There’s a great campaign going on in India against a very, very bad campaign. It takes as its symbol the pink “chaddi,” or “underwear” in several Indian languages, and seeks to fight the Taliban-style oppression by both Hindus and Muslims that leads to things like the recent Mumbai massacre. Sourahb Mishra explains.

Right-wing Hindu organizations have, over the last few years, taken on the role of moral authority, policing against what they perceive to be activities going against the grain of Indian and Hindu culture. This moral policing often takes on the form of vigilantism, which is a sure-fire recipe for media coverage. They typically target young couples in parks and beaches, and the smaller shops selling Valentine’s Day-related merchandise. They physically intimidate these soft-target victims, usually after giving sufficient notice to the press and TV channels, to ensure that the cameras are there to put them in the news.

The latest such incident took place on Jan. 24. Hooligans claiming to be from a little known right-wing Hindu outfit called Shri Ram Sena attacked a pub in the coastal city of Mangalore and mercilessly beat up the young men and women spending a Saturday afternoon there.

Enter the Pink Chaddis, via Facebook.

A bunch of agitated people, mainly women, created a group called “A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women” and launched the “pink chaddi campaign,” which exhorts everyone to send the Ram Sena a pink chaddi on Valentine’s Day, “because chaddis are forever.”

The Pink Chaddis plan to do more than mail as many pairs of pink underwear as they can to the Sri Ram Sena on Valentine’s Day, although that holiday is when they’ve chosen to fire the first shot.

On Valentine’s Day we do a Pub Bharo action. Go to a pub wherever you are. From Kabul to Chennai to Guwahati to Singapore to LA women have signed up. It does not matter if you are actually not a pub-goer or not even much of a drinker. Let us raise a toast (it can be juice) to Indian women. Take a photo or video. We will put it together…and send this as well to the Sri Ram Sena.

And after that?

After Valentine’s Day we should get some of our elected leaders to agree that beating up women is ummm…AGAINST INDIAN CULTURE.

I hear you, sista.