Congress Government Begins To Restore Communal Balance in Karnataka

The newly-installed Congress government in Karnataka has begun the process of restoring the communal balance in the State that was upset by the previous Basavaraj Bommai led government.

Communalism, marked by shrill anti-Muslim and anti-Christian rhetoric (along with corruption) was the order of the day during Basavaraj Bommai rule for four years. That government enacted the Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020 targeting Muslims and Christians in the beef trade.

The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022 made religious conversion a criminal act. Hijabs were banned in classrooms. The 4% reservation for Muslim Backward castes was scrapped. The anti-halal movement was launched as “a war against economic Jihad” while romantic relations between Muslim men and Hindu women was condemned as “Love Jihad” punishable by vigilante violence.

`the BJP did not put up a single Muslim or Christian candidate in the May elections. Its campaign was also overtly communal. In January, a Dakshina Kannada MP and Karnataka BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel asked people to “prioritise “larger issues” such as Love Jihad over “minor issues” such as roads, infrastructure and development. Kateel’s statement went viral on social media.

Coastal Karnataka, comprising Uttara and Dakshina Kannada districts, was turned into a hotbed of violent communalism, marked by murders of activists of Hindu and Muslim communal organisations. Between 2015 and 2017, there was a series of murders of young men working for Hindu and Muslim organisations.

In 2017 the highly publicised murders of the (Muslim) Social Democratic Party of India worker Ashraf Kalayi and the RSS worker Sharath Madiwala took place. These killings were exploited by the erstwhile ruling party in the elections. The BJP’s Jana Suraksha Yatre held a massive rally in Mangalore.

In July 2022 a Muslim youth was killed in Sullia (Dakshina Kannada). In retaliation Praveen Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, was killed on July 27. On July 28, one Mohammad Fazil was stabbed in Surathkal. These murders affected the voting pattern of voting in the May 2023 polls in coastal Karnataka.

With communal tension heightening, Hindu militant organisations like the Sri Rama Sene began to grab headlines with their actions. The Sri Rama Sena, a puritanical Hindu outfit, disturbed Valentine’s Day celebrations condemning them as an undesirable and morally corrupting un-Hindu practice.

According to ‘The Hindu’, communalism has not had a consistent all-Karnataka appeal. Its hotbed has basically been the coastal Karnataka districts of Uttara and Dakshina Karnataka.

The appeal of Hindu communalism and the better performance of the BJP in Coastal Karnataka have been due to the area’s historical links with nationalistic Hindu organisations like the Arya Samaj and the Brahmo Samaj from the 1880s onwards. By the late 1920s and early 1930s, RSS shakhas had come up in this area, the paper stated.

The appeal of Hindu nationalism there was also due to the conspicuous presence of Catholics and Muslims in Coastal Karnataka. Muslims have been a particular irritant because they were a successful business community with links to the Gulf countries and also the Moplah Muslims of Kerala, another prosperous trading community.

While the BJP’s dominance in Coastal Karnataka could be attributed to a pre-existing communal divide in the social and economic sphere, its weak position in the rest of Karnataka, as seen in the just concluded elections, could be attributed to the absence of suitable objective conditions. Congress Chief Minister Siddharamaiah put this succinctly in his interview to Frontline.

Speaking of Karnataka as a whole he said: “Karnataka is known as Sarva Janaangada Shantiya Thota (a garden of communal peace) and in the true sense, we are a party that practises the philosophy of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas [With all, development for all).

“If you notice the profile of Congress MLAs, you will see that the Congress is the only party that provides representation to all castes and communities. This is not appeasement but social justice as everyone must get political representation.”

Siddharamaiah has implemented the “garden of communal peace” concept in cabinet formation. In contrast to the Bommai cabinet, which had no Muslims or Christians, the Siddharamaiah Cabinet had four ministers from religious minorities, including two Muslims, one Christian and one Jain. And for the first time, a Muslim, U. T. Khader, has been made Speaker.

Known for his cross-caste and cross-religious appeal, Siddharamaiah has ensured a fair representation of all castes and communities in his cabinet. There are eight Lingayats, four Vokkaligas, five Scheduled castes and 3 Scheduled Tribes in his 34-member cabinet. However, a noticeable lacuna is the fact that there is only one woman in it, though women had overwhelmingly voted for the Congress.

Asked if he planned to repeal the communal laws, Siddharamaiah said: “We will reverse all anti-people decisions taken by the BJP government. We have already announced that we will rescind the anti-cow slaughter law.

“The hijab issue is now in the Supreme Court, but our position on that is clear and we will consult our legal team before we take the next step. We had also opposed the anti-conversion law and we will take steps to withdraw this legislation.”

Siddharamiah further said that the 4% reservation for Muslims was scrapped without any study by the Backward Classes Commission. “Legally, this is not tenable, and we will take steps to withdraw that order,” he added.

Since a caste census is a must for ensuring social justice, the Congress Chief Minister said: “The caste census was incomplete in my term and was submitted during the term of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular)] coalition government.

“We will take steps to table the findings of the caste census in the Assembly, and this empirical data will help my government in formulating a scientific reservation policy in Karnataka. It was not merely a caste census but a survey that scientifically records the educational and social information of Karnataka’s population. Taking this survey as a first step, we will work towards enhancing reservation in the State.”