that there would be sexual activities. “It's not like that, and moreover, it's based on a meditation spiritual retreat,” he said.
He apologised that the “combination of these two words gave the wrong message and hurt the feelings of local people”.
Several citizens' groups urged the police to stop the event.
The Goa Women's Forum on Saturday wrote to the tourism department saying that the event “will project Goa as a sex tourism destination and severely affect the image of Goa as a family tourist destination”, The Indian Express reported.
The forum demanded that a first information report be registered in the matter.
Arun Pandey, the founder and director of Arz, a non-governmental organisation working against sexual violence, said on Saturday that he had filed a complaint with the Goa crime branch.
“It is really unfortunate that in the name of Osho, Christmas, meditation......Goa is being advertised as sex destination!” he said on social media.
A police complaint was also filed by the Catholic Association of Goa against the organisers of the event for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the community, the newspaper reported.
Source: Scroll
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Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is a convergence of conservation, community participation, and history. Once affected by deforestation and poaching, the sanctuary has emerged as a model for modern conservation, where local communities play a central role in protecting wildlife and restoring balance to
3 months ago
