Communal strife deepens divide in Mangalore
Written by Writer on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
Communal strife deepens divide in Mangalore
16 Oct 2008, N D Shiva Kumar,TNN
MANGALORE : The violent clashes between Hindus and Christians in southern Karnataka have come as a shot in the arm for both the Sangh Parivar and evangelical groups. There appears no early end to their conflict with the advantage clearly lying with Hindu organisations for their sheer numerical strength.
For the Sangh Parivar, the face-off in south Karnataka signifies the beginning of their drive against religious conversions. Bajrang Dal now has 76 branches, each with an active member base of 20 to 30 people, across the state. “Post-attacks, more people are opening the Dal’s branches,” said Sharan Pumpwell, convener of Bajrang Dal in Dakshina Kannada.
If the clashes helped the Parivar expand, these have also brought a great deal of publicity to small evangelical groups and, more importantly, united the hitherto faction-ridden Christian communities. For instance, Roman Catholics and Protestants are today on a single platform in their fight against right-wing organisations.
“We should salute Bajrang Dal. They have made us more militant and helped us build bridges with Roman Catholics. The enemy of the Gospel has actually made us quite popular,” said Walter Maben, secretary of Karnataka Missions Network (KMN, a Protestant denomination). Formed in 1996 in Bangalore, KMN has expanded over the years.
The Sangh Parivar is fuelling the conflict and doesn’t mince its words in expressing its anathema for proselytisation. Said Hindu Jagaran Manch state convener Jagadish Karanth, “We will never allow conversions and condemn all appeasement activities. Tolerance has a limit.” Added an RSS secretary, Dr Prabhakar Bhat Kalladkka, “Hindus should apply for gun licences instead of doing puja of their motorcars.”
On September 26, heads of various mutts held a VHP-sponsored convention that resolved that all mutts, temples, religious institutions, and pro-Hindu groups must fight against forced conversions across the country. “We started here in our stronghold and got good response. The awareness will help us take the fight to other states,” said Pumpwell.
But the evangelical groups and Roman Catholics are not about to give up either. There are around 50 evangelical groups in Dakshina Kannada, with more than 80 churches and prayer halls; these numbers are going up.
Spokesperson of the Mangalore Diocese, Rev O’nel D’souza, said, “If someone is pushed to the wall, he might retaliate.” Says KMN’s Maben, “Christianity can’t be erased. We are ready to die for Jesus.”
It’s clear that the powder-keg situation favours the Sangh parivar. The police’s handling of Dakshina Kannada violence is proof. Out of the 71 cases registered, 37 are against Christians. Out of the 220 arrested, Christians number 144, while Hindus are 74 and Muslims 2.
Following pressure from the BJP government, the district administration is compiling data on Christian groups and monitoring the flow of funds. The administration has begun collecting details like members’ list, the venue of the prayers, building plan, authorisation to pray, etc. “They are collating data to feed it to Sangh parivar so that they can threaten us,” complained a pastor.
The evangelicals allege that RSS workers were now working as home guards, so that they can help the Hindutva brigade during conflicts. There are allegations that the number of injured in the recent clashes was fudged to show a lesser figure. Official records show 71 injured, including 45 policemen, in the three-day violence.
The BJP government’s reaction to the attacks on Christians indicated whom it favoured. After Bajrang Dal convener Mahendra Kumar claimed responsibility for the attacks, the government took five days to arrest him.
Home minister V S Acharya says minor outfits like Sri Rama Sena were behind the attacks. He terms the violence as “a retaliation for the highly emotive issue of forced conversions.”
Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa announced an inquiry into the flow of funds for missionaries. On September 24, at the Zilla Panchayat meeting, BJP members sought a resolution to end conversions.
For the moment, it’s an uneasy calm in Mangalore.
