Mangalore: Bajrang Dal activists have outdone themselves this time. As reported by The Hindustan Times, six activists from the Hindu outfit on Monday assaulted shop owner Zabeullah in Mangalore for the unforgivable sin of dropping his female employee safely home.
A gang of six Bajrang Dal activists attacked the man accusing him of love jihad. The incident marked a new low in the ongoing Hindutva campaign aimed at demonising inter-faith contact of any kind. But this time it came with a somewhat amusing twist, when senior lawyer and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Jagadish Shenava, came to the attackers’ defence, telling HT, “We don’t believe in violence. But they (sic.) should leave our women and cows alone or be prepared for a massive retaliation.”
According to statistics put together with the help of police and People’s Union for Civil Liberties in Mangalore, this was the 56th such attack around Mangalore city this year.
Speaking to the HT reporter, Bajrang Dal Karnataka president, Sharan Pumpwell, seemed completely unapologetic about the actions of his supporters. Instead, the outfit president put the onus on the police:
“The police should try and figure out why these attacks are happening instead of projecting the Bajrang Dal as criminals. These attacks are bound to occur as long as love jihad is not stopped.”
Incidents of hardliners targeting Muslim men and Hindu women or vice-versa have risen in the last one year. According to the HT report, while six out of the 56 attacks were carried out by Muslim outfits, who raised objection to Muslim women mingling with Hindu men, 50 were carried out by Hindu fundamentalists.
Hindu outfits have also attacked cattle traders since January this year, the report added.
Police commissioner, R Hitendra blatantly told the paper that he was powerless in preventing the incidents as sometimes the parents of the girl approach these groups voluntarily.
“Most often these groups act after the parents of the girl approach them with complaints. What can we do to stop that?” he said.
Mangalore dubbed the other Hindutva laboratory after Gujarat under BJP rule has witnessed a number of ugly incidents of moral policing. Most famous was the lynching of young women by Ram Sene goons at a pub in 2009. In 2012, the Hindu Jagaran Vedike made headlines when its members stormed a Mangalore homestay party and manhandled the women guests. That is should be an eager participant in the battle against ‘love jihad’ is hardly surprising.
