Editorial
Now, in Karnataka
Why can’t the BJP govt tame Bajrang Dal?
THE embers of the communal fire that singed Orissa are yet to die down but another bushfire has been started in Karnataka by suspected Bajrang Dal activists who systematically targeted Christians on Sunday. They vandalised several prayers halls and houses of Christians in Dakshina Kannada, Udipi and Chikmaglur districts. Bajrang Dal state chief Mahendra Kumar has claimed that it is the “common people” who attacked prayer halls as they were incensed by the “picturisation of Hindu gods in bad taste” and the Bajrang Dal activists only supported them. The fact of the matter is that it was a Bajrang Dal show all the way, organised ostensibly in protest against religious conversions. It was the government’s responsibility to rein them in but it allowed them a free run for several hours. The longer the madness continues, the more it will harm the social fabric and secular image of the country.
By going on the rampage, these unguided missiles are harming the interests of the nation. The whole country has to suffer because of them. India is yet to recover from the shocks of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the Gujarat riots in 2002. The agitation they launched recently in Jammu on the issue of land for the Amarnath yatra also helped in giving a new lease of life to the separatists in the Kashmir Valley who were in disarray until then.
The government has failed miserably in standing up to the terrorists. It should at least prove equal to the challenge posed by these handful of renegades. Any laxity in putting them in their place will only encourage them to try their dirty tricks elsewhere. That is one possibility which India cannot afford at this crucial juncture - or at any time for that mattter. Even the common citizens should send a clear-cut message that enough is enough. Bajrang Dal activists cannot appropriate the position of protectors of Hindu interests like this. Hinduism has survived in this country for millennia and it is today one of the most flourishing religions of the world. This has not been accomplished by torching churches and demolishing mosques. Such activities only strengthen the terrorists who exploit the people’s sense of victimhood.
