The Taliban within

A young boy and girl were brutally beaten up, paraded on the street and had their faces blackened by the 'society', just because they dared to fall in love. The news correspondent said that this was nothing unusual and had they not been juvenile, they could have been hanged.
No this is not Taliban, this happened in a western UP city. The families here are affluent and educated or should I say uneducated literates. This act is nothing but barbarian. The society commands boys and girls should refrain from such activities but the same society worships the courtship of Radha and Krishna.
The moral brigade in our country is another form of Taliban in the heart of the country. They claim to be protectors of our culture but they haven't read any of the sacred texts. The Indian culture has been free flowing without compromising on the core principals.
The most dangerous person is the one with only half the knowledge, the fundamentalists are no different. These self-proclaimed righteous people with their half backed ideas and understanding of culture are the Taliban within our society.
We can fight the Taliban with guns but how do we fight the Taliban within?

Originally published on 8/13/06 in Bangalore.