After a considerable lull, communal tensions are simmering again in Karnataka’s coastal belt. Three back to-back murders have kept up the heat over the past month. While Ashraf, a migrant worker from Kerala, was lynched on April 27, Bajrang Dal worker Suhas Shetty was hacked to death on May 1 in Dakshina Kannada’s Mangaluru.
A revenge attack on May 27 left Abdul Rahiman dead and Shafi grievously injured. The killings happened in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, polarising the situation further. Both communities accuse the government of bias: Hindutva activists claim the Siddaramaiah government did not visit the family of Suhas, while Muslims say no Congress leader condemned Ashraf’s lynching. Suhas was accused of the 2022 murder of Fazil, whose brother reportedly orchestrated Suhas’ killing.
In this situation with a low trust deficit, the government has announced the formation of a specialised anti-communal task force exclusively for the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, where communal strife, moral policing, and hate speeches are the norm.
The force, modelled along the AntiNaxal Force, will be headed by an IGP-rank officer and will absorb experienced personnel from the ANF. It aims to crack down on hatemongering and bring peace to a region fractured by communalism. It will be a holistic exercise focussing on dialogue and reconciliation, involving respected community leaders and spiritual heads.
The government should be commended for its initiative to heal the region, which has been ravaged by a revenge-killing saga spanning over two decades. The killings have shades of a local gang war, and the leading players are political activists said to have links with the Popular Front of India, Social Democratic Party of India, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and fringe Hindutva outfits.
These outfits have a stake in keeping the communal cauldron boiling to reap electoral dividends. A strong saffron presence dominates the coastal districts, contributing the largest number of legislators and parliamentarians for the BJP. While the government realises it must break the cycle of violence, it needs support from all quarters to end the radicalisation. It will have to adopt a dual approach of strict action against troublemakers while simultaneously encouraging a syncretic culture, which could paper over the cracks and lead to eventual harmony. Hopefully, no other district will need such a task force.