[Reader-list] Cracking down on ‘violations of moral code’ in Dakshina Kannada

Aarti Sethi aarti.sethi at gmail.com
Wed Sep 10 13:29:35 IST 2008


Dear Pawan,

While you might exist in an Orwellian universe in which critique means
justify, the rest of us do not. Shuddha is CRITIQUING the Dikhtar-e-Millat
not justifying it. What is wrong with you bhai? Do you not even have the
limited set of cognitive skills it requires to understand the syntaxical
logic of a sentence?

Thanks for posting this Rohan. Its shocking and sobering and saddeningly
unsuprising. And how expectedly is the response of the police officer. The
paternalistic authority of the state meets the paternalisms of community.

And radhika raises some important issues. I actually think there might be
something to draw hope from here, namely, that visible cracks in community
and parental authority are always good. Hindi films are an excellent
indication of the current fantasies that impell a generation. And the last
15 years have seen a nauseating cementing of the hindu undivided family on
screen. Repression produces its own seepages, and is tripped up in its own
logic.

in miscegenation lies democracy and freedom:)!

best
Aarti








On 9/10/08, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Using an article to somewhat justify Dukhtar - E- Millet.....
> Ignored !
>
> On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 3:11 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net
> >wrote:
>
> > Dear Rohan,
> >
> > Many thanks for your post. It is no secret that the reactionaries of
> > different denominations should see ground for natural alliances on
> > limited issues. Self declared Christian fundamentalist outfits have
> > actually often in the forefront of seeking bans on films and books in
> > India, just as Muslim fundamentalists have been, and they tactfully
> > decline to comment on Hindu fundamentalists when they do the same.
> > There is a 'coalition of hurt sentiments' and 'prudery' that far
> > outweighs the otherwise vitiated relationships between them. This is
> > what causes the Islamist  'Dukhtaran-e-Millat' in Kashmir to
> > occasionally mirror the rhetoric of their 'Durga Vahini' sisters in
> > India.
> >
> > Incidentally, the disruption of the Graduation exhibition at the
> > Faculty of Fine Arts at MS University Baroda, which was commented on
> > this list, involved the active participation individuals aligned with
> > the VHP and the Bajrang Dal in Gujarat as well as a Christian
> > Pentecostalist Minister by the name of Immanuel Kant.
> >
> > regards
> >
> > Shuddha
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 08-Sep-08, at 12:37 PM, Rohan DSouza wrote:
> >
> > > Dear All,
> > >
> > > This particular article on the front page of yesterday's Bangalore
> > > edition
> > > of the Hindu, caught my attention. This was for various reasons,
> > > the main
> > > one being of complete disgust in the way in which people from
> > > different
> > > communities are being forced not to interact with each other in the
> > > Dakshina
> > > Kannada district of Karnataka.
> > >
> > > When reading the report carefully, one also notices with some
> > > intrigue, two
> > > of the bed fellows of this moral brigade, ie, the right wing militant
> > > Bajrang Dal and Social Action Committee, a Christian organisation.
> > > While the
> > > Bajrang Dal is known to specifically target members of the Christian
> > > community in other parts of India, (the recent attacks in Orissa
> > > come to
> > > mind), in the instances mentioned here there is an actual coming
> > > together of
> > > interests and corresponding action, of these organisations claiming to
> > > represent the two communities.
> > >
> > > While I subscribe to the fact that the Bajrang Dal and the Social
> > > Action
> > > Committee cannot be seen as sole representatives of Hindu and
> > > Christian
> > > interests, it will still be worth looking at the social situation
> > > in this
> > > region, which could tolerate something like this. The  Mangalorean
> > > Christian
> > > (Roman Catholic) community have been supporters of the Sangh
> > > organisations,
> > > especially the BJP. This seems to stem from the notion of their
> > > Brahmanical
> > > past (pre-conversion by the Portugese) as well as present, within the
> > > Christian community set up. Casteist (Hindu & Chrisitian in this case)
> > > feelings and bonds based on this seem to have superceded
> > > differences of
> > > religion here! Incidentally, similar notions of Brahmanical
> > > ancestry and
> > > superiority can also observed among the Syrian Christian community in
> > > neighbouring Kerala.
> > >
> > > The coming together of the Hindu and the Chrisitian community, as
> > > far as
> > > aggressively expressing their political, social and moral
> > > preferences in
> > > this region, have ensured members of both communities dont interact
> > > with
> > > Muslims. This seeems to be designed to polarise and communalise the
> > > region
> > > (the Gujarat model, that CM Yediyurappa fawns over, in action?).
> > >
> > > The members (ex?) of the Islamic organisation, Karnataka Forum for
> > > Dignity,
> > > also seem to be playing along with this polarisation. The result of
> > > which
> > > will probably be a splintered social situation, with the Hindus and
> > > Christians on one side of the divide and the Muslims on the other.
> > > This has
> > > earlier led to riots in this region and one can surely expect more.
> > >
> > > Taking advantaged of sentiments, emotions, based on actions,
> > > reactions and
> > > counter actions, seems to be the modus operandi of the three
> > > organisations
> > > mentioned in the article.
> > >
> > > Being distant as well as close, geographically and genetically, to
> > > Dakshina
> > > Kannada, has made me want to comment on this. However, this may be an
> > > incomplete reading of the situation. Therefore would welcome comments,
> > > thoughts on this.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Rohan
> > >
> > > http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/07/stories/2008090750160100.htm
> > >
> > > *Cracking down on 'violations of moral code' in Dakshina Kannada *
> > > Sudipto
> > > Mondal * In most cases, young men and women have been targeted *  —
> > > file
> > > Photo: K.R. Deepak
> > >
> > > * Watched: Young people such as these have become victims of the
> > > vigorously
> > > enforced 'moral code' in Dakshina Kannada. *
> > >
> > > MANGALORE: Self-appointed vigilante groups are cracking down on those
> > > "violating the moral code" in Dakshina Kannada district. Records
> > > with the
> > > district police that *The Hindu *had access to show that since the
> > > third
> > > week of July there have been 10 instances of these groups punishing
> > > individuals whom they perceived as having violated the moral code.
> > >
> > > Hindutva organisations such as the Bajrang Dal, a Christian
> > > organisation
> > > Social Action Committee, as well as certain individuals who were
> > > formerly
> > > with the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), have been involved in
> > > these
> > > incidents.
> > >
> > > In most of the incidents the groups have targeted young men and
> > > women from
> > > different communities who were interacting with each other. In one
> > > case, a
> > > young woman was attacked because she went to the house of a young
> > > woman from
> > > a different community.
> > >
> > > The Bajrang Dal has claimed responsibility for seven of these
> > > incidents. *,
> > > *The district head of the organisation, Sudarshan Moodabidri,
> > > claimed that
> > > the outfit had "solved" over 200 cases in the last two months where
> > > Hindus
> > > were "caught" committing the "immoral" act of interacting with
> > > members of
> > > other communities.
> > >
> > > Mr. Moodabidri said, "Sometimes it becomes necessary to use force.
> > > Fear of
> > > such action should deter such misadventures. Girls reform
> > > themselves once
> > > they are thrashed and humiliated in public, but boys are tougher to
> > > control."
> > >
> > > The Social Action Committee carried out a "joint operation" with
> > > Bajrang Dal
> > > activists in the city in one instance. "We will carry out more such
> > > strikes," its president Deepak D'Mello told *The Hindu*.
> > >
> > > Former activists of the KFD have been linked to two such cases. The
> > > organisation's president Abdul Aziz said that the acts were
> > > committed by
> > > delinquent members and distanced KFD from the issue. He confirmed
> > > that the
> > > organisation was against inter-community relationships but was
> > > averse to
> > > using force.
> > >
> > > The latest incident occurred on September 2 at Vittla in Bantwal
> > > taluk where
> > > activists of the Bajrang Dal assaulted a couple, Roopashree and Vikhar
> > > Ahmed, and paraded them in public. The same afternoon, over 60 km
> > > away in
> > > Puttur taluk, Bajrang Dal activists stormed the house of Ayesha as her
> > > friend Divya was visiting her.
> > >
> > > On September 1, Sugandhi and her three friends, Raghav, Anil and
> > > Rasheed,
> > > were assaulted by Bajrang Dal activists when they were at a hotel
> > > in the
> > > heart of Mangalore city. On August 24, Deepa and her fiancé Abdul
> > > Waheed
> > > were dragged out of a bus at a junction in the city and assaulted
> > > by Bajrang
> > > Dal activists.
> > >
> > > On the afternoon of August 23, Bajrang Dal activists assaulted and
> > > abused
> > > classmates Julia, Robert, Waheed, Abdul and Sunil because they were
> > > found
> > > laughing and talking loudly in a public place.
> > >
> > > On August 22, activists of the Bajrang Dal and the Social Action
> > > Committee
> > > carried out the "joint operation" against Mohammed and his classmate
> > > Catherine. On August 18, activists claiming to be from the KFD
> > > assaulted
> > > Dinesh and his friend Afshan at a remote village 25 km from the
> > > city. They
> > > were assaulted because Dinesh had brought medicines for Afshan who was
> > > suffering from malaria.
> > >
> > > On August 8, activists of the Bajrang Dal assaulted Syed, Zulfikar
> > > and Ameen
> > > with soda bottles and hooks in a bus in the heart of the city
> > > because they
> > > had carried school bags belonging to a group of Hindu girls.
> > >
> > > On July 27, activists claiming to be from the KFD attacked Govind, an
> > > autorickshaw driver at a village over 25 km from Mangalore because
> > > he often
> > > ferried his neighbours Uzma and Shaheen in his auto. On July 16,
> > > Rehman was
> > > heard talking and laughing loudly at a public place with his two
> > > friends Uma
> > > and Bhavya. They were assaulted and abused by Bajrang Dal activists.
> > >
> > > Superintendent of Police N. Sateesh Kumar said, "This is a social
> > > issue.
> > > Resistance to such divisive forces should come from within the
> > > community. In
> > > cases where there have been assaults we have taken the necessary
> > > action."
> > >
> > > (Names of the victims have been changed to protect their identity)
> > > _________________________________________
> > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
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> >
> > Shuddhabrata Sengupta
> > The Sarai Programme at CSDS
> > Raqs Media Collective
> > shuddha at sarai.net
> > www.sarai.net
> > www.raqsmediacollective.net
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________
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