Aurangabad (Maharashtra): It is a tradition to burn effigies of Ravana during Dasara. The event signifies the victory of Lord Ram over King Ravana, and is attended by scores of people. This time, however, a group of “harassed” husbands banded together to celebrate the festival in a unique way. They burned down an effigy of the demon king Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha, instead.
The unique effigy was set ablaze by an organisation of men who have been harassed by their wives called ‘Patni Pidit Purush Sanghatana’, on the evening of October 18, at the Karoli village near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
The founder of the organisation, while speaking to a top news agency, claimed that the laws in India were biased towards the women and were against men. “They (women) use it to harass their husbands and in-laws for small issues,” he said.
Terming the burning of Surpanakha’s effigy as a symbolic move, he condemned the “tyranny against men in the nation.” He also stated that 74 percent of suicides among married people, were committed by men.
Mythologically, Surpanakha was the cause of the battle between Lord Ram and the demon king.
