Goa event combining Kamasutra and Christmas cancelled after protests from the Church

Indian authorities have blocked the “Tales of Kamasutra & Christmas Celebration” event after a wave of criticism from the Catholic Church and women's rights groups. The initiative, accused of offending religious sentiments, was removed by order of the police, who have opened an investigation against the organisers. Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao condemned the incident, calling for the protection of interreligious respect and shared community values.

Panaji (AsiaNews) - An event combining the Kamasutra with Christmas has been cancelled following a wave of protests from the Catholic Church and women's rights movements.

The initiative, entitled ‘Tales of Kamasutra & Christmas Celebration’, initially scheduled to take place in Goa from 25 to 28 December, was criticised for its offensive combination of Christian festivities and explicitly sexual content.

Local police ordered the organisers to stop the event and remove all information online after receiving a formal complaint from the NGO “Arz” (Anyay Rahit Zindagi).

Its founder, Arun Pandey, accused the organisers of helping to promote a distorted image of the southern Indian state, presented as a destination linked to sex tourism. According to Pandey, the name of Osho, meditation and Christmas celebrations continue to be misused.

Subsequently, a First Information Report (FIR) was also filed against the organisers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Foundation, which promoted the event, and against the Osho Ludhiana Meditation Society for allegedly offending the religious sentiments of the Christian community.

In a statement released yesterday, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, strongly condemned the initiative, calling the association between Christmas, ‘a sacred feast celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, a time of peace, joy and gratitude,’ and ‘explicit themes completely unrelated to its spiritual meaning’ ‘irresponsible.’

‘Linking such an important celebration to content that profoundly contradicts its spiritual essence is an offence to millions of faithful,’ said the Cardinal. ‘These representations not only disrespect the religious beliefs of the entire community, but also undermine the values of decency and mutual respect on which our pluralistic society is based.’

Cardinal Ferrao called on the relevant authorities to conduct a proper investigation into the incident and appealed to the Catholic faithful: ‘I urge everyone not to participate in events that do not respect the values of our faith, and I invite all people of good will to promote respect, understanding and harmony among communities.’