Exploring the Spirit of Freedom: The Coastal Connection

August 15, 2012

An entire nation rejoiced as the Union Jack lowered and the ‘Tiranga’ fluttered high that August in 1947. The garden of free India blossomed, blood and sweat for which had been shed by hundreds and thousands of Indians. An iconic freedom struggle that it was, coastal districts of Karnataka too has its moments and people to boast of. Here are a few of them as we go back in time:

Rani Abbakka:

Historians differ in their opinion as far as tracing the Indian independence struggle in coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada is concerned. A group of historians say that it was only after the formation of the Indian National Congress did the concept of ‘nationalism’ and fighting for ‘one free India’ came into being. Prior to this mass nationalist movement, the instances of revolt against the colonial powers by kings and queens should be considered as battles fought by them to safeguard their respective kingdoms just as they would fight the neighbouring kings. Some other historians feel that the opposition shown to colonial powers by Indian kings and queens is also a part of the freedom struggle. It is in this view that Rani Abbakka of Ullal comes across as one of the first fighters from the coastal region to have raised her sword against the colonial occupation.

Abbakka Rani fought the Portugese in the late 16th century. The Portugese who had already made Goa their base, moved down south to Mangalore. Since the coastal city of Mangalore and Ullal provided a good base for spice trade, the Portugese wanted to have the area under their control. But they found resistance in Rani Abbakka who did not want the colonial power to take control of the local trade. Rani Abbakka showed exemplary courage and stomach for fight when the city of Ullal was captured by an army of soldiers sent by Portuguese Viceroy António Noronha. Abbakka Rani managed to escape and took refuge in a mosque and the very same night, launched a counter attack on the Portuguese, even killing General Peixoto the Portugese General, thereby affecting a retreat. Abbakka later lost battles to the Portugese as her husband sided with them and died revolting in the prison. Says Dr. Lokesh K M, Associate Professor, Department of History, Mangalore University: “That she took on the Portugese who had a really strong navy, with her little country boats and soldiers, was indeed brave of her”.

Tipu Sultan and Mangalore:

The British considered Tipu Sultan, popularly known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’, as one of their biggest threats in South India. His father Haider Ali had already taken them on. Tipu carried the struggle forward after the death of Haider Ali and his having the upper hand against the British in the second Anglo-Mysore war elevated him to a higher level in historic circles. Mangalore happens to be a significant witness of this development as the war ended with the ‘Treaty of Mangalore’.

“It was a great victory in the sense that it was for the first time that an Indian ruler had defeated the British in the battlefield. The British had a mighty army and soldiers had come to fight Tipu all the way from Bombay”, says Dr. Kumaraswamy, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University College, Mangalore.

In 1799, Tipu died fighting the British in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war at Srirangapatna. After his death, the British handed over Mysore to the Wodeyars but kept possession of Mangalore. “The British wanted to retain Mangalore as it was more than beneficial for them as a port base for trade and also a vital link between Bombay and Madras. If you observe, the British had control of all the ports along the coast whether it was Karwar, Mangalore or Kasaragod”, says Dr. Lokesh.

Canara-Coorg rebellion (Amara Sullia Dange):

In the early 1800s, we find a rebellion against the British from the peasant class of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu region combined. “After taking control of the coastal region following the death of Tipu Sultan, the British restructured the land revenue system. They were keen on cash payment of revenue. In 1830, there was a sort of depression state in the region and prices of agricultural produce dropped. This led to farmer associations of Sullia, Puttur and Coorg coming together to revolt against the British. These revolts are also known as ‘Koot’ rebellions. Kalyanappa of Coorg came to Mangalore to challenge the British but he eventually failed. Basically the effect of this rebellion felt in Dakshina Kannada was a spillover of a movement in Coorg”, says Dr. B Surendra Rao, former Professor of History, Mangalore University.

“This rebellion is remarkable in a way as rebels had managed to capture Mangalore for three days in spite of armed British personnel being deputed in the area. About 500-800 people attacked the Tahshildar’s office in Mangalore and possessed the city for a brief period of time, which was something unthinkable at that time”, says Dr. Kumaraswamy.

Barister Attavara Yellappa:

Barrister Attavara Yellappa was the close associate of Netaji Subhashchandra Bose and was a forerunner in the creation of Azad Hind Bank, which was collecting donations for carrying out India’s freedom struggle in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Singapore and other countries.

He was born on May 4, 1912 and studied at Attavar Higher Primary School, Milagres High School and Government College. He had passed BA at St Aloysius Evening College with first class. Though he was offered the job of Assistant Collector, he rejected it and left for London to become a Barrister. Securing first rank academically, after returning to India, he plunged into freedom movement and became the Commander-in-Chief of Indian Independent League started by Ras Bihari Bose.

Barrister Attavara Yellappa is remembered for his dedication for the cause of the country. Just a fortnight after his wedding, he had left to serve the country. In the recently held birth centenary celebrations of Barrister Yellappa in Mangalore, Dr. M Veerappa Moily, Union Minister of Corporate Affairs had said: “Barrister Attavara Yellappa preferred to die so that the people of the nation could live in peace. Yellappa was not only a good associate of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose but also a man with great organizing capacity which he exhibited in starting and handling the affairs of ‘Azad Bank’ of INA. This shows that he was the real son of South Canara who had the banking skill in his blood”.

Karnad Sadashiva Rao

Hundreds of Mangaloreans pass by the popular K S Rao road in the city every day. But not many are aware of the legacy of the man after whom the road has been named. Karnad Sadashiva Rao is looked at as the most influential Gandhian leader of the coastal region. “Thanks to K S Rao, more and more people of the coastal region involved themselves in non-violent fight against the British”, says Dr. Kumaraswamy.

An ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Karnad Sadashiva Rao made Gandhian philosophy and activities popular in the coastal region. He is known for his popularization of Khadi, Satyagraha, and other Gandhian methods and movements in coastal region. K S Rao gave up legal practice and involved himself in Satyagraha movements. He also participated in the famous Dandi March with Gandhiji. K S Rao was one of the towering Gandhian leaders in Karnataka and he had served as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief as well. He is also looked at as a social reformer who fought for the Dalits and the downtrodden, women and widows.

“Karnad Sadashiva Rao was a true Gandhian. He hailed from a well-off family but died pennyless. Everything that he had, he spent on the poor. There is also this incident of his son’s death. It is said that he was delivering a speech when he was informed about his son’s death. Such was his dedication towards the cause of the country that he carried on, completed his speech and then proceeded to see his son”, says Dr. Lokesh.

M G Haider:

A leader who grew under the shadow and inspiration of Karnad Sadashiva Rao, M G Haider of Ullal is also remembered for his active participation in the Gandhian movement.

In 1920, M G Haider attended a public programme at Mangalore where Mahatma Gandhi and Shaukath Ali had come down as part of the non-cooperation cum Khilafat movement campaign. Inspired by the speech of Moulana Shaukath Ali and on Gandhiji’s call, he discontinued his studies and became a part of the national movement. He also participated in the Ahmedabad Congress session in 1921.
Karnad Sadashiva Rao had made M G Haider the in-charge of ‘Khadi Bhandar’ in Mangalore. According to records, when floods broke out in the region, M G Haider, as per the directive of K S Rao, had actively engaged in mass preparation and distribution of Khadi clothes to the flood victims.

Joachim Alva:

Joachim Alva hailed from a Catholic family in Belle in Udupi district. In 1930, Alva had founded the Nationalist Christian Party with the goal of drawing the Christian community into the freedom struggle.

He was jailed twice by British Indian authorities on charges of sedition. In jail, he spent time with personalities like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jayaprakash Narayan, and Morarji Desai. In 1934, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to Alva to inform him that he had missed him at Yerwada Jail because of his early release.

Margaret Alva, the prominent Congress leader from Mangalore, is the daughter in law of Joachim Alva.

Narayana Shetty Kille:

Narayana Shetty Kille of Kulur Hosamane was working in the postal department in Mumbai. In 1920-21, on Gandhiji’s call, he quit the job and came back to Mangalore to participate in the civil disobedience movement. In 1930, he was put behind bars for a year for participating in ‘Salt Satyagraha’. Later, owing to the Gandhi-Irwin pact, he was released.

He took to serving Dalits and fought against their oppression after being inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s speech in Mangalore in 1934. According to Kaiyyara Kinnanna Rai, veteran poet and activist, Kille was a good orator himself.

Ankola Satyagraha:

Gandhiji’s ‘Salt Satyagraha’ is considered as one of the landmark events in Indian independence history. In the coastal region, Ankola of Uttara Kannada district is one place where this movement had a tremendous impact.

“Gandhiji was a smart leader. To carry on his Satyagraha, he chose salt, an ordinary commodity which is used by each and every one as his tool to mobilise public participation against the British. Besides, salt is something available naturally. He raised this question among the masses as to why we Indians need to pay taxes to the British for salt, when we can manufacture it on our own. This movement became a hit with the masses and the famous Dandi march is a witness to that. From Karnataka, one of the Congressmen who participated in the march at Dandi was Mailara Mahadeva of Sirsi. After his return to Uttara Kannada district, he shared his experiences with the people and hence, a large number of people participated in the ‘Salt Satyagraha’ movement at Ankola. More than 100 people were imprisoned for taking part in that movement in Ankola”, says Dr. Kumaraswamy.

B V Kakkilaya:

B V Kakkilaya hailed from a prestigious family from Bevinje in Kasargod district. He joined St Aloysius College in the year 1937 for intermediate studies. He became an active member of the student movement against the British rule. He joined All India Students’ Federation to voice his indignation. He also showed his patriotism and humanism by serving selflessly in the flood-affected areas during his college days.

Kakkilaya was keen about upliftment of the poor and backward communities of Dakshina Kannada. During the freedom struggle, he was the voice of coastal Karnataka. He spent around six years as a prisoner in various jails in Cannanore, Vellore, Bangalore, Ranebennur, Dharwad and Kadalur.

Says Dr. Surendra Rao: “The likes of Kakkilaya and Krishna Shetty were inspired by M N Roy’s thinking and the communist movement. Their view was that the Indian National Congress, although claimed it fought a nationalist struggle, was not doing enough for the poor and the labour class. Kakkilaya in particular played an important role in organizing the labour unions in this region. The likes of Kakkilaya had the Soviet model before them and they thought that India needs to go the USSR way, which was a success story that time. Later on of course, the USSR fell apart”.

National icons visit Mangalore:

After the formation of Indian National Congress, many national icons came down to Mangalore to provide momentum to the national movement in the coastal region. “The likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others concentrated a lot on Mangalore as they realized that the scope for freedom movement to grow in Mangalore was more in Karnataka when compared to Mysore, as Mysore was still ruled by Wodeyars and the people were largely happy with the king’s rule, although the British were the ultimate masters. That is why you find Mahatma Gandhi visiting Mangalore two to three times. In those days, Sarojini Naidu would accompany Gandhiji wherever he went and therefore, she happened to come to Mangalore too. On one occasion, it is said Gandhiji sat at a place at Bawtagudda and enjoyed the sight of the sunset there. The Nehru Maidan of today is called so because Jawaharlal Nehru had given a speech there. Rabindranath Tagore too had come to Mangalore and this very monument (Government College) is a witness to that visit of his. Our auditorium has been named ‘Ravindra Kala Bhavana’ also in the memory of his visit”, says Dr. Kumaraswamy.

Suguna Karnad Desai, daughter of Karnad Sadashiva Rao, in one of her writings published in Dr. Sooryanath Kamath’s book ‘Swatantrya Sangramada Smratigalu’ describes Gandhiji’s visit to Mangalore in this fashion: “In August 1920, when Gandhiji had come down to Mangalore, the excitement levels of people had touched a new high. I was chosen to garland Gandhiji. I was still a little girl then. I, along with my sister climbed the stage and placed our bangles and other jewellery before Gandhiji. No sooner we did that, ladies in the gathering got up one after the other, and placed their ornaments before Gandhji. That sight was remarkable”.

Mangalore contributes as an educational hub:

Mangalore had been an educational hub back then too and this contributed in the growth of nationalist thinking in the region. “To be honest the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts do not have anything fascinatingly heroic to boast about as far as freedom struggle is concerned. Barring a few peasant revolts here and there and a lathi charge in Mangalore during the Quit India movement, we do not possess something very heroic that had taken place in our region compared to other parts of the country or even Karnataka. However, Mangalore being an educational hub, did contribute in the growth of nationalist movement to some extent. The Basel Mission had established schools here. St Aloysius College was there. The Government College had already come up. There were other educational institutions too. In all, Mangalore was a centre of education. The more people got educated, the more it helped them read about the various movements and it also helped migration. Majority of the ones who took to nationalist movements are people who obtained English education. The Bunts Hostel in Mangalore was established with nationalist feelings, with an objective that the Mangalorean community must march forward in education’, says Dr. Surendra Rao.

Traces of some indirect connections to national movements are also found. “Mangalore had branches of Annie Besant’s Theosophical Society, the Brahma Samaj, and the Arya Samaj. A candidate from the Justice Party had also contested from Mangalore at that time. The Justice Party was a Dravidian movement or so to say a non-Brahmin movement which was unhappy with Brahmins (Aryans) dominating in government jobs although they were less in number. The communist movement was also there in a smaller scale which was basically a spillover of the communist impact in Kerala” says Dr. Rao.

Press and poetry were also tools used quite well in the coastal region in building national movement. “The newspaper ‘Swadeshabhimani’ constantly highlighted protests and demonstrations against the British government. Through this newspaper, speeches of Nehru, Gandhi and other leaders delivered in various parts of the country were made available to the people of coastal region”, says Dr. Kumaraswamy.

Much like Rabindranath Tagore and Allama Iqbal who revived nationalism in people through their poems and writings, poets and writers

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India’s Composite Culture and Muslim Stalwarts

Ram Puniyani

August 9,2020

Contrary to present impression that Muslims are separatists due to whom the partition of India took place, the truth is that Muslims contributed to freedom movement and upheld India’s composite culture in equal measure. The partition process, mainly due to British policy of ‘divide and rule’ well assisted by Hindu and Muslim communalists is being hidden from the popular vision in India and Muslims in general are held responsible for the same. Not only that the communal historiography introduced by British to pursue their policies has become the bedrock of communal politics and worsening of the perceptions about Muslims is in progress in India.

Yet another example of this has been a series of tweets by the bureaucrat, who is close to retirement, K. Nageshwar Rao. Contrary to the service rules he has made statements, through his tweets which are appreciative of RSS-BJP and demonise the stalwarts Muslim leaders who not only contributed to the freedom movement but also later gave valuable service in laying the foundation of Independent India. As per Rao, his tweets he accuses Maulana Azad and the other Muslim Education ministers of “deracination of Hindus”. After naming “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad — 11 years (1947-58)”; “Humayun Kabir, M C Chagla & Fakruddin Ali Ahmed — 4 years (1963-67)”; and, “Nurul Hassan — 5 years (1972-77)”, he posts: “Remaining 10 years other Leftists like VKRV Rao.”

He points out that their policies were meant to “1. Deny Hindus their knowledge, 2. Vilify Hinduism as collection of superstitions, 3. Abrahamise Education, 4. Abrahamise Media & Entertainment, 5. Shame Hindus about their identity! and 6. Bereft of the glue of Hinduism Hindu society dies.”

Then he goes on to praise RSS-BJP for bringing the glory back to Hindus. These statements of his on one hand promote the Hate and on the other tantamount to political statement, which civil servants should not by making. CPM politburo member Brinda Karat has written a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah to take suitable action against the erring bureaucrat.

Rao begins with Maulana Abul kalam Azad. Surely Azad was one of the major leaders of freedom movement, who was also the youngest President of INC, in 1923 and later between 1940 to 1945. He opposed the partition process tooth and nail till the very last. As the Congress President in 1923 he wrote a remarkable Para, symbolizing the urge for Hindu Muslim unity, “If an angel descends from heaven and offers me Swaraj in 24 hours on condition that I give up Hindu Muslim Unity, I will refuse. Swaraj we will get sooner or later; its delay will be a loss for India, but loss of Hindu Muslim unity will be a loss for human kind”. His biographer Syeda Hamid points out “He spoke without an iota of doubt about how debacle of Indian Muslims has been the result of the colossal mistakes committed by Muslim League’s misguided leadership. He exhorted Muslims to make common cause with their Hindu, Sikh, Christian fellow countrymen.” He was the one who promoted the translation of Hindu scriptures Ramayan and Mahabharat in to Persian.

Surely Mr. Rao, neither has read Azad or read about him nor knows his contributions to making of Modern India. While today, the ideological formation to which Mr. Rao seems to be pledging his commitment is critical of all that happened during Nehru era, it was during this period when as education minister Azad was shepherding the formations of IITs, Academies of Science, Lalit kala Academies. It was during this period that the efforts to promote Indian composite culture were undertaken through various steps.

The other stalwarts who are under the hammer have been outstanding scholars and giants in their own field of education. Humayun Kabir, Nurul Hasan, Dr.Zakir Husssain gave matchless ideas and practical contributions in different fields of education. One can say that contrary to the accusations, India could match up to the Computer era, software and associate things, due to creation of large manpower in these areas mainly due to these foundations which were laid down particularly in the field of education during this period.

The charge that these ‘Muslim’ education ministers white washed the bloody Islamic rule is a blind repetition of the offshoot of communal historiography introduced by British. While Kings were ruling for power and wealth, their courts had Hindus and Muslim both officers. The jaundiced vision sees this as a bloody Islamic rule but as a matter of fact the syncretic culture and traditions developed precisely this period. It was during this period that Bhakti Traidtion with Kabir, Tukaram, Namdeo, Tulsidas flourished. It was during this period that humane values of Sufi saints reached far and wide. It was during this period that poets like Rahim and Raskhan produced their classic literature n praise of Hindu Gods.

We also need to remind ourselves that large number of Muslims participated in the freedom Movement. Two scholars Shamsul Islam and Nasir Ahmad have come out with books on the myriad such freedom fighters, to recall just a few names. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Zakir Hussain, Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Kadri, Bakht Khan, Muzzafar Ahmad, Mohammad Abdir Rahman,, Abbas Ali, Asaf Ali, Yusuf Mehrali, Maulana Mazahrul Hague.

These are just a few of the names. The movement, led by Gandhi, definitely laid the foundations where composite Indian culture and respect for all religions, others’ religion was paramount and this is what created Indian fraternity, one of the values which finds its place in the preamble of Indian Constitution.

This blaming of Education ministers who were Muslims is an add-on to the process of Islamophobia in India. So for there have been many actions of Muslim kings which are selectively presented as being bloody, now the post Independent History, where glorious contributions have been made by Muslim leaders are being used to further deepen the divisive process. We need to pay respects to builders of modern India, irrespective of their religion.

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'Go to Pakistan': Pakistan and Muslims of India

Ram Puniyani

January 9,2020

‘Go to Pakistan’ has probably been most often used phrase used against Muslims in India. Recently in yet another such incident the SP of Meerut, UP has been in the news and a video is circulating where he, Akhilesh Narayan Singh, is allegedly using the jibe ‘Go to Pakistan’. In the video he is seen shouting at protestors at Lisari Gate area in Meerut, “The ones (protestors) wearing those black or yellow armbands, tell them to go to Pakistan”. His seniors stood by him calling it ‘natural reaction to shouting of pro Pakistan slogans. Many BJP leaders like Uma Bhararti also defended the officer. Breaking ranks with fellow politicians, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of BJP, criticised the said officer and asked for suitable action against him. Interestingly this is same Naqvi, who earlier when the beef related arguments were going on; had stated that those who want to eat beef can go to Pakistan.

Interestingly this is probably the first time that any BJP leader has opposed the use of this jibe against the Indian Muslims. True to the dominance of trolls who support divisive politics, Naqvi has been trolled on the issue. As such vibe ‘Go to Pakistan’ has been a strong tool in the hands of aggressive elements to demonise Muslims in general and to humiliate those with Muslim names. One recalls that when due to the rising intolerance in the society many eminent writers, film makers were returning their awards, Aamir Khan said that his wife Kiran Rao is worried about their son. Immediately BJP worthies like Giriraj Singh pounced on him that he can go to Pakistan.

The strategy of BJP combine has been on one hand to use this ‘go to Pakistan’ to humiliate Muslims on the other from last few years another Pakistan dimension has been added. Those who are critical of the policies of BJP-RSS have on one hand been called as anti National and on the other it is being said that ‘they are speaking the language of Pakistan’.

Use of Pakistan to label the Muslims and dissidents here in India has been a very shrewd tool in the hands of communal forces. One remembers that the ‘cricket nationalism’ was also the one to use it. In case of India-Pakistan cricket match, the national hysteria, which it created, was also aiming at Indian Muslims. What was propagated was that Indian Muslims cheer for Pakistan victory and they root for Pakistan. There was an unfortunate grain of truth in this as a section of disgruntled, alienated Muslim did that. That was not the total picture, as most Indian Muslims were cheering for Indian victory. Many a Muslim cricketers contributed massively to Indian cricket victories. The cricket legends like Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Irfan Pathan, and Mohammad Azaruddin are just the few among the long list of those who brought glories for India in the field of cricket.

Even in matters of defence there are legions of Muslims who contributed to Indian efforts in the war against Pakistan all through. Abdul Hamid’s role in 1965 India Pak war and the role of Muslim soldiers in Kargil war will be part of Indian military history. There have been generals in army who contributed in many ways for the role which military has been playing in service of the nation. General Zamiruddin Shah, when asked to handle Gujarat carnage, does recount how despite the lack of support from local administration for some time, eventually the military was able to quell the violence in some ways.

During freedom movement Muslims were as much part of the struggle against British rule as any other community. While the perception has been created that Muslims were demanding Pakistan, the truth is somewhere else. It was only the elite section of Muslims who supported the politics of Muslim League and later the same Muslim League could mobilize some other section and unleash the violence like ‘Direct Action’ in Kolkata, which in a way precipitated the actual process of partition, which was the goal of British and aim of Muslim League apart from this being the outcome of ‘Two Nation theory’.

Not much is popularized about the role of great number of Muslims who were part of National movement, who steadfastly opposed the idea and politics which led to the sad partition of the subcontinent. Few excellent accounts of the role of Muslims in freedom movement like Syed Nasir Ahmad, Ubaidur Rahman, Satish Ganjoo and Shamsul Islam are few of these not too well know books which give the outline of the great Muslim freedom fighters like Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Ansari Brothers, Ashfaqulla Khan.

Immediately after partition tragedy the communal propaganda did the overdrive to blame the whole partition process on Muslim separatism, this totally undermined the fact that how poor Muslims had taken out massive marches to oppose the Lahore Resolution of separate Pakistan moved by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The whole Muslim community started being seen as the homogenous, ‘The other’ and other misconceptions started against the community, the one’s relating them to atrocities of Muslim kings started being made as the part of popular folklore, leading the Hate against them. This Hate in turn laid the foundation of violence and eventual ghettoisation of this community.

The interactive-syncretism prevalent in India well presented by Gandhi-Nehru was pushed to the margins as those believing in pluralism did not actively engage with the issue. The economic marginalization of this community, coupled with the increasing insecurity in turn led to some of them to identify with Pakistan, and this small section was again presented as the representative of the whole Muslim community.

Today the battle of perception is heavily tilted against the Muslim community. It is a bit of a surprise as Naqvi is differing from his other fellow colleagues to say that the action should be taken against the erring police officer. The hope is that all round efforts are stepped up to combat the perception constructed against this religious minority in India.

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it is very much understandable if Pakistan is bad country our PM Namo would never visited without any invitation, that time Pakistan was good he prised their Mutton biriyani and Karak chai in pakistan. we feel something is wrong with our PM and his chelas.

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Palghar lynchings and divisive propaganda

Ram Puniyani

May 2,2020

India has tragically witnessed the phenomenon of lynching becoming dominant during last few years. It was particularly around the issue of Holy Cow-Beef, that lynchings became more prevalent and two communities had to face the brunt of it, Muslims and dalits. The IndiaSpend data showed the rise of the incidents from 2014 and that close to 90% of victims were Muslims or dalits. Some notorious cases of lynchings were the one of Akhlaq, Junaid, Alimuddin Ansari, the beatings of dalits in Una. At another level it is during this period that the noted social worker Swami Agnivesh was also subjected to humiliating beating in the public. The communal color in India by now is so strong that many events, even before the details are known, are looked at from the communal color and false social noises start even before real facts are known.

Nothing can exemplify this more than the tragic lynching of two sadhus and their driver in Gadchinal village, near Palghar, a city nearly 110 Kilomenters from Mumbai. As the news of this tragedy spread the BJP leaders immediately started blaming Muslim minority for the crime. Nalin Kohli in an Interview to a German Channel said so. Not to be left behind Sambit Patra, the BJP spokesperson launched a tirade against the liberals-seculars for their silence on the issue. As the matter stands the truth comes out that those sadhus were travelling to Surat from Kandivli area of Mumbai. It is a period of lockdown and they did not have the permission so they were avoiding the highway travel and going through interior routes. On this route was a village Gadchinale, an Adivasi dominated village where this tragedy took place.

During the lockdown period due to Corona virus the economic and social deprivation of poor people is extreme. Many rumors are floating there. In this village the rumor doing rounds was that a gang of chid lifters is roaming in different guises. Thats what these Sadhus were taken to be. Since the victims were Hindus and culprits are deliberately presumed to be from the other community. One recalls that to trigger the Mumbai violence in 1992-93 the incidence of murder of two Mathadi workers (HIndus) and burning of Bane family (Hindu) in Jogeshwari area of Mumbai, both these were false, these incidents were used as the pretext for the attack on the minorities.

In this case not only BJP leaders, the RSS itself also jumped into fray along with Sadhu Samaj. A vicious atmosphere started building up.

As the incident took place, Palghar case dominated the usual media channels and large sections of social media. The Government of Maharashtra (Shiv Sena+NCP+Congress) stood on the solid ground of truthfulness and arrested nearly 100 culprits, none of them being a Muslim. Interestingly the local body of the village is controlled by BJP and the chief of this body Chitra Chowdhari is a BJP leader. While the Maharashtra Government is standing on the solid ground of the facts of the case, it has also given the warning that those spreading falsehoods will not be spared.

The cruelty of those taking law into their hands is shocking. During the last few years taking law into the hands of the mobs is becoming close to normal. The real reasons are many. One of this being the lack of proper punishment to those who indulge in such dastardly acts. Not only that many of them are in the good books of the ruling establishment and many of them are honored despite their despicable role in such incidents. One recalls that in case of Mohammad Ikhlaq lynching, one of the accused died in the police custoy due to incidentlal disease. Then Union Central Minister Mahesh Sharma landed up to drape his body in tricolor. In another such case of Alimuddin Ansari, when eight of the accused got bail, the Union Minister Jayant Sinha garlanded them. What message it sends down the line?

The other factors contributing to the rise in intensity of violence is the overall social frustration due to life generally becoming more difficult. The rule of BJP has also encouraged intolerance, where people with differing opinions are looked down upon and called anti- Hindu, Anti National etc. Swami Agnivesh who criticised the blind faith, the statements like ‘plastic surgery in ancient India, or divine nature of Barfani Baba in Amarnath was humiliated in public.

The core issue is the dominance of sectarian mindset promoted by the ruling party and its parent organization the RSS. They are waiting to jump at any event which can be given communal color or where the minorities can be demonized. Few news channels, who are playing the role of loud speakers of divisive politics are adding salt to the wounds. The degree of Hate spread in the society has further taken the aid of innumerable social media networks to spread the false hoods down to all the sections of society.

The need for law against lynching needs to be brought in. All those participating in such dastardly violence need to be punished. Before that the whole atmosphere of Hate mongering and feeling that those talking law into their hands can get away with it, needs to be countered strongly. While a prompt police action against such incidents is the need of the hour, those who have made spreading hate as their business need to realize that no country can progress without the feeling of fraternity. Demonizing weaker sections may give them higher TRP, but it is also undermining our path of peace and progress.

Respect for Indian Constitution and rule of law needs to be restored. The fact check mechanisms like AltNews need to be activated much more. And lastly one must applaud the steps taken by the Government of Maharashtra to ensure that justice is done and Hate spreading is checked right in its tracks.

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Beautiful article. We need people like you- the need of the hour.