INDIA: Hindu and Muslim purists in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East agree on one thing: that Valentine's Day is an unwelcome alien import. The Times of India, which runs thousands of lovers' greetings in its personal columns, refers to the controversial occasion as "V-Day".
Yesterday the paper published a poll showing that only 44 per cent of respondents favour Valentine's Day commemorations while 56 per cent oppose.
Letter columns in the Indian press are filled with for and against letters from readers. Hindu "goondas" often go on the rampage, smashing up sweet shops and attacking flower sellers and people wearing red.
Isolated spasms of violence, however, do not deter shopkeepers from decorating their windows with huge red hearts and displaying Valentine's Day wares or hotels and restaurants from offering price-cutting "specials" on the day.
Liberal Dubai, where there is no fundamentalist opposition to transforming a Western import into a local shopping holiday (shopping being the national passtime), was this week swamped with Valentine's Day hype. Stores were filled with gifts, columns of greetings adorned the press and special offers proliferated. Travellers passing through Dubai ahead of the feast were purchasing cards and presents in the well-stocked duty-free shops at the airport. Counters selling gold jewellery were crowded with customers.
Dour Saudi Arabia, however, banned Valentine's Day on the ground that Muslims are allowed to celebrate only the festivals which end the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual pilgrimage. The Higher Committee for Scientific Research and the Issuing of Fatwas (religious rulings) proclaimed the celebration of other holidays is un-Islamic.
