FEAR IS THE KEYOver 300 cases

of vigilanteattacks have

been reportedfrom

Mangalore andother coastaltowns in the

last three years.The usual

suspects areyou-know-

who, and as M Raghuram

writes, politicaldesigns lie at

the root ofthese activities

his happened in February 2009.Fivestudents of a local flight attendantcourse were on a trip to Puttur tosurvey the potential of taluk leveltowns in the local, national and in-ternational routes of airlines flyingfrom Mangalore airport.

The day was hot, and once theyarrived at Puttur close to noon, theydecided to cool it off at an ice creamparlour in the heart of the town. Asthey settled down and placed the or-ders, two of the youngsters — a man,Jose and a woman, Mridula — brokeinto their usual banter.

When the orders arrived, the at-tendant brusquely asked the groupto rush it up and scoot. Initially, theythought the parlour probably want-ed to accommodate more cus-tomers. But when they lookedaround and found most tables stillunoccupied, they sought more time.

Before they could argue it out, agroup of 10 men barged in. Theydragged four of the youngsters out,and beat up the fifth black and blue.“They mistook me to be a Muslimsince I had a goatee. Jose and Mridu-la tried to escape, but were caughtand pushed on to the dusty road.They even told us why we were be-ing beaten up. They wanted to knowhow I had dared to escort a Hindugirl. But when I said that my namewas Santhosh and that we were onan academic tour, they pushed usinto the corner of a shop and disap-peared,” recollects the fifth.

Three years later, Santhosh has asecure job with a ticketing compa-ny in Bangalore. But he hasn’t for-gotten the horror, and is yet to un-derstand why he and his friendswere assaulted.

The unwarranted, surprise attackon Santhosh and his friends was notan isolated incident. Over 300 casesof vigilantism have been reported inMangalore and surrounding areasover the last three years. Boys andgirls have been attacked in coffeeshops, ice cream parlours, pubs, dis-cotheques, college campuses, andeven on the streets. Vigilantes haveeven beaten up brothers and sistersmistaking them for lovers belongingto different faiths. Cases have beenfiled against attackers, and many ofthem dismissed as ‘small disputes’.

Every time a vigilante attack is re-ported, the names of Bajrang Dal,Hindu Jagarana Vedike, Sri RamaSene, and other Hindu fringe groupsinevitably crop up. It is true that inmost of the incidents, these organi-sations were involved. Yet, therehave been unreported cases whererowdy elements took over and un-leashed terror in the name of vigi-lante groups.

It is not just vigilantism of thefaith kind, but of the ideology kindtoo. Vigilantes in their recent avatarhave started objecting to womenvisiting shops and establishmentsrun by other faiths. Just a few daysback over 30 Bajrang Dal men ac-companied by the all-female vigi-lante group Durga Vahini surround-ed a Roxx premium ice cream par-

lour and objected to the owners al-lowing women to smoke and freelymove around with men inside theestablishment.

Though they did not attack orphysically handle the men andwomen, the police were urged toevict the youngsters. The policecould not find a case, and the lotwere allowed to go free.

For Prasanna Ravi, an activist ofthe vigilante Jagruta Mahila Vedike,it is all about moral corruption be-ing perpetrated on the youth by out-siders. “The law enforcing machin-ery should act either on their ownor by stimulation from groups likeours. Our social values are beingeroded due to the lax upbringing ofyoungsters by liberal parents. Theygive money to their children gener-ously after paying their fees, takingcare of their food and transporta-tion; and their entertainment part istaken care of with this pocket mon-ey. Our city has many educational

institutions that have students fromall over the country and even abroad.These students have enough moneyto spend on entertainment as theywish. This freewheeling spendingis emulated by our local youngsters.”Moral policing, in other words.

Liberal thinkers do not acceptsuch arguments. They believe vigi-lantism is nothing but a political de-sign that the Sangh Parivar has beenweaving around society to make theHindu political movement stronger.Argues Patrick D’Sa, state presidentof the People’s Union for Civil Lib-erties (PUCL) , “Their argument isweak, and their ideology misplaced.In Mangalore it had also fallen intowrong hands. Most vigilantes haveprior police records, many are dis-gruntled elements. They work onshort-term ends, and I am sure theyare deriving their sustenance fromtheir political masters. It is a sinisterdesign — that is what it is.”

Former judge MF Saldanha, who

has been a keen watcher of devel-opments in the region and vehe-ment in his arguments on thegrowth of vigilantism in the coastalareas, argues, “We do not know howfar this is going to damage our socialfabric. It is the emergence of new ex-tra-constitutional forces that willsubjugate constitutional forces andtake over the system.”

Saldanha goes on to make a point,“Let us not forget the Khap declara-tions up North. Something like thatwill one day happen in our ownbackyard too, and there will be noconstitutional force to protect ourrights. All these pseudo-nationalis-tic drives and campaigns are noth-ing but attempts to cartelise theyouth in the garb of nationalism.This is what happened in Nazi Ger-many under the Third Reich, and inNew York during the Great Depres-sion.” Ominous portents.

The result is palpable fear, espe-cially among parents. Prakash

Nayak, father of a victim of the infa-mous pub attack of 2009, says, “Inthis struggle (between liberals andhardliners), we fear a lot for the safe-ty of our youngsters. Vigilantismlures those who are less motivatedor could not achieve anything. Manyof them are school dropouts. How isit that they come and teach moralsto our children who are in profes-sional or postgraduation courses?”

Liberal thinkers also raise thequestion of vigilante groups usingnationalism as a façade. SanthoshMenezes recollects an incident ofbullying. “I was travelling from Nan-toor to Mahaveera circle the otherday when I noticed a few saffron-clad youngsters collecting donationsup ahead. When my turn came, theylooked at my car and demanded‘500. When asked why, one irateyoungster said it was towards mem-bership of a vigilante group. Heflashed me his membership card.The membership of course camewith fringe benefits like a ‘hafta’ inthe form of free lunch at eateriesmanaged by owners of minoritycommunities.”

Once Menezes emerged from theblockade, after having refused to payup, some of the youths followed himon motorcycles, abusing and threat-ening him all the way.

Official records beg a different sto-ry. Only 120 vigilantes are said to be“active” in Mangalore. They aresome more in Puttur, Buntwal,Udupi and Kundapur. If police fig-ures are to be believed, only 120-oddpeople are holding a five lakh pop-ulation hostage. Police sources saysthere are only 65 persons who arestill left in vigilante activities inMangalore. Many of them go out offield once they cross the age of 30,says a former vigilante Praveen.

Something is amiss here, needlessto say. But what is not, is the fear fac-tor. It is all-pervading.

m_raghuram@dnaindia.net

T

Vigilantism can be of two types:political and social, Usually, theformer type comes into light onlywhen there are electionsapproaching. The vigilante groupstake up ‘stirring the sentiments’ ofvoters of a particular religion orfaith, trying to give an impressionthat there are groups to take care ofthem from the ‘oppression ofminorities’. This is false, since nominority can oppress majoritycommunities. This is a convenient liethat political parties, which nourishvigilantism in society, hide behind intimes of elections.

The second vigilantism is of thesociological type. Here also manyfalsities are perpetrated, such ascertain groups of people trying tocorrupt young people of a majority

community,. In case of the Roxx icecream parlour incident, though thegroups brought the police to thespot, the police themselves had nobusiness to take the girls to thepolice station when they knew thatthere was no case against them. Infact, in this case the vigilante groupshad done more damage to the girlsand their image than anything else.

The voice of dissent againstvigilantism of any kind has dieddown to a whisper. A city and districtthat boasts of 100 per cent literacyshould do more than just whisperabout such atrocities. What is stillworse is the role played by the policeduring such incidents. Their actionsstate that they are being tutored by‘some forces’ to go soft onvigilantism in Mangalore.

IN THE WORDS OF PROF MARILYN MARTIS,SOCIOLOGIST AND FEMINIST...

Protesters battle withthe police in Mangalore.They were protestingattacks on churches andprayer halls by BajrangDal activists onSeptember 15, 2008.

—DNA

(From left to right) SriRam Sene membersassaulting guests at apub in Mangalore. Thevigilantes claimed theywere “protecting Indianvalues”; a church inMangalore that wasvandalised; collegestudents protestingagainst the Mangalorepub attack —DNA

Policemen cane activists protesting against vigilante attacks —DNA

4 BANGALORE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013

epaper.dnaindia.coml www.dnaindia.com l facebook.com/dnaindia

l twitter.com/dna l dnaindia.com/mobileDEEP FOCUS

All these pseudo-nationalisticcampaigns are

nothing but attemptsto cartelise the youthin the garb ofnationalism—MF Saldanha, former judge and

observer of coastal politics

NO LET-UPJanuary 24, 2009: Sri RamSene vigilantes attack Amnesiapub in Balmatta, beating up girls.This attack was the first oneamong numerous which madeinternational headlines.

February 6, 2009: Students ofa flight attendant course inMangalore attacked in Puttur.

April 28, 2012: Mangalorecollege bans burqa for Muslimgirls, but later retracts order andimposes uniform. First attempt inMangalore to ban all religiousdresses in campus.

July 29, 2012: 50 members ofHindu Jagarana Vedike attack ahomestay in Mangalore calledMorning Mist; molest youngwomen, beat up men, anddamage property.

January 30, 2013: Bajrang Daland its women’s wing DurgaVahini bring police to Roxx icecream parlour and music loungealleging young women there werebeing induced into drugs and sex.