'Hindu Taliban' threatens Goa bars A Hindu nationalist group has warned it plans to target women drinking alcohol in the beach bars of Goa, India’s tropical hot spot. The Sri Rama Sene group, described by Indian media as the “Hindu Taliban”, says the former Portuguese enclave is the centre of an immoral culture that is spreading throughout India. Its leader, Pramod Muthalik, said his group would start by asking bar owners to close down, and if that failed, it would launch direct attacks on the tourist clientele. The threat follows a recent attack on female drinkers in a Mangalore bar and a series of assaults on courting couples on Valentine’s night. Sri Rama Sene is officially banned in Goa, but sympathy for its anti-western values is growing among those who live in an area increasingly blighted by the effects of drug and alcohol abuse. Local police are swift to crack down on beach parties and other so-called illegal gatherings — a British tourist was among several beaten up by police at a rave at a restaurant on Anjuna beach last week — and the Goan authorities have announced that tourists wearing beachwear deemed an “affront to the religious sentiments of Hindus” will be asked to cover up. T-shirts bearing the image of the Hindu deity Shiva — commonly worn by backpackers — are among the items targeted. “We have formed teams to travel to the coastal areas to seize such clothes and arrest the sellers of such garments,” said the deputy collector, AJ D’Souza
