Two Hindutva planks battle it out in coastal Karnataka
During the peak of the anti-Muslim campaigns, two right-wing outfits — Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and Sri Ram Sene — were at the forefront. The ruling BJP government has now distanced itself from these outfits
Since Basavaraj Bommai took over as the state’s chief minister in 2021 replacing BS Yediyuruppa, the Karnataka government has passed a controversial anti-conversion bill, issued an order that bars hijabs in schools and colleges, passed an anti-cow slaughter law, and most recently tweaked its reservation policy to move Muslims out of the Other Backward Classes category.
It has also quietly endorsed the campaign against halal meat as well as that against the use of loudspeakers in mosques, and cited the endowment laws of 2002 to defend the actions of right-wing groups preventing Muslims from setting up shops around temples and taking part in religious fairs--a practice which has been followed for centuries in Karnataka. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers openly supported the campaign against halal meat and azaan, particularly in coastal Karnataka.
But, the party now wants to make a distinction between the first set of policy decisions and the second.
The district-in-charge minister for Dakshina Kannada, which the BJP swept in 2018 by winning seven seats of a total of eight , and senior Hindutva leader, Sunil Kumar, claimed that these anti-Muslim campaigns were carried out by “fringe elements not associated with the BJP”. His comment echoes the party’s concern that a communal agenda could take fence sitter voters away from the party. The BJP has never lost the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha seat since 1991.
“We have not endorsed any such activities. The stands were taken as a government and as a party, we have done them legally and within the framework of the law. For example anti-cow slaughter bill. The communal campaigns that you are talking about; like the banning of Muslim traders at the temples were called by fringe organisations that are not from the Sangh Parivar,” he explained.
Blaming right-wing groups for the anti-Muslim campaign has a political motive as well. Chief of right-wing outfit Sri Ram Sene Pramod Muthalik has announced that he will contest the upcoming Assembly polls from the Karkala Assembly constituency. He said he will be fighting the polls “against corruption and for the cause of Hindutva,”
During the peak of the anti-Muslim campaigns, two right-wing outfits — Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and Sri Ram Sene — were at the forefront. The ruling BJP government has now distanced itself from these outfits. While Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has not announced any candidates, Sri Ram Sene has said it will field 25 candidates.
Muthalik said that he is opposing BJP for the sake of real Hindutva’. “My fight is for real Hindutva vs fake Hindutva. It is about corruption vs honesty. People are fed up with the BJP’s failure in protecting Hindutva and the widespread corruption,” he said.
The Bommai government has been hobbled by allegations of corruption.
Muthalik, who shot to fame after his followers attacked a pub in Mangaluru in 2009, is miffed with the BJP after his attempts to join the party were repeatedly thwarted as the state leadership felt he would be a liability. His response has been to lash out at the party; for instance, he has raised questions on Sunil Kumar’s assets and how they have grown since 2004.
Sunil Kumar claimed that Muthalik is not a competition and people will see through his intentions. “People like him use Hindutva as a tool but for us, it is a way of life. The fact that he has contested against our leaders like Ananth Kumar Hegde and Pralhad Joshi (in the past) shows what his intentions are. We stand for Hindutva, which people here believe in. It will translate into votes,” said the state culture minister.
The BJP realized that its aggressive Hindutva push in Karnataka may boomerang in elections and therefore, it decided to slow down in mid-2022. According to a party leader who asked not to be named, when these anti-Muslim campaigns were at their peak, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai was reportedly asked by the party’s high command to concentrate more on governance than raking up controversial issues.
As a result of the diktat from the central leadership, the leader said, the state government has sought to distance itself from fringe pro-Hindu organisations. “Ours is a government formed according to the Constitution. We are working with the spirit of law, order and equality,” Bommai said after his return from Delhi in April 2022.
As the state leadership went soft on the Hindutva agenda, the party faced opposition from its own cadre. BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel faced the wrath of BJP workers in June last year following the killing of BJP worker Praveen Nettaru in Dakshina Kannada. Workers accused the state party leadership of not doing enough to protect them and fighting for the Hindutva case.
The wave of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BYJM) resignations that followed Nettaru’s murder, party workers said, was a manifestation of problem that started with the killing of Harsha Jingade or Harsha Hindu in Shivamogga in February 2022.
“Harsha’s murder happened, and there was no justice there. Such things should not happen. To get our leaders to be a little more proactive ... we thought if we gave our resignations, they would act faster,” Sandeep Haravinagndi, the district president of Chikmagalur BYJM said.
Kumar, however, denies Congress claims that communal violence has increased during the BJP rule. “Violence was high when the Congress was in power, especially in Malnad and coastal regions. When Siddaramaiah was chief minister Section 144 was imposed in the region for more than three months. When we are in power, Section 144 was not enforced anywhere for more than a week,” he said.
Congress MLA UT Khader said that the BJP is playing a blame game over the anti-minority campaign. “There has been consistent agenda from the BJP government to provoke the minorities. The removal of the 4% quota for Muslims was the latest in that list. They hoped that it would lead to the minorities creating a huge stir and they could use it to polarise people. But it didn’t happen. People have realised it is important to maintain religious harmony,” he said. “Maybe it Bajrang Dal, BJP or any other organisation, they are one and their agenda is one.” He added that corruption and misgovernance are the biggest issues in the region.
Political expert Valerian Rodrigues said rise of the fringe Hindu groups in coastal Karnataka could hurt the BJP in a few seats but admits that they are not a force to reckon with. Hindu leaders such as Muthalik not winning in any previous election is an indication of that.
“Last election, there was an anti-Siddaramaiah (then chief minister) wave, which helped BJP get landslide votes. The BJP raked up Hindutva issues through different legislations but the campaign abruptly stopped last year and is a sign of the party realising that these issues may not bring them desired electoral gains,” said Rodrigues, who was formerly a political science professor at Mangalore University.