A paper presented by Shivasundar, senior
journalist, Lankesh, on behalf of the Karnataka Komu Souharda
Vedike at an anti-communal workshop held in Bangalore in August 2006.
History is an important signifier of the present and hence
the criticality to engage with the historical traditions of communalism
and secularism.
Universality and specificity
Universality and specificity of issues frame discussions
at varied levels. If there are multitudes of commonalities that we can
derive in order to address issues from a broader context, there are also
specificities that dictate responses appropriate to the local context. A
theoretical understanding from a larger perspective feeds actions possible
locally and vice versa. This is certainly true in the case of Karnataka
when we consider communalism.
Communalism has not existed from ancient times. It is a
modern phenomenon, a creation of the existing democracy and reflects the
compulsions of a modern democracy to gain consent through people. Given
the rapid pace of globalisation, it becomes imperative for the state to
devise and depend on political strategies such as communalism in order to
sustain democracy as it currently exists. The most fundamental essence of
communalism is its anti-people stance. It creates and sustains hatred
between two communities; hegemonic power relations in society are
maintained by ascribing a higher status to one religion ahead of others,
one caste over others.
Democracy too has historical roots and has its base in the
aspirations, values and demands that emerge from people. In Karnataka, for
instance, the decisive victory of the Avedic forces in history is an
important signifier and establishes the fact that a deep egalitarian
theology has its roots in Karnataka.
Even a cursory tracing of the concepts of hatred and
harmony between communities leads us to consider the following
classifications in time periods:
1. Ancient Karnataka – leading up to the 12th century
2. Arrival of Islam in Karnataka
3. The period of the independence struggle
4. Post-1947 to the current status
1. Ancient Karnataka
In Karnataka, as in the rest of the country, theological
discourses reflected the conflicts of the material life interests of
different groups in society. Hence the conflicts were not based merely on
different understandings of god but were instead differences that stemmed
from differing aspirations of communities, finding its ultimate expression
in religious differences. The Shaivaite-Vaishnaivite conflict in Hampi,
the differences that resulted in the emergence of the dvaita-advaita
philosophy in theology from Udupi, are indicators of the theological
manifestation of these conflicts. The emergence and decisive victory of
Vaishnavism in theology reflected the victory of the feudal classes over
the people.
The manifestations of these debates in theology can also
be seen more specifically in the Sanskritisation of the Jain stupas and
Buddhist viharas across Karnataka. There are unambiguous historical
evidences to suggest that the (now) Manjunatheshwara temple in
Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district and the matha in Sringeri,
Chikmagalur district, were once Jaina stupas and Buddhist viharas. Today,
however, both sites stand transformed as Brahminical sites of worship with
most practices there steeped in Brahminical caste rituals.
Both the Jains and Buddhists opposed stratification of
society; they were in essence raising their voices against the landowners
or the ruling classes of the time. On the other hand, Brahminism sought to
imbue the stratification with religious overtones. This was in essence the
core of the conflict between Brahminism on the one hand and Jainism and
Buddhism on the other. The Sanskritisation of the stupas and viharas then
appear as victories registered by Brahminism. The continued stratification
of society, the hegemonic political and cultural assertion of the upper
castes and, in turn, a strengthened system of oppression, were the
decisive consequences of these victories.
The resistances to these dominations were also
considerable. Kannada literature of the time, for instance, reflected non-Brahminical
reconstructions of the Puranas. Pampa Bharata, a Jain
reconstruction of the Mahabharata written by Pampa around 942 AD
was an important response in opposition to a Brahminical account of
history. There were several such written records of pluralistic accounts
that emerged during this period. We need to construct such efforts within
the parameters of resistance to domination. It is in these efforts that we
can see the roots of the communalisation process currently in place and
resistance to it reflected.
Yet another significant resistance to the domination
emerged in the form of Sudra rulers in certain pockets of Karnataka.
Though the Sudra rulers enjoyed Brahminical patronage, much like the
Warkari movement in Maharashtra, in the superstructure this represented
basic changes in the material life of the historically oppressed.
Kalachurya was one such ruler who belonged to the barber caste and in
whose kingdom the Vachanakarara movement of the 10th century first took
shape. All the Vachanakararas were from the artisan classes who had
liberated themselves from the clutches of feudalism and hence aspired to
fight against the oppressive feudal structures.
Basavanna was renowned for giving this resistance a
platform and for defining a meter for the vachanas or free verse
compositions. The vachanas spoke primarily of a democratic society
– a society that was equal and did not discriminate between people on any
basis. The Vachanakarara movement comprised people from different castes,
there were Dalits as well as Brahmins who followed Basavanna’s teachings
and hence belonged to the Lingayat community. The inherent epistemological
and theological conflicts within the broader framework were in fact
representations of the Brahminical and non-Brahminical conflict within the
movement. These instances of discrimination within the Lingayat movement
found clear voices of critique in the vachanas.
To cite an example – Akka Mahadevi, a poet and proponent
of the Basavanna tradition was in essence against Brahminism and yet there
were traces of Brahminism to be found in her vachanas at several
instances. In her descriptions of how a Lingayat should behave she clearly
states that he should not eat meat and in all circumstances abstain from
eating beef. Responding to her suggestion through another vachana
composition, a Dalit Lingayat asks:
"If we, the people who make the leather bags that you use
to carry your sacred puja materials, eat beef, why are we considered
inferior?"
To cite another example, Brahmins at the time considered
themselves ‘polluted’ if the shadow of a Dalit fell on them or if they saw
a Dalit at all. Commenting on the social practice of the time, a Dalit
Vachanakarara wrote:
"Seeing one Brahmin first thing in the morning is worse
than being born as a pig in the next 18 lakh births..."
2. Arrival of Islam in Karnataka
The interface with Islam proved to be a harmonious blend
of two cultures that was reflected in various facets. Though the Sufi
message spread across India in the 7th or 8th century, it made its
presence felt in the coastal areas of Karnataka in the 8th century. Though
the contradictions between the Vijayanagar empire and the Sultanates rule,
specifically the Bahamanis of Hyderabad-Karnataka, seemed to be the main
preoccupation of historians’ discourse, various facets of society
reflected the true nature of the blend that was taking place. Written
accounts of history clearly state that the oppressed castes like the Bedas,
Voddas, Bestas, Madigas, Holeyas, Bovis, Naindas and Lambanis were
attracted by Islam.
The emancipatory appeal of universal brotherhood reflected
in Islam meant that the oppressed castes welcomed it easily thus ensuring
a non-conflicting relationship with the local cultures of the time.
Further, the tenets of Islamic theology and culture too faced no cultural
barriers assimilating with the non-oppressive Sudra theology. Around the
same period the Advaita sect, which was non-Vedic and non-Brahminical in
its foundational discourse, was gaining prominence amongst the masses.
Consequentially, it ensured that the comradely relationship between Sufi
and Islamic traditions and the Sudra traditions flourished.
The social integration of Islamic influences in the
everyday lives of the people is visible in the language, architecture and
culture of the people. Evidences of this blend of cultures are visible
even from a religious perspective. To cite concrete examples, Sudras in
North Karnataka address their gods as ‘aiah’ while the Sufis refer
to their saints as ‘baba’. The fusion of cultures is obvious in its
manifestation in peoples’ lives – Babiah is a frequently occurring name
amongst the people of North Karnataka – both Muslims and Hindus, to the
extent that the name is no longer a signifier of religion. It is unclear
from the name itself whether the person is a Hindu or a Muslim.
In terms of language as well, Khadi Boli, or the language
of the soldiers, fused with Parsi to form Urdu while Khadi Boli and
Sanskrit came together to form Hindi. It is also significant that Urdu was
a language of the masses and did not belong to the category of the court
languages. This organic evolution again meant that the language too was
not a religious differentiator. There are several Urdu scholars,
Ramakrishna Hegde was one, who were not Muslims and yet extremely
proficient in the language.
Within the political field as well, there were several
instances of Muslim rulers whose armies were commandeered by Hindus and
vice versa. The battles that took place between warlords in such instances
were never based on religion but were in fact a signifier of the battle of
the ruling classes to extend their spheres of influence.
There are several such examples that reflect the
harmonious intermingling of Islamic culture with the local culture of the
people.
Any discussion about Islam and Islamic rulers in Karnataka
is incomplete without the mention of Tipu Sultan. Though another article
traces his rule in significant detail, to summarise here it would
suffice to say that Tipu’s rule was opposed by the British and the
Brahmins since he was responsible for the implementation of several
reforms that conflicted with their class interests. Tipu’s reforms
included the destruction of oppressive warlords, restructuring of the
administration thereby destroying traditional practices that had empowered
the Brahmins and the Patels, redistribution of land and discouragement of
the maths’ domination.
It is important to state that on the eve of British
colonisation, the people of Karnataka had encountered both Islam and
Christianity as faiths and the relationship with the Islamic theological
tenets were harmonious rather than conflictory in nature. Since the same
harmonious relationship prevailed with the Christian missionaries at this
stage as well, no elaborate discussion is provided about the influences of
Christianity.
3. The period of the independence struggle
It was during this phase that across India and more
specifically in Karnataka communalism’s imprint on the nationalist
discourse became more evident. There were different currents under Indian
nationalism with different leaders exerting different influences. Within
Karnataka, the independence struggle reflected Gandhi’s influence as well
as that of Tilak. It stands to reason then that in Karnataka the path of
the Indian nationalist struggle veered closely to Hindu nationalism.
Kannada nationalism, which emerged in the shadows of the independence
struggle, also reflected a strong Hindu bias. Comparisons drawn with Tamil
and Telugu nationalist movements taking place at the same time make this
evident.
Under Tilak’s influence, Kannada nationalism attempted to
fight British rule through interventions in the cultural field. The glory
of the Hindu past was constantly evoked to inculcate a sense of pride in
Kannada culture and in the resurrection of the Hindu past the
interpretation flowed very closely to the Hindu communal interpretation of
history. The pride of the Vijayanagar empire and the supposed destructive
Muslim conquest of Karnataka formed rich sources for the Kannada novels of
the time. Novelists such as AN Krishna Rao and the father of Kannada
nationalism, Alur Venkatrayya, writing about Karnatakatva, or Karnatakaism,
constantly and consistently stoked the flame of nationalist pride by
nudging the embers of sentiments attached to a destroyed past. The fact
that the source of cultural strength to fight British colonialism at the
time was located in religion paved the way for the future communal
historiography of Karnataka.
A brief comparison with the Tamil self-respect movement
further reveals the dominant Brahminical position within the Kannada
nationalist movement. There were significant differences in the
class/caste composition and in the ideological positioning of the two
movements – the Tamil self-respect movement veered towards an egalitarian
society, questioning the caste oppression and the domination of the Hindi
speaking Indian nationalist struggle. Further, a comparison of the flags
used by the two nationalist movements is incredibly revelatory of their
ideological positioning. The Tamil black and red flag signified the
movement of Dalits towards an equal (communist) society whereas the yellow
and the red of the Kannada nationalist movement signified harshna (haldi)
and kunkuma (kumkum) – symbols of Brahmin ritualistic traditions.
If Tamil pride had a strong anti-Brahminical tradition through its
constant ridicule of Brahmin tradition, Kannada nationalism on the other
hand celebrated the Brahmin identity through its adoption of Bhuvaneshwari
– a goddess who projected Brahminism in her appearance. To carry the
comparison further, Tamil nationalism turned to the anti-Aryan Puranas
in search of its historical roots (Ravana being the reigning deity)
whereas in Karnataka it was the admission and assertion in terms of Hindu
Puranas as reflected in the novels of AN Krishna Rao and N.
Ramamurthy.
While this was the situation in North Karnataka, in
Hyderabad-Karnataka, since the region was under the Nizam’s rule and his
army comprised Rajakas who were looting the Hindu peasantry, history was
rewritten as the loot and plunder of the peace loving Hindu population by
a Muslim ruler. While there were some attempts to resist the Hindu
Mahasabha’s efforts at the time to reinterpret history, this was not
entirely possible. Taranth’s novels at the time bear ample witness to the
ideological positioning put forward by the Mahasabha.
In old Mysore, under Tipu’s rule, the Sudra ascendancy was
reflected in their demands for political power. Reservations were created
at the time for Sudras in the Pratinidhi Sabha and in the Administration
Assembly.
It is interesting to note that the Backward Castes
employed by Nalamudi Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar to implement the reservation
scheme included Muslims – a further suggestion of the harmonious
integration. Nevertheless, Tilak and Alur Venkatrayya’s mode of Kannada
nationalism had an impact on certain sections of political forces in old
Mysore areas, especially Bangalore. The first communal clash in Karnataka
took place in Bangalore during the Ganesh festival in 1921. This was,
however, an exceptional incident at the time.
Even closer to the year of independence i.e. 1947, the
social conditions in Karnataka were not as communally tense as was the
case in North India. Karnataka remained untouched by the raging fires of
partition. It must however be acknowledged that the material grounds
prepared by Alur Venkatrayya’s followers could have potentially allowed
communal mobilisation to take place on the basis of caste, language or
religion. Pride in the Vijayanagar empire has, to a large extent, been
instilled in the Kannada psyche.
4. Post-1947
Across the country this period was marked by three decades
of political lull, due primarily to the presence of the Congress party and
its encompassing hold on all emerging classes. The decline of Hindutva
forces during this period was also due to a ban on the RSS following
Gandhi’s assassination; the RSS shakhas had hence not spread as
rapidly as expected.
In Karnataka, specifically Kannada nationalist fervour
remained subdued despite the process of unification of the state. Once
again, the cultural domination of the Kannada nationalist movement by
Hindu nationalism was obvious. Whereas in Tamil Nadu the domination of the
Hindi nationalist movement was vehemently opposed (the Tamilians had burnt
the Indian Constitution in protest in one instance), in Karnataka owing to
the already present influences of Hindutva, the link to Hindu nationalism
was possible and easy.
The Hindu-Hindi-Hindustan campaign that swept the northern
parts of the country along with the cow slaughter campaign in the
mid-1950s had minimal impact on Karnataka. It is pertinent to ask why,
despite years of close association with dominant Hindu voices of the
Indian nationalist movement, Karnataka remained untouched by the emerging
sangh parivar.
One of the important factors was the assimilation of the
dominant political actors into the Congress fold; newer political actors
would make their presence felt only in the Devraj Urs regime.
During the Emergency period, while the entire region was
awash with anti-Congress sentiments, Karnataka remained strongly in
support of the Congress party. The political consciousness of the Sudras
awakened at the national level against the Congress and in favour of
socialism had already been incorporated into the Congress fold in the
state. Social justice as a concept had entered the Sudra consciousness in
the 1920s in Karnataka and by the Emergency period had been redefined well
within the trenches of the Congress party. Another significant factor for
the lack of anti-Congress sentiment in the state was the weak Left
movement. Within the dominant literature in Karnataka, including the
writings of P. Lankesh and Poorna Chandra Tejasvi, communists were
caricatured and presented as objects of ridicule.
In the post-Emergency situation, the Congress was still in
power in Karnataka. Though Indira Gandhi was defeated elsewhere, she was
elected to power from Chikmagalur. The Devraj Urs factor in strengthening
the Congress party by addressing the concerns of the emerging political
class cannot be discounted.
There were, however, forces to resist the Congress march –
Brahmins, in particular, in certain pockets, tried to push forward their
own agenda. During the Emergency, pockets of resistance from petty
bourgeois intellectuals were also visible in the urban areas, primarily in
Bangalore, Mysore and Gulbarga. The social movements that emerged at the
time also gained some foothold, including the Samajvadi Yuva Sabha, Raitha
Sangha, Dalit Sangharasha Samiti, and Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane. Even as
we recognise the various democratic attempts outside the influence of both
the Congress and the Brahminical spheres, it is important to state that
the intention here is not to belittle their contributions through mere
mentions. The caveat of space constraints is the only reason for not
delving into the details of these movements and the change they effected
on the political landscape of Karnataka during that period. These
movements had the potential of opposing the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and the
RSS, which was gaining momentum.
The decay of the 1970s and the 1980s proved to be a
glorious time for the peoples’ movements. The Dalit Sangharasha Samiti (DSS)
and the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha with their village-based
mobilisation of the peasantry made their presence felt. The DSS in
particular was able to forge alliances between the rural and the urban
voices, between different caste groups against the political hegemony of
the class and cultural forces of the Brahmins. Beyond a doubt, these
mobilisations acted as a check to the growing influence of Brahminical
forces.
In the 1983 Karnataka state elections, the Janata party
was voted to power as the single largest party with Ramakrishna Hegde as
the chief minister. Hegde forged alliances with the BJP who, on the basis
of dominant caste equations, had won several seats in different
constituencies. The tragic history of socialists giving the fascist forces
a new lease of life was repeated in Karnataka as it was elsewhere. The
socialist Janata party came back to power in 1985 in a comfortable
victory, the Congress’ foothold in Karnataka was weakened after Indira
Gandhi’s assassination.
It was in the 1985-89 period, in tandem with the rest of
the country, that the sangh parivar’s hold in Karnataka too increased. The
different branches of the sangh parivar were instrumental in attracting
the unemployed youth in urban small towns. The new Sudra class forces that
could not find space for amalgamation within the older bastions of power
were also included. The growing influence of the sangh parivar in
Karnataka found an expression in communal clashes. During the Ram Rath
Yatra, Karnataka witnessed over 50 communal clashes. The rising discontent
in the decade of the 1980s could be attributed to the state’s withdrawal
of subsidies, the blanket ban on recruitment of teachers, the enactment of
new Cooperative Acts restricting loan grants, the reordering of public
sector loans and various other measures. This rising discontent of the
population found no accommodation within electoral politics; there were no
mobilisations to address these concerns. Peoples’ movements too were on
the wane with the co-option of the DSS.
Hence the decade of the 1990s began with weakened
democratic forces, an equally weak Left force and a socialist force
adamant on its anti-Congress stance. The introduction of liberalisation
policies, removing all barriers to the entry of global capitalist forces
into India’s economy, ushering in the era of globalisation in 1991, by the
Congress government did nothing to ebb the flow of rising discontent in
India on the whole and amongst the Karnataka masses as well. If anything,
the discontentment directly fed the rising flames of communalism.
Communal hatred reached its zenith during that time with
the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 following years and years of
mobilisation by the sangh parivar. The existing scenario of a discontented
population, no proletariat struggle, a weak Congress force (the Congress
lost the general elections at the national level in 1996) and the lack of
political mobilisation against liberalisation and privatisation policies –
all contributed significantly to the growth of the sangh parivar. In
Karnataka, the extent of the sangh parivar’s growth could be mapped
through this instance – Davangere, earlier considered the traditional
stronghold of the Communist Party of India, also turned into a BJP seat of
power.
With the NDA coming to power at the Centre, and Hegde and
socialists switching to the BJP, previously illegitimate forces gained
legitimacy. The neo-rich classes found political patronage within the BJP.
Consumerism and communalism – two values that justified neo-liberal rule –
paved the way for the growth of the BJP in Karnataka.
It would be appropriate to summarise the factors
responsible for the predicament in which the people of Karnataka found
themselves at the end of the 1990s as the increasing strength of the BJP,
the soft Hindutva stance of the Congress, the adamant anti-Congress stance
adopted by the centrist socialist forces and a weak Left political force.
Conclusion
With the collapse of the welfare state and the emergence
of the neo-liberal state, survival within the parliamentary democratic
space is possible only if it rides on the back of fascism. It is precisely
this compulsion that has driven even the Congress to adopt fascism with a
human face. Legitimising fascist politics within the electoral space is
both a weakness and a requirement of the neo-liberal state. The reformist
Left parties too are faced with a similar dilemma – the neo-liberal
framework provides no space for them to deliver pro-people policies. As a
consequence, we find the BJP moving from 0.03 per cent of the vote share
to 30 per cent in recent times – a whopping 10 crore people nationwide
supporting the BJP’s communal agendas.
In the case of Bababudangiri as well, the same reasons
stand – failure of the centrist forces, inherent weakness and failure of
the reformist Left. In a scenario such as this, radical secularism is the
only alternative – whether the state is ruled by the BJP, the Janata Dal
or the Congress. The attempt to saffronise and further agendas based on
communalism has remained consistent despite changes in the political
parties. n
(Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, Durga Nilaya, 2nd Cross,
Bapuji Nagar, Shivamoga, Karnataka, India. Email:
[email protected])