Clear and present danger in Karnataka

Elections 2009 put a lid on the embers of communal clashes in coastal Karnataka. The church attacks in Mangalore and Udupi-Chikmagalur districts in September 2008, the infamous assault on girls at a pub in Mangalore in January 2009 and the spurt in moral policing thereafter put Mangalore on the global map. Now, the state’s administrators fear that once elections are over, the embers of communal strife may burst into flames – not just in Mangalore, but in several pockets of Karnataka.
Their fear stems mainly from the increasing disillusionment and aggression among the youth. A senior police officer who has been tracking developments in the state says that youngsters are also insulating themselves from the community elders’ and leaders’ diktat. Muslim youth do not want to take things lying down anymore and Hindu youngsters feel that it’s about time the community got rid of the “tolerant” tag. Take the case of Dakshina Kannada, for instance. The communal divide runs so deep that there are frequent clashes between the two communities at the district sub-jail. So much so, Muslims convicted of cattle-lifting have to be quarantined in the jail. Incidents of workers of Bajrang Dal or Karnataka Forum for Dignity – which fights for the minorities – attacking youngsters for talking to those from the other community have become almost a daily feature.
Senior intelligence sources say that the situation in Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts is equally volatile, if not more so. They are closely monitoring the situation because of a threat perception emanating out of Bhatkal. This communally sensitive port town in Uttara Kannada district has seen many riots in the past and has produced the dreaded terror siblings, Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal. Riyaz Bhatkal, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who was tasked with setting up Indian Mujahideen by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, is alleged to be behind the string of serial blasts in the country last year. After Riyaz and Iqbal’s name started doing the rounds in terror investigations, there have been whispers of ISI setting up base here.
Now, police officers fear that communal trouble could be fomented ahead of the elections to further polarize the electorate. Seventeen constituencies in Karnataka go to the polls on April 23 and the remaining 11 on April 30. To use a cliché, police will heave a sigh of relief if Karnataka gets to the next month without any unsavoury incident.
Recently, at a seminar organized in a Mangalore college on communal tension in the district, a CD on the church attacks was used to drive home the point. Police officers say that this is just the kind of thing that could prove to be the spark for another round of clashes.
Like it did earlier this month in Kyathamaranahalli near Mysore. Riots broke out after two youngsters, who were said to be under the influence of drugs, were handed over to the police for eve-teasing. Within hours, a mob went on the rampage and set fire to at least 12 vehicles and four houses. Over 250 houses and shops in the area were vandalized.
The other development keeping officers on their toes is the threat of an imminent Naxal strike in Shimoga and Chikmagalur districts.
What happens in Karnataka in the next month or so will depend on how the two main parties in the state fare in Elections 2009, feel intelligence officers. While the Congress started out on a weak wicket and was touted to win anywhere between 5-6 seats, it has consolidated its position during the slog overs and looks set to walk away with 8-9. JD(S) has been relegated to an also-ran position and will thank its stars if it bags 3-4 seats. Earlier predictions said it could finish at the second position with maybe 8 seats. The joke in Bangalore was that if JD(S) could indeed manage 8 seats, H D Deve Gowda would once again become prime minister. The BJP could get 18-19 seats even though earlier calculations pegged 15 seats in its kitty. If the BJP does manage to finish with 18-19 seats, the dynamics in the state will see a sea change. To understand how, it’s necessary to go back in time a little.
When New Life prayer halls were attacked in Mangalore, Udupi and Bangalore in September 2008, the Bajrang Dal had alleged that the immediate provocation was the publication of a book titled Satya Darshini which ridiculed the Hindu belief system. Secularists said that the installation of a sympathetic government in Karnataka had given the right-wing outfits a free run of the state. On its part, the government claimed that its rival political party had engineered the attacks to bring a bad name to the first BJP government south of Vindhyas. Whatever be the reason for the attacks then, the state’s administrators are seeing a similar trend today even though nobody will say so officially.
Senior police officers say Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Belgaum and Mysore are sitting on a powder keg. In fact, the threat seems to be so real that the new DG&IG of Karnataka Police, Ajai Kumar Singh – who is known for his integrity and efficiency -- has been touring all the vulnerable districts over the past 15 days or so.
At the heart of the clash of communities in Karnataka, lies economic disparity. In its heyday, Gulf money afforded Muslim youth in coastal Karnataka the latest in fashion accessories. Now, with active help from the Sangh Parivar, Hindu youth want to have an upper hand. The economic downturn and the dearth of jobs have only made matters worse. As all communities increasingly fight to assert themselves, the result is for all to see: In Christian-run institutions, Hindu teachers are becoming objects of suspicion. In Hindu-run establishments, care is taken to ensure that Muslims do not become student leaders. Muslim students in some schools and colleges have started insisting on a two-hour lunch break on Fridays in order to attend prayers at the local mosque; some outfits are forcing girls to wear burqas. Recently in Surathkal, near Mangalore, girls wearing burqas to college were cornered and harassed, allegedly by Hindu activists. The college principal passed an order saying the veil should be removed in class but student leaders wanted them to do so before entering the campus. Tension ensued and a meeting organized to discuss the issue was stormed, allegedly by auto drivers.
Another dimension that has been added to the vulnerable districts is Pramod Mutalik. After the Sri Ram Sene rose to national infamy (or fame, depending on which way you look at it) by attacking girls at a pub in Mangalore, it has been trying to hijack the Hindutva agenda from the BJP. Just like the Sri Ram Sene, numerous other outfits active in Karnataka are now looking for just the right kind of spark to fan communal flames in the state.