Arun Pathak (born 16 June 1975) is an Indian politician and social activist from Varanasi. He is involved in charity work and campaigns for "protection of Hindu culture". He has attracted public attention for staging suicide attempts as a form of political protest. Personal life Pathak was born in Varanasi on 16 June 1975. Activism As of 2009, Pathak had been rescued from suicide attempts at least eleven times by his followers. Liquor stores In 1997, Pathak started a campaign to ban liquor stores from being in close proximity to religious sites. He wanted this policy to be in place in Varanasi and Ayodhya. To get attention for this campaign, Pathak climbed to the top of a 300-foot tower in Varanasi and threatened to jump to death. After getting written assurance from the police that the shops would be closed, Pathak climbed down from the tower. Babri Masjid demolition celebration In 1998, Pathak organised a celebration in Varanasi to commemorate the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid. He put up flags as decoration, but the local police had them taken down and destroyed. In response Pathak went to police station and took 50 valium pills in a suicide attempt. Three days later Pathak woke up and found that the in charge police officer Singh had not been fired, so Pathak took 50 more valium pills and threw himself in front of the car of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Pathak survived and a police officer who was responsible along with Singh was fired for misconduct in removing the flags. Film protests Pathak led a Vishwa Hindu Sena group in Varanasi to oppose the screening of the film Girlfriend (2004), which dealt with subject matter about lesbians. Deepa Mehta filmed parts of the 2005 film Water on the ghats in Varanasi. The film was controversial to Pathak for having the line "... if a Brahmin or God sleeps with a woman she is blessed", which he interpreted to be oppressive to women's rights. To protest the filming, Pathak tied a large stone around his waist, took a boat to the center of the Ganges, and jumped into the river when the cameras were filming. His friends jumped into the river, rescued him, and rushed him to the hospital. Pathak's actions were followed by some rioting. The Varanasi city government responded by ordering film production to stop. Pakistani Ghazal virtuoso Ghulam