Karnataka violence was waiting to happen
Written by Writer on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
Karnataka violence was waiting to happen
15 Oct 2008, N D Shiva Kumar,TNN
MANGALORE: The Hindu-Christian conflict in coastal Karnataka over the last few weeks was a time bomb waiting to explode. And, ironically, it’s the highly literate districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi — which pioneered banking and hotel industry in India — that have become home to right-wing outfits like Bajrang Dal as well as Islamic terrorists and evangelical groups.
The Hindu-Muslim conflict in the area owes its origin to cow slaughter, while Hindu-Christian fights are due to religious conversions. The communal disturbances after the Babri Masjid demolition at Ayodhya, the Hindu-Muslim riots at Bhatkal in 1993 and communal violence in 1998 and 2006 in Dakshina Kannada left a deep scar on the psyche of the people here.
The Sangh parivar has gained in strength in these years, while evangelical groups have grown in size and influence over the last decade. Now, over 60 denominations of Protestant groups exist in Dakshina Kannada alone. Incidents like beating up of pastors or disturbing prayers have been taking place for the last five years, but on a small scale — moreover, police prevented these from intensifying. The evangelical groups, too, did not make much noise against it as they knew they had to work in such conditions.
The Sangh parivar got a boost after the BJP’s brush with power in 2006 under the JD(S)-BJP coalition government. But ever since the BJP assumed power on its own for the first time in a southern state in Karnataka, there is widespread perception in political circles — particularly the Congress — that the right-wing forces are looking to make Karnataka a Hindutva laboratory. If this is their aim, they couldn’t have found a more suitable place than coastal Karnataka. Polarization spells consolidation of Hindu votes for the BJP.
As the party knows that it can’t get Christian votes (the traditional supporters of Congress), the Bajrang Dal is peddling the issue of conversions by repeatedly accusing Christian missionaries of indulging in forced conversions.
The simultaneous attacks on churches in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur on September 14 was unprecedented. Bajrang Dal state convener Mahendra Kumar had ordered the attacks without the approval of the higher-ups in the Sangh parivar.
Despite Christian protests, vandalism spilled to other districts and continued for nearly a week. Mahendra Kumar held a press conference and took responsibility for the attacks, but added that Roman Catholic churches were hit by mistake. The VHP, Bajrang Dal and people representing the Protestant denominations concede that the issue wouldn’t have assumed such salience if Catholic churches had not got involved.
But while these incidents have boosted the Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, these have also embarrassed the BJP state government, which went into damage control by arresting Mahendra Kumar. Known for its discipline, the Sangh parivar decided to punish the 32-year-old Kumar for taking a unilateral decision. He was forced to resign while still in prison.
The issue, for now, is on the back burner as Sangh parivar addresses another issue — of Datta Peetha or Sri Guru Dattatreya Swami Baba Budan Peetha. Datta Jayanthi on October 13 saw thousands of Bajrang Dal and VHP activists take active part in the ceremony. The Peetha reflected Hindu-Muslim harmony and people from both faiths visited the place until the Hindutva brigade intervened and vowed to make it the ‘Ayodhya’ of the south.
