By Sanjana K. Sitaraman
Karnataka has been in the news in the past week for a sporadic ‘communal clash’ in Mandya district’s Maddur. The violence broke out after a few ‘miscreants’ threw stones at a Ganesh visarjan procession in Ram Rahim locality as it was passing by a local mosque on September 7 (Sunday).
The youth in the procession retaliated and the situation spiralled into a ‘communal confrontation’ compelling the police to step in.
Hindu activists and BJP workers quickly gathered at the site and were seen sporting saffron shawls and flags shortly after word of the clashes spread. The next day, a march was taken out from Ugra Narasimha Swamy Temple on Hale Pete Beedhi towards a government guest house.
The demonstration was spearheaded by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president Dr Indresh and leaders of other Hindu activist organisations. According to a report, the protesters lit camphor and set tyres on fire on reaching the main mosque near Kemmannu Nale Circle.
Former BJP MP Pratap Simha alleged that weapons and stones were stored inside the mosque and claimed that it was a ‘pre-planned’ attack on Hindus. BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra alleged that since the Congress came to power in Karnataka, Hindus had been repeatedly insulted and Hindu sentiments hurt.
Ashok, the leader of the opposition, provocatively asked “Is this a state in India or has it become a mini-Pakistan?”. Janata Dal (Secular) MP H.D. Kumaraswamy held the ‘poor governance’ by the government as the reason for the stone-pelting and for leaving the Hindu community ‘dissatisfied’.
The Hindu activists have called for a bandh along with the closure of the mosque in the area and immersion of Ganesha idols on Wednesday to boost the morale of the Hindu community in the region.
Previous episodes of violence in Mandya
A similar incident occurred last year during a Ganesh Chaturthi procession in Nagamangala in Mandya district. The procession stopped for a long time near a local mosque, prompting a heated argument between members of the two communities. But what made matters worse was the pelting of stones at the procession, which iggered further violence, including setting ablaze shops owned by both Hindus and Muslims in the area.
In January this year, another controversy erupted when officials removed a Lord Hanuman flag from a flagpole in Keragodu village in Mandya, replacing it with the Indian national flag. The Gram Panchayat had permitted only the national and Kannada flags to be hoisted but Hindutva activists insisted that the state government was ‘anti-Hindu’. In response to the rising communal tensions, the police imposed Section 144.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
