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Girls Night Out Is Against Indian Culture: Union Culture Minister

Girls Night Out Is Against Indian Culture: Union Culture Minister
HuffPost

NEW DELHI -- Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma is on roll with his bizarre and offensive remarks.

After railing against "cultural pollution" by the West, and insulting former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who died in July, Sharma has now objected to Indian girls going out to socialise in the night.

"Girls wanting a night out may be alright elsewhere, but it is not part of Indian culture," he told CNN-IBN in an interview on Saturday morning.

'Girls night out not our culture': Union Cultural Mins to CNN-IBN

Many more bizarre beliefs only on CNN-IBN @ 9:30 am pic.twitter.com/KPVRXYSEIQ

— CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) September 19, 2015

On Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that his statements had been "distorted."

There is nothing controversial in the @ibnlive interview. My statements are being distorted and presented. (1/2)

— Dr. Mahesh Sharma (@dr_maheshsharma) September 19, 2015

Earlier this week, Sharma told India Today that Kalam was a great nationalist and humanist "despite being a Muslim," perpetuating the insidious far right-wing worldview that the loyalty of Indian Muslims lie elsewhere.

Warning of "cultural pollution" from Western influences, Sharma has also said that Hindi should be made compulsory in all schools.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.