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krishnaprasad-blog · 7 years

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Are Hindus in Karnataka in grave danger?

You can answer that question in many ways.

I had an aunt who read eight newspapers every morning. She would have angrily said, ‘Yaava huchch munde maga heliddu?”

Translation: which SOB is saying this?

But you can answer that question without breaking into expletives like my aunt. One way is to pose a counter question, or a series of counter questions.

Like:

# Is the Earth flat?

# Have 15 lakh rupees been deposited in your bank account by Narendra Modi?

# Is Arnab Goswami the most sober, balanced, non-partisan anchor on TV?

If your answers are, no, no and no, respectively, your answer is most likely to be “No” to the question: “Are Hindus in Karnataka in grave danger?”

No, as in illa, illai, ledhu, nahin, nyet.

Still, to see singers of the sangh gharana chanting a tired old raga about the plight of Hindus in Karnataka makes you wonder if the “Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan” party is lost for ideas as it readies for the assembly elections in the State.

Or, worse, if it has lost its mind.

Or, if there is a more devious gameplan at play.

***

The plight of Hindus at the hands of a pseudo-secular, minority-appeasing Congress is not a new discovery for the BJP. It has drummed this over and over again into impressionable heads for a quarter of a century.

You would expect young and ambitious BJP politicians in Karnataka like Anantkumar Hegde, Naveen Kumar Kateel, Shobha Karandlaje, or even Pratap Simha, all of them MPs, to make a headline-grabbing charge like this in an election season.

After all, they are the designated flame-throwers, the rabble rousers.

All of them are from the coastal belt or the Malnad region, baptised by the fires of “polarisation”, and the embers of “communal mobilisation”.

This is not a new phenomenon in that part of the world. It has gone on for over two decades. Maybe more.

You could even expect the BJP’s old guard like former deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eswarappa to say stuff like that, because even in peace time, they provide no proof that there is any synaptic link between what their brain processes, and their tongue spouts.

But when the BJP as a registered political party, recognised by the Election Commission and sworn to protect the Constitution of India—with a blue tick from Twitter—goes official with some fantastic fear-mongering you are forced to sit up and take notice.

Recently BJP MPs took their “Hindu Lives in Danger” protest to Delhi. They held placards, sat in protest, gave interviews.

Five days ago, the BJP’s official Twitter handle in Karnataka put out this message.

https://twitter.com/BJP4Karnataka/status/970998023210741760

This is a staggering tweet even by the rather low standards of Indian political discoure.

It assumes many things. It assumes that the BJP is the sole protector of Hindus in Karnataka. It talks as if there is fear on the street. It talks as if there has been a bloodbath. It uses some newly learnt words like “annihilation”. And worse, it equates a democratically elected CM of a state, whom it has called “Mulla Siddaramaiah” with “jihad”.

The goalpost, you will notice, has subtly shifted in the hashtags: from “Congress-mukt Bharat” to “#JihadimuktaKarnataka”, to “#HinduvirodhiCongress.

Words like Jihad and jihadi—or “pink revolution” or “Pakistan”—is usually RSS-BJP shorthand for Muslims, a kind of a Morse code.

But if you are a young man or woman in Karnataka, or if you are a middle-aged man or woman, whether you are a Hindu or not, you should ask: WTF?

***

Not surprisingly, many are seeing through the charade. Nitin Pai, a Kannadiga who runs a think tank called Takshashila in Bangalore, tweeted back to the BJP.

It is not just Kannadigas who think this is a joke.

Even non-Kannadigas are seeing through the farce.

Delhi-based journalist Aditya Menon tweeted that if this was the way the BJP was going to address the Karnataka elections, the party didn’t need to create a manifesto.

Raghu Ram, the MTV executive who created Roadies, termed the BJP Karnataka claim as a “hate message”.

This is how clear the BJP’s strategy is to lay citizens. So why is the BJP making such an issue of it?

This is why I thought we need to speak about this, because very soon the TV crews with designated reporters, some of them in war fatigues, will be despatched from Delhi to create the mahol, the atmosphere

And they will try to turn Karnataka into Kannur with live shows.

You can bet the bottom of your bisi bele baath that one of these charlies will soon call Karnataka the “killing fields”, based on the BJP claim.

Any political party with a semblance of self-respect would take that as an insult, but the BJP it seems would like to wear it as a badge of honour.

Why?

***

The key reason, of course, is that keeping the communal pot boiling is a very important ingredient in the BJP recipe for elections.

Especially in communally sensitive pockets, like the west coast, and the Malnad region, where the percentage of Muslims is slightly higher than the state average.

Karnataka has a population of 6.25 crore according to the 2011 census. The state has the second highest Muslim population in South India after Kerala.

Hindus comprise 84%, a little over 5 crores.

Muslims are at 13%, about 80 lakhs.

But in the areas represented by M/s Hegde, Karandalaje, Kateel, the Muslim presence is slightly higher.

It is 74 per cent in Bhatkal.

24% in Dakshina Kannada.

16% in Kodagu.

14% in Uttara Kannada.

Those are precisely the places through which the BJP is taking out a ‘Jan Suraksha Yatra’, and you can imagine the slogans, speeches that must be going out.

Narendra Modi famously, notoriously said “Hum Paanch, hamare pachees” to incite Hindus against Muslims.

Something similar is playing out here, where in response to one of the tweets questioning its “hate message”, the Karnataka BJP talked vacuously of exploding Muslim numbers.

That is also not true.

50 years ago, in 1961, the Census put the Muslim population in Karnataka at nearly 10%. By that yardstick, a 13% presence today in 2018 looks larger.

But compared to the 2001 census, the Muslim population is stable in the state.

Yet, the Karnataka BJP likes to believe that Hindus are in danger because of the population explosion of Muslims.

Really?

***

An equally important reason is that Muslims form the second biggest vote bank in Karnataka after dalits and tribals.

Two out of three Muslims in Karnataka live in urban centres, which means that of the 80 lakh Muslims, about 50 lakh of them live in cities and towns.

One statistic I read showed that Muslims are in a majority in 22 out of Karnataka’s 248 towns, and their population is between 40-50% in another 20 of them. So, in roughly 40 towns, Muslim voters hold the aces.

K. Rehman Khan, the Congress politician, claims that Muslims are the deciding factor in at least 100 out of Karnataka’s 224 constituencies.

And 24 of those are in the three areas represented by Hegde, Kateel and Karandalaje.

So, raising the bogey of “Hindu Lives in Danger” is one way for the BJP to consolidate Hindu voters against a phantom.

***

And they are doing it in a variety of ways. Some conspicuous, some sub-conscious.

So they openly oppose the Congress government’s decision to celebrate Tipu Sultan‘s birthday, Tipu Jayanti.

They take out rallies through communally sensitive areas in towns in the name of Hanuma Jayanti.

They question Shaadi Bhagya, a scheme to provide incentives to poor couples, because shaadi has a Muslim connotation.

They question the “secular” nature of the Constitution, as Anantkumar Hegde did.

Inter-faith couples at bus stops are attacked in the name of love jihad.

They say the West Coast will burn if an RSS leader called Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat is arrested.

All this is mostly confined to the West Coast but its message seeps down to the rest of the state because the media repeats and amplifies it in infinite loop.

The balance of terror is attained.

All this also provides the backdrop to the bigger message, or what they think is their masterstroke, which is the alleged killing of BJP-RSS workers, which is quickly interpreted to imply that “Hindu Lives Are in Danger”.

And that the Congress is party to this.

As Sonia Gandhi herself admitted two days ago, the BJP has managed to convey to the people that the Congress is a Muslim party.

So, the BJP in Karnataka can afford to put out a blatantly communal message like this one.

https://twitter.com/BJP4Karnataka/status/971010237598593024

***

A failed by-election in Kerala should have been a sobering experience for the Hindutva project, where too the BJP made a big song and dance over the killing of RSS workers and turned it into a “Hindu Lives in Danger” story.

The by-election was being held in Vengara.

Arun Jaitley visted the homes of RSS/BJP workers killed but not CPM workers.

The apostle of peace, Yogi Adityanath, lectured Kerala about medical facilities in the state, after hundreds of children had died in Gorakhpur.

Amit Shah took part in a Jan Suraksha yatra before his son Jay Amit Shah‘s troubles beckoned him back to Delhi.

Like in Karnataka, the words “jihad”, “jihadi”, “love jihad” flew around.

In the end, BJP got fewer votes in Vengara than in the previous election in 2016.

In spite of that experience, the BJP is now well set on its course of turning the Karnataka elections into a battle between pro-Hindu and anti-Hindu forces.

In spite of the fact, that a Lokniti survey shows that “one of every two Hindus reports having a Muslim as a close friend compared to one out of three in other states.”

***

The death of BJP-RSS workers in Karnataka, like in Kerala, is therefore being primed to be the cause celebre before the Karnataka elections of 2018.

At a recent rally, BJP president Amit Shah said:

https://twitter.com/BJP4India/status/951137829739900929

The Siddaramaiah government has countered these claims repeatedly.

The state home ministry claims that of the 23 deaths over which BJP claims ownership, only nine died in communal clashes; 13 died due to other reasons.

Dinesh Gundu Rao, the working president of the Congress, tweeted that Hindutva forces themselves caused the deaths of three Hindus and five Muslims.

Yet by repeating it endlessly, and by exaggerating it, the BJP has put an official seal on the “Hindu Lives are in Danger” claim, conflating BJP karyakartas with Hinduism, although 5.13 crore Hindus are going about their lives peacefully, happily.

It calls Siddaramaiah ‘narahantaka‘ (a blood sucker), a word I last heard being used for the forest brigand Veerappan.

https://twitter.com/ShobhaBJP/status/959454864383381504

Of course, she doesn’t talk of the deaths of Gauri Lankesh and M.M. Kalburgi although they were Hindus too,

***

So why is the BJP, whose leaders make a big scene of eating at the homes of Dalits, doing this?

There can be only two reasons for this: ignorance or arrogance.

Ignorance: It has no idea of the South. It does not know that Kannadigas, more than anywhere else in India, do not believe that Hindus are more patriotic than minorities, or that Muslims are mostly violent, as Lokniti survey shows.

Arrogance: It does not care what South Indians think of this thuggish approach to politics, which endangers social peace and harmony built over centuries, as long as it fetches votes and seats.

The third reason could be that the BJP knows in Karnataka, as elsewhere, that it has no chance of gaining Muslim sympathies.

So stereotyping the community, creating a siege mentality, spreading fear among graduates of WhatsApp University is a no-risk gamble.

***

The Congress won a surprisingly large proportion of seats in the west coast in the last elections in 2013 despite a similar ‘atmosphere’. Many analysts think that was an aberration and the BJP may well be on the way to recapturing its hold. So by raking it up in a big way now, it is making sure.

James Manor, the University of London professor, wrote recently:

“Communal polarisation as an electoral strategy lacks promise except on the coast and in minor pockets, and pushing “hard Hindutva” can backfire as it did in the last election, which is why Yeddyurappa is not keen to harp on it.”

Yeddyurappa is said to have warned the rabble rousers to go easy, but the fact that they continue to do so, implies they could be marching to the beat of a different drummer from Delhi—or Nagpur.

Which means Yeddyurappa himself might not be on strong footing although he is the designated CM candidate.

To be fair, when he first became chief minister, in the Vajpayee-Advani era, Yeddyurappa appointed a Muslim MLC as minister. Under Modi and Shah will the BJP even give a ticket to a Muslim? They did not in UP or Gujarat.

11 Muslims were elected MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly in 2013. How many will make it this time will tell us how much the BJP’s “Hindu Lives in Danger” campaign has succeeded.

As James Manor wrote recently: “In Karnataka and beyond, the BJP’s reliance on communal spite runs great risks.”

Q: Are Hindus in danger in Karnataka? A: Is Arnab Goswami the most balanced anchor on TV? Are Hindus in Karnataka in grave danger? You can answer that question in many ways. I had an aunt who read eight newspapers every morning.

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justwravel-blog · 7 years

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Road trip from Kochi under Rs. 5000 by car When life gives you lemons why not make its lemonade and chill on a road trip? Keep reading on to know the best places around Kochi which you can approach to escape all that daily traffic and pollution. Here’s a state-wise list of some of the off-beat places that you can visit to treat yourself with some relaxing and soothing experience. Kerala

Ernakulam:

Ernakulam district is 10 km away from Kochi. The places of interest include Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary, Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Rajeev Gandhi Indoor stadium, Durbar hall ground, Vivekanand statue and Marine drive in Kochi. It also has a large amount of places of worship for every religion, be it Hindu or Muslim or Christian.

Kozhikode:

Kozhikode or Calicut is situated on the Malabar Coast, 184 km from Kochi. Koazhikode possesses a tropical climate. Winters are seldom cold. The Malabar Mahotsava is the annual cultural festival of Kozhikode. Places of tourist attraction are Kozhikode Beach, Mananchira Pond, Sarovaram Bio-park, Tali Shiva Temple, Kuttichira Mosque, Kappad Beach, Beypore Sea Bridge, Kirtads Museum and Thusharagiri Falls. The famous markets in Kozhikode are, Valiyangadi Market and Sweet Meat Street.

Munnar:

Munnar is a hill station in the Western Ghats, 131 km far from Kochi. Eravikulam National Park in Munnar is home to the endangered mountain goat Nilgiri Tahr. It also houses the Lakkam waterfalls, hiking trails and 2,695 m tall Annamudi Peak. Other places of interest are Mattupetty dam, Tea Museum, Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, Devikulam, Hydel Park and Pothamedu View Point.

Kovalam:

The coastal town of Kovalam is at a distance of 212 km from Kochi. The must visit attractions in Kovalam are Kovalam beach, Grove beach and Grow Beach. The palm black beaches of Kovalam include the Hawa beach and Samudra beach. The lighthouse beach houses a stripped lighthouse with a viewing platform. The Sangarika Marine Research Aquarium displays the technology used in Pearl Production. Apart from that one can also visit Vizhinjam Juma Masjid mosque and Halcyon Castle.

Kannur:

Kannur, also known by its Anglicised name Cannanore, is located 276 km away from Kochi. It is also known as “The land of Looms and Lores” because of the weaving industry and the folk arts held in the temples. Apart from that it is also known for its flawless beaches and it native dance form Theyyam. The tourist spots in Kannur are St. Angelo fort, Payyambalam beach and its neighbouring Baby beach, Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach, V-Pra Kaayal Floating park, Arakkal Museum, Meenkunnu Beach, Choottad beach, Paithalmala. The Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary offers exciting rain forest treks, and is also a great place to experience a view of rare and diverse wildlife creatures like sloth bears, mouse deers, elephants etc. Tamil Nadu

Mudumalai:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="593"] Mudumalai tiger sanctuary[/caption] Housing the very famous Mudumalai National park, this city is located 248 km away from Kochi. It has been declared as a tiger reserve by the Tamil Nadu government. It is located in the Nilgiri district, on the Northwestern side of the Nilgiri hills. The various sites to visit in Mudumalai are Pyakara lake and waterfall, Kamaraj sagar dam, Theppakadu Elephant Camp, Needle rock view point, Wenlock Downs, Muthanga forest and Seetha devi temple.

Coonoor:

Known for its Nilgiri tea, Coonoor is the second largest hill station in the Nilgiri hills after Ooty. It is an ideal destination for trekkers to find their way into the Niligiri. The Sim’s park is a huge botanical garden, which is partly developed in Japanese style and is known for its annual fruit and vegetable show. The route from Lady Canning’s seat to Dolphin’s nose is a heavenly route for trekkers. Other places to visit are Lamb’s rock, Doorg fort and Catherine falls. Coonoor is located at a distance of 283 km from Kochi.

Ooty:

Ooty also known as Ootacamund is a very popular and glorious hill station in the Nilgiri District. There are many places of interest such as the Government rose garden, Ooty botanical garden, Boat house, Stone house, St. Stephen’s church, Ooty Lake and many more lakes. One should not at all miss the experience of a ride in the Nilgiri mountain railway. Missing it is something you would regret later. The splendid city of Ooty is located 300 km away from Kochi.

Kodaikanal:

Kodaikanal translated as ‘The gift of the forest’ is located at a distance of 312 km from Kochi. There are abundant amount of Christian churches in Kodaikanal as it was founded by the American and European missionaries. The places of interest in Kodaikanal include, the Kodaikanal lake, Bryant park, Coaker’s walk, Bear Shola falls, Green valley view, Pine forests, Kodaikanal Solar Observatory, Pillar rocks, Guna caves, Silver cascade and Berijam lake to name a few.

Tuticorin:

Tuticorin also known as Thoothukudi is a Port city situated 317 km away from Kochi. It is known as ‘Pearl city’ due to the pearl fishing carried out in this town. A major attraction here is the Our Lady of Snows Basilica. Our Lady of Snows Basilica and the Shiva temple festivals are the main festivals of tourist attraction. Muthu Nagar New Beach, Roche Park, Harbour Beach park, Nehru Park, Rajaji Park and Pearl City Beach are the primary tourist attractions of the city. There are numerous islands located close to the city namely Hare Island and Nalla Thanni Island which attracts lot of visitors during weekends and festival seasons. Karnataka

Madikeri:

Madikeri, also known as, Mercara is a hill station town in Karnataka. The Madikeri fort, located in the very heart of the city, is a must visit tourist destination. It was originally build by mud and was later replaced by Tipu Sultan. Other places to visit in Madikeri are Raja seat, St. Mark’s Church, Omkareshwara Temple and Abbey falls. Madikeri is located at a distance of 364 km from Kochi. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="616"] Madikeri falls[/caption]

Mysore:

Mysore is located at the foothills of Chamundi hills about 396 km from Kochi. It is noted for its heritage structures and Palaces including the Mysore Palace. It is known as the “Cultural Capital of India” and is famous for its Dasara festival celebrations. This 10 day festival attracts a lot of tourists every year. Other places to visit in Mysore are The Jaganmohana Palace, The Sand Sculpture Museum, The Jayalakshmi Vilas, The Lalitha Mahal, Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the Chamundi Hills, and St. Philomena's Church.

Udupi:

Udupi, also known as the temple city is 475 km away from Kochi. It is popular for its Krishna temple and Tulu Ashthamathas. Kaup beach, located on the shores of Udupi is a very wonderful destination to visit. Udupi is also famous for its renowned Udupi cuisine. Manipal is also a tourist locality within Udupi. There are various festivals celeberated in Udupi which attracts a large number of crowds every year. They are, Makara Sankranti, Ratha Sapthami, Madhwa Navami, Madhwa Jayanti, Vijaya Dashami, Hanuma Jayanthi, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Navaratri Mahotsava, Naraka Chathurdashi, Deepavali, Geetha Jayanthi, Daasara aradhanas, etc.

Bengaluru:

Located at a distance of 550 km from Kochi, Bengaluru is the centre of India’s High-tech Industry. It is also referred to as ‘Silicon valley of India’. The places of tourist attraction in Bangalore are, Bangalore Palace, Tipu Sultan summer Palace, Lal Baugh, Cubbon Park, Attara Kacheri, Government Museum, Mayo hall, HAL aerospace museum, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetorium, Legends, motorcycle museum, Thottikallu falls, Nandi hills, Bannerghatta National Park, Butterfly park, Lumbini gardens, Innovative Film city and many more exciting places.

Chikmagalur:

Chikmagalur attracts its tourists by its scenic beauty and coffee estates. The places worth visiting in Chikmagalur are Baba Budan Giri Hills or B.B. Hills, Mullayangiri, Bhadra wildlife Sanctuary, Coffee Museum, Café Coffee day Headquaters, Hebbe falls, Kudremukh national park. The scenic beauty of Chikmagalur is sure to win your heart. It is at a distance of 581 km from Kochi. Andhra Pradesh:

Chittoor:

Chittoor district lies in the Poini river valley of southernmost Andhra Pradesh, 610 km away from Kochi. It is a major market for mangoes, grains, sugarcane and peanuts. There are major temples in Chittoor like Tirupati, Kanipakam and Sri kalahasti temples. The Chandragiri fort is a notable landmark near Chittoor. Horsley hills are a favourite spot for hikers and adventure lovers.

Tirupati:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="694"] Tirupati balaji temple[/caption] Tirupati is a city in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It is 686 km from Kochi. Tirupati is considered one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites because of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The Shilathoranam, a natural arch is located in the Thirumala hills about 1 km from the Tirumala Venkateswara temple. Other places to visit are Shri Venkateswara National park, Shri Venkateshwara Zoological Park and the regional Science centre. Tirupati is world famous for its Titupati laddu which is exclusively available as the ‘Prasaddam’ at the Tirumala temple. For more information you can also visit https://www.justwravel.com/locations/road-trips-from-Kochi-under-rs-5000-by-car and plan your perfect vacation with us.

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