Karnataka   

‘Protests crucial to protect communal harmony’

Teesta Setalvad

Bangalore: Teesta Setalvad, social activist, who visited St. James Church at Mariyannapalya which was desecrated, saw disheartening scenes of all symbols held sacred by the Christians lying in disarray. The heartening thing, however, was that people were not cowering in fear, but were angry and protesting against the outrageous act.

“This is an indication that if resistance is channelised in the right direction, the designs of those who are out to create communal disharmony will not go unchallenged,” says Ms. Setalvad. This is in contrast to States like Gujarat where “resistance has been almost non-existent” to communalisation of the entire social fabric. Ms. Setalvad earlier visited Mangalore and Orissa.

“Protests are critical to countering this trend which is fast spreading to new areas,” says Ms. Setalvad. She notes that Sangh Parivar’s belligerent attacks on minorities are spreading to places in Karnataka that were not very long ago regarded to have a strong secular fabric. Stressing the need to “turn the tide now”, she adds that “perhaps only the South can do it.”

An alarming trend throughout India, says Ms. Setalvad, is the manner in which the police and other State machinery handle communal situations and how the media laps up what the “authorities” have to say. In case of attacks on Christian institutions in States like Orissa and Karnataka, the media has bought the “diversionary discourse” of the Sangh Parivar on conversions, she points out. While the incidents in Karnataka have at least hit national headlines, those in Orissa where 55 people have died so far has not got the media attention it deserves, feels Ms. Setalvad.

The police, says Ms. Setalvad, have shown a clear bias in “completely covering up” the terror created by extremist Hindu organisations. The leads related to bomb blasts, which led straight to Sangh Parivar organisations, were simply dropped by the police, she alleges.

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