Editing Valentine's Day (section)

====India====
{{Main|Valentine's Day in India}}
In ancient India, there was a tradition of adoring [[Kamadeva]], the lord of love – exemplified by the erotic carvings in the [[Khajuraho Group of Monuments]] and by the writing of the ''[[Kamasutra]]''.<ref name="rana">{{cite web |title=India's fascination with Valentine's Day |author=Rana, Vijay |work=[[BBC]] |date=February 14, 2002 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1820440.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202102700/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1820440.stm |archive-date=December 2, 2014}}</ref> This tradition was lost around the [[Medieval India|Middle Ages]], when Kamadeva was no longer celebrated, and public displays of sexual affection became frowned upon.<ref name="rana"/> This repression of public affections began to loosen in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/the-politics-of-pda-in-india-kiss-protest/382877/ |title=The Politics of PDA in India |last=Basu |first=Tanya |date=November 18, 2014 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=February 13, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073445/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/the-politics-of-pda-in-india-kiss-protest/382877/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Valentine's Day celebrations did not catch on in India until around 1992. It was spread due to the programs in commercial TV channels, such as [[MTV]], dedicated radio programs, and love letter competitions, in addition to an economical liberalization that allowed the explosion of the valentine card industry.<ref name="rana" /><ref name="derne"/> The celebration has caused a sharp change on how people have been displaying their affection in public since the Middle Ages.<ref name="rana"/>

On a 2018 online survey, it was found that 68% of the respondents did not wish to celebrate Valentine's Day.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why most Indians do not find Valentine's Day special|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/2018/feb/13/why-most-indians-do-not-find-valentines-day-special-1772745.html|access-date=February 14, 2021|website=The New Indian Express|date=February 13, 2018 |archive-date=September 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926115649/https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/2018/feb/13/why-most-indians-do-not-find-valentines-day-special-1772745.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It can be also observed that different religious groups, including Hindu,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Subscribe|title=Beware of Valentine's Day – A cultural conversion of Hindus !|url=https://www.hindujagruti.org/hindu-issues/western-influence/valentine-day|access-date=February 14, 2021|website=Hindu Janajagruti Samiti|language=en-US|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214023304/https://www.hindujagruti.org/hindu-issues/western-influence/valentine-day|url-status=live}}</ref> Muslim<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 12, 2017|title=Islamic body urges youths not to celebrate V-Day in country's interest|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/islamic-body-urges-youths-not-to-celebrate-v-day-in-country-s-interest/story-QtvrtgXKPXboa5SmqGn5xI.html|access-date=February 14, 2021|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226214519/https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/islamic-body-urges-youths-not-to-celebrate-v-day-in-country-s-interest/story-QtvrtgXKPXboa5SmqGn5xI.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and Christian people of India do not support Valentine's Day.

In modern times, Hindu and Islamic<ref name="monger"/> traditionalists have considered the holiday to be cultural contamination from the West, a result of globalization in India.<ref name="rana"/><ref name="derne"/> [[Shiv Sena (1966–2022)|Shiv Sena]] and the [[Sangh Parivar]] have asked their followers to shun the holiday and the "public admission of love" because of them being "alien to Indian culture".<ref name="sandbrook">{{Cite book |title= Civilizing globalization: a survival guide |series= SUNY series in radical social and political theory |editor= Richard Sandbrook |author= Anil Mathew Varughese |chapter= Globalization versus cultural authenticity? Valentine's Day and Hindu values |edition= illustrated |publisher= [[SUNY Press]] |year= 2003 |page= 53 |isbn= 978-0-7914-5667-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XSZD-bpo3S8C |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150915000124/https://books.google.com/books?id=XSZD-bpo3S8C |archive-date= September 15, 2015 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> Although these protests are organized by political elites, the protesters themselves are middle-class Hindu men who fear that the globalization will destroy the traditions in their society: [[arranged marriage]]s, [[Hindu joint family|Hindu joint families]], [[Housewife#In India and Pakistan|full-time mothers]], etc.<ref name="derne">{{Cite book |title= Gender and globalization in Asia and the Pacific: method, practice, theory |editor1= Kathy E. Ferguson |editor2= Monique Mironesco |chapter= 7. Globalizing gender culture. Transnational cultural flows and the intensification of male dominance in India |author= Steve Derné |publisher= [[University of Hawaii Press]] |pages= 127–129 |year= 2008 |isbn= 978-0-8248-3241-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=60o6NLFlbhoC |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150913214911/https://books.google.com/books?id=60o6NLFlbhoC |archive-date= September 13, 2015 |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="monger">{{cite book |title= Marriage customs of the world: from henna to honeymoons |author= George Monger |edition= illustrated |publisher= [[ABC-CLIO]] |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-1-57607-987-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=o8JlWxBYs40C |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151021194854/https://books.google.com/books?id=o8JlWxBYs40C |archive-date= October 21, 2015 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> Despite these obstacles, Valentine's Day is becoming increasingly popular in India.<ref name="bbcanger">{{cite web|title=Hindu and Muslim anger at Valentine's |date=February 11, 2003 |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2749667.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305185633/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2749667.stm |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref>

Valentine's Day has been strongly criticized from a [[postcolonial]] perspective by intellectuals from the Indian left. The holiday is regarded as a front for "Western imperialism", "[[neocolonialism]]", and "the exploitation of working classes through [[commercialism]] by [[multinational corporation]]s".<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Sharma|first1= Satya|year= 1996|title= The cultural costs of a globalized economy for India |journal= Dialectical Anthropology |volume=21 |issue= 3–4|pages= 299–316 |doi= 10.1007/BF00245771|s2cid= 144173442 |issn = 0304-4092 }}</ref> It is claimed that as a result of Valentine's Day, the [[working class]]es and [[Rural poverty|rural poor]] become more disconnected socially, politically, and geographically from the hegemonic [[capitalist]] power structure. They also criticize mainstream media attacks on Indians opposed to Valentine's Day as a form of [[demonization]] that is designed and derived to further the Valentine's Day agenda.<ref>{{cite book |last= Mankekar|first= Purnima|year= 1999|title= Screening, Culture, Viewing Politics: An Ethnography of Television, Womanhood Nation in Postcolonial India |publisher= Duke University Press|isbn= 0-8223-2390-7}}</ref><ref>As quoted in 'India Today: Pot Pourri Generation' September 15 issue, 2005</ref>
Right wing [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalists]] are also hostile. In February 2012, [[Subash Chouhan]] of the [[Bajrang Dal]] warned couples: "They cannot kiss or hug in public places. Our activists will beat them up".<ref>{{cite journal
 |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-14/bhubaneswar/31058660_1_couples-malls-bajrang-dal
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514091821/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-14/bhubaneswar/31058660_1_couples-malls-bajrang-dal
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=May 14, 2012
|journal=[[The Times of India]]
 |title=Valentine's Day: Fear stalks couples on day of love
 |date=February 14, 2012
|access-date=April 21, 2012}}</ref>
He said "We are not against love, but we criticize vulgar exhibition of love at public places".<ref>{{cite journal
 |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-15/bhubaneswar/31062703_1_bajrang-dal-couples-dal-workers
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514104326/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-15/bhubaneswar/31062703_1_bajrang-dal-couples-dal-workers
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=May 14, 2012
|journal=[[The Times of India]]
 |title=Bajrang Dal threat keeps couples at bay on V-Day
 |date=February 15, 2012
|access-date=April 21, 2012}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Hindu]]'' in February 2023, the [[Animal Welfare Board of India]] appealed to Indians to celebrate February 14 as "Cow Hug Day" for "emotional richness" and to increase "individual and collective happiness."  The newspaper referenced the [[Cattle in religion and mythology#Sacred status of cow|sacredness of cows]] as being equivalent to one's mother in Indian culture, and further rued: ".. [[Vedic period|Vedic traditions]] are almost on the verge of extinction due to the progress of [[Western culture]] over time. The dazzle of Western civilization has made our physical culture and heritage almost forgotten".<ref>{{Cite news |publisher=The Hindu Bureau |date=February 8, 2023 |title=Animal Welfare Board wants to mark February 14 as Cow Hug Day |language=en-IN |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/celebrate-cow-hug-day-on-february-14-animal-welfare-board-of-india/article66485661.ece |access-date=February 12, 2023 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210232243/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/celebrate-cow-hug-day-on-february-14-animal-welfare-board-of-india/article66485661.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> 

According to Rhea Mogul of CNN, a 2017 photo series Indian women sporting cow masks by activist Sujatro Ghosh portrays a society in which cows are more valued than women. Mogul says authorities had advanced the idea to rebrand Valentine's Day as "Cow Hug Day". Mogul says, "But the move seems to have failed and later retracted after it prompted a rush of internet memes, cartoons and jokes by TV hosts about the importance of consent." Media outlets like NDTV mocked the government's plan by underlining the importance of the consent of cows before hugging them. Mogul says critics say [[Cattle in religion and mythology|cow-worship]] has been politically manipulated by cow vigilante motivated by conservative [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]'s majoritarian politics to harass minorities with allegations of disrespect of cows or [[Cattle slaughter in India|cow slaughter]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mogul |first=Rhea |date=February 12, 2023 |title=India tried to rebrand Valentine's Day as 'Cow Hug Day.' Here's how it backfired |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/india/india-valentines-day-cow-hug-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=February 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212145623/https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/india/india-valentines-day-cow-hug-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>