September 2006 
Year 12    No.118

Cover Story


Street fighting years

Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike (Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum)

BY VS SREEDHARA

Secularism is a much battered term today. A lot of confusion on what it actually means – both in theory and in practice – has led to a plethora of debate, ranging from the most banal to the highly sophisticated discussion on the exact nature of secular democracy. What is of importance, however, is the kind of attack mounted by some intellectuals on the secularist attack against the religiosity of the sangh parivar and the blatant misuse of people’s religious sentiments for narrow political gains.

While these intellectuals do not support the parivar per se, their critique of secularists has given rise to serious doubts about their political stand vis-à-vis combating communalism. Their core argument runs like this. Secularism is a modern ideology imported from the West and hence cannot be applied here as it is. Ours is a traditional society and religion is still the biggest archive of Indian society. Any appeal made by the secularists to oppose communalism will have few takers because the secular is usually associated with and understood as a-religious or even anti-religious. It is therefore necessary to make a differentiation between religion as faith and religion as ideology. While we need to oppose the latter, we need to understand that the former, in a true sense, is a deep commitment to one’s religious faith, which is also a manifestation of a secular credo. Hence secularists in India should include those whose faith in their religion does not necessarily mean a dislike or hatred for the others.

Apart from this, there is also the view that fighting communalists in the streets by way of direct confrontation is not a solution since it only aggravates the situation and even pushes ordinary non-communal people into the communalists’ fold. Rather, the advice goes, it is better to work at the grassroots, educate and involve people in issues that will increase their awareness about the meaninglessness and dangers of communal politics.

At the outset, it is clear that the target of attack in this analysis is the leftists and Left parties who are generally accused of being alien and indifferent to Indian realities. Fine. But, in practice, opposition to communal forces has always emerged from people across a broad spectrum of beliefs and political affiliations: from believers to non-believers, from liberals to petty capitalists. It does not need any sophisticated theoretical analysis to understand and appreciate that ‘secular-believers’ constitute the majority of people. However, it is also true that confronting communalism needs an all out effort and it is only by bringing in a wide range of people drawn from different belief systems, areas of activity, profession and vocation that we can build a strong resistance to the communal onslaught. The struggle in Bababudangiri in Karnataka initiated by the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike (Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum) is one such unique example. It is also the story of confrontation between religion-as-faith and religion-as-ideology, between low and high cultures and between the hegemony of the upper castes and the syncretic tradition of the masses.

II

Every December since 1992 the sangh parivar has been invading Chikmagalur, a sleepy town nestled in the Western Ghats of central Karnataka, in the name of ‘liberating’ the cave shrine on Bababudangiri – a hill named after Baba Budan, a Sufi saint. Known as ‘Sri Gurudattatreya Bababudan Swamy Dargah’, the cave shrine on the hill is revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Here Hindus worship the place as Datta and the Muslims revere it as the holy abode of Bababudan, a fakir much respected by such historical figures as Tipu and the Wodeyars of Mysore alike. The annual Urs festival held in March attracts thousands of devotees from both communities. Both Baba and Datta represent the common peoples’ tradition that rebelled against narrow religious boundaries and orthodox dogma. Obviously, this does not win favour among the conservatives and fundamentalists of either community. In a way, it is a place that was liberated from the narrow compartmentalisation of religion a long time ago. Now, in the name of liberating it, the sangh parivar is trying to confine it to a narrow and sectarian religious institution by Hinduising it and cleansing it of Islamic ‘contamination’. The communalisation of Bababudangiri goes against peoples’ long held beliefs, against history and, above all, against the law of the land.

The phenomenon gained ascendancy after the NDA came to power in Delhi in 1999. From then on, each December the entire town is swathed in saffron and communal hate speeches reach their crescendo on the pretext of celebrating Datta Jayanti, a totally non-existent practice at the dargah until then. As a curtain-raiser to this communal initiative, the sangh parivar organises two more programmes: Datta Mala and Shobha Yatra. All these activities are historically false and legally untenable. They exist only as creations of the sangh parivar aimed solely at creating a dispute that is, in turn, exploited for political mileage. Their declared objective is to install an idol of Dattatreya and appoint a Hindu – read Brahmin – priest to conduct Vedic rituals at the shrine. The hidden objective behind this seemingly benign religious move is no longer covert, not since sangh parivar leaders such as Ananth Kumar, MP, and Praveen Togadia openly called for Bababudangiri to be fashioned into another Ayodhya and Karnataka into another Gujarat.

Vedike’s genesis can be traced to the attack on the editor of a local paper in Shimoga by the sangh parivar in 1998 when the like-minded and the peace loving all came together to protest the attack. In 1999 the same group decided to organise a rally and human chain in Chikmagalur town to protest against the communalisation of the Sufi shrine. This was an important event for, though small in number, the rally received wide press coverage and attracted people’s attention. It was the first time that the sangh parivar’s move to spread communal tension had been opposed in Karnataka. But as the years passed the communal canard also spread, with the number of people participating in the newly invented Datta Mala and Datta Jayanti increasing each year. After the Gujarat genocide of 2002 they became more brazen and leaders of the sangh parivar openly declared their intentions: they would make Bababudangiri into another Ayodhya and Karnataka into another Gujarat. Their activities, slogan shouting and hate speeches went unchecked as the district administration, or the government, not only remained mute witness to these unconstitutional provocations but also provided tacit support to the sangh parivar by running buses to the hill shrine for the benefit of the new ‘devotees’. The illegal and unconstitutional ritual called Datta Jayanti inside the cave shrine was blessed by none other than the then law minister of the Congress government, who even participated in Brahminical rituals such as Yagna and Homa.

All these developments created a sense of despondency, helplessness and anger against the blatant violation of the rule of law and the provisions enshrined in India’s Constitution. It was as if the manoeuvrings of the sangh parivar went unchecked and unquestioned. In addition to this, the Gujarat carnage had stirred the consciousness of people deeply and there was a growing feeling that the time was not far off when the sangh parivar’s rhetoric of hate speech would be put into practice in Karnataka.

It was at this time that a small group of people who called themselves ‘Souharda Vedike’ decided to move into Chikmagalur, the epicentre of the communal forces, and create awareness about the need to keep the cave shrine secular and free from communal tension. Initially it had only about 70 members, but they used wall writings, organised street meetings and even went on a house-to-house campaign, often knocking at the doors of houses belonging to sangh parivar supporters. The central driving force of this small but very important initiative was their sheer will power and courage to speak out openly in spite of threats from the sangh parivar. This venture fuelled the idea to extend the strength of anti-communal forces and by 2001 the small group had named itself ‘Bababudangiri Souharda Vedike’.

The convention that was held in 2002 was significant because it took place against the backdrop of the Gujarat genocide earlier that year. The convention was also important as it put forward the Bababudan experiment as a strong anti-communal resistance when the country and Gujarat was grappling with the combination of the Ayodhya-Gujarat experiment. A massive rally was organised after the sangh parivar’s Datta Jayanti by appealing to all like-minded anti-communal people and organisations in the state to join the campaign against communal forces. Social activist, Swami Agnivesh, and noted balladeer, Gaddar, were invited to the function. The procession was impressive and attracted the attention of the media and the general public.

At this meeting it was decided that the next major protest meet should be held on the day of the Datta Jayanti itself, as a mark of solidarity and show of strength. The spirit of the 2002 meet was such that everyone endorsed the resolution and agreed on a direct confrontation with the communal forces. Until then, the common opinion was that while secularists attended seminars, communalists joined the street shows of the sangh parivar. This had to be changed. Boundaries had to be drawn and challenges had to be met, if need be, in the streets.

Since the year 2000, communal activities had grown under the very shade of the law and with tacit support from the state machinery. The government not only allowed the new rituals but also helped the communal forces by officially sponsoring the Datta Jayanti for fear of antagonising Hindu voters. In 2003 a fact-finding team led by noted playwright Girish Karnad and other intellectuals visited Bababudangiri and met the chief minister on the issue. A series of meetings and press conferences followed. It was made clear that a large number of people, drawn from various walks of life, would assemble at Chikmagalur on the very day that the sangh parivar held its usual hate rally. But the government had different plans. On the one hand, the then chief minister, SM Krishna, invited prominent Vedike representatives for a breakfast meeting and on the other, gave the police and the district administration orders to prevent any peace rally organised by the Vedike.

The connivance between a soft Hindutva Congress and the BJP (and its parivar) reached bizarre proportions in December 2003 when SM Krishna decided to send secular groups to prison and allowed the communalists to continue with their brazen anti-Muslim anti-secular propaganda. On the eve of the proposed peace rally, people were arrested from homes and hotel rooms. Vehicles coming to Chikmagalur from different places were checked and any person travelling to join the rally was detained. Girish Karnad and others who were coming to Chikmagalur were detained at midnight and taken to Hassan. Meanwhile, some of the activists travelled secretly, remained underground until dawn and surfaced in a field on the outskirts of Chikmagalur. They held an instant meeting, shouted slogans and even managed to organise a public speech before courting arrest. While the peace loving and secular minded were put in jail, the hate mongers and communalists were allowed to roam the streets of Chikmagalur, free to continue their vicious propaganda. However, it was the BJP that reaped the rich harvest of this communal politics. In the next elections, while all three Congress MLAs from this area suffered a humiliating defeat, the BJP candidates managed to win in the name of Datta Jayanti.

Exactly one week later, the Vedike bounced back with renewed vigour. The arrests and prevention of secularists had angered a large section of people. They all came forward at short notice to protest against the foolish and entirely anti-democratic actions of the Congress government. This time a large number of people came to Chikmagalur from all over Karnataka. The number of Muslim participants, which had been conspicuously small until then, grew into a sizeable number. More importantly, several Hindu seers and the heads of various religious organisations led the peace rally this time. Vedike now had an interesting mix of saffron heads of different maths opposing the saffronisation of the sangh parivar.

The onward march of the BJP and its allies would have gone unchecked but for the initiative of these secular and progressive forces. More than 200 organisations and thousands of like-minded individuals came together under the banner of the ‘Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike’ (Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum) and offered stiff resistance to the sangh parivar’s move to usurp the syncretic tradition of Bababudangiri.

Encouraged by this show of strength and solidarity, the Vedike decided to press its demands further and ask for a total ban on Datta Jayanti and Shobha Yatra, which were not only unconstitutional but also against the grain of true and authentic traditional practice at the Bababudangiri shrine. As part of this, the Vedike chalked out a well-planned strategy to counter the communal forces ideologically as well as programmatically.

The first resulted in the constitution of a study committee to investigate the socio-cultural and legal history of the Baba-Datta tradition. It was aimed at finding out – as objectively and disinterestedly as possible – whether there was any semblance of truth in the sangh parivar’s claim regarding the practice of Datta Jayanti and then placing all the facts before the public. This resulted in a book entitled Benkiyagalollada Belaku (meaning ‘Light that could not be turned into Fire’). It is based on a wide variety of archival material ranging from myths surrounding the Bababudangiri shrine to facts culled out from historical documents such as the official records of Tipu Sultan and the Maharaja of Mysore, the Government Gazetteer, court judgements and the sangh parivar’s own affidavits.

The second was to adopt a suitable programme of action to counter the communal forces face to face on the streets and at the grass roots level. The programme was two-fold: to have detailed discussion sessions with media persons and politicians and to carry out a district and taluka level campaign. Both action plans were flagged off, symbolically, in Chikmagalur. The meeting with the media and politicians was quite a success as the Vedike could convince them, in the light of the study committee’s findings, that the sangh parivar’s claims were totally untenable and baseless. The Vedike also showed them video clips of the hate speeches made by leaders of the sangh parivar during Datta Jayanti celebrations in previous years. This had the desired effect as every political party in the state, except of course the BJP, supported the government’s move to ban any celebrations or political/religious meetings in Chikmagalur.

The Vedike had earlier sought permission to hold a ‘communal harmony meet’ on the very days when the sangh parivar would hold their yatras in Chikmagalur thus pressuring the government to face a street confrontation between secular and communal elements. Finally, the government decided not to allow any one group and banned all meetings. The Vedike welcomed this decision and immediately moved its venue to Shimoga as planned earlier. However, since it was sceptical about the government’s promise to ban the Datta Jayanti in toto, it sent a team of observers to the hills to report any act of violation by the government or vandalism by the sangh parivar on December 25.

The result was a total contrast to what happened in December 2003. While in 2003, Vedike members were prevented from reaching Chikmagalur and put in jail, in 2004, members of the sangh parivar and the BJP were prevented from carrying out their much touted Shobha Yatra and Datta Jayanti programme. The district administration banned the Shobha Yatra, imposed Section 144 of the CrPC (prohibiting the assembly of more than five persons) and arrested the Dattatreya ‘devotees’. In fact, the sangh parivar was so weak-kneed that there were hardly enough crowds to offer the district administration any real resistance.

III

The growth of the Bababudan Komu Souharda Vedike into the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike signifies more than a mere change in nomenclature. Though it continues to be what it has always been i.e. a loose federation of several organisations and individuals, it has retained its democratic character. Its consistent efforts have brought back several people who were sceptical about its survival and efficacy. The Vedike now has several branches and independent units in as many district centres as possible. It has been conducting workshops for activists and students on issues related to communalism. The Vedike has also intervened in several places, particularly in coastal districts like Mangalore and Udupi where communal tensions are rampant. It has been striving to convince the people that Hindutva is an ideology that is basically anti-Hindu, anti-Dalit and anti-women. It has inspired a degree of confidence in Muslim youth and is trying to reach out to all minorities, urging them to support its pro-people and anti-communal activities. Its case study of the Bababudangiri shrine has been well received as a reliable source of documentation. Even the Congress party bought 500 copies of the book and distributed them among its members!

It has many future challenges too. With the BJP in power in the state and the so-called secular Janata Dal joining hands with it, it foresees tough days ahead. Though the government banned the Shobha Yatra, the district administration has, in violation of the spirit of the court order, removed the galifa (cloth cover) from the cave shrine and demolished the old residence of the Sufi pontiff in the name of beautification. As a result, the annual Urs at the shrine was severely affected. With their own government in power, the sangh parivar’s moves need to be watched carefully and the Vedike plans to take the issue to the people once again.

What is important now is to plan a series of proactive anti-communal initiatives to uphold the rich heritage of cultural and religious plurality in Karnataka. Both Baba and Datta represent a shared people’s tradition that rebelled against narrow religious boundaries and where Hindus and Muslims worshipped as one. To communalise Bababudangiri is a violation of people’s long held beliefs, of history and of the law of the land.

The Vedike has so far been successful in safeguarding Bababudangiri. However, the challenges to retain Bababudangiri as a Sufi shrine continue. In the attempt to "secularise" the shrine, various attempts have been made to negate its Sufi practices. The denial of permission to practice old Sufi rituals, interpreting these as new practices that have emerged post-1975, have to be viewed as subtle means to Hinduise the shrine. The challenge that lies before the Vedike now is to confront these subtle means.

In conclusion it is important to state that the Vedike’s perspective of understanding communalism in a broader sense has been central to its success in Bababudangiri. Communalism cannot be limited to religious intolerance but needs to be seen instead as an onslaught on democratic processes. This ideological offensive exposes the sangh parivar’s ploy and takes the battle into their camps. Instead of merely waiting for peace, the Vedike has been able to successfully thwart the sangh parivar’s attempts to use Bababudangiri as a launch pad for their activities. The fact remains that the Vedike has, along with ideological understanding, been able to pull together the organisational preparedness necessary for the struggle. A core group of committed activists supported by large teams have been critical in this attempt to counter the sangh parivar frontally.

The struggle can only move forward from this position. 

(Prof VS Sreedhara is with the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike.)

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