A poster of Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur put up in Ullal three days ago has made several local people uneasy, prompting the police to take action on Thursday.
According to Nawaz Ullal, a local man, the poster was put up near the old Ullal Police Station on the road connecting Ullal bus stand and Kodi three days ago. About 10 feet tall, the poster contains a verse from the Bhagavad Gita in which Krishna declared that he would take birth when “adharma” increases.
Commissioner of Police Seemath Kumar Singh told The Hindu on Thursday that he had directed Assistant Commissioner of Police, South, Mangalore, to visit the spot and remove the poster.
A group called Om Shakti Friends had put up the poster, he said and added that the police “were issuing notices” to the group asking them whether they had permission to put up the poster and to respond on the contents of the poster. He said if it was found to incite violence, action would be taken.
The verse that the poster contains were: “ Yada yada hi dharmasya/ glanir bhavati bharatha/ abhyuthanam adharmasya/ tadatmanam srijami aham ”.
Wrong message
Komu Souharda Vedike district president and People's Union for Civil Liberties State vice-president Suresh Bhat Bakrebail said: “Who allowed such a poster to remain as it was for three days?” It was “wrong to glorify” a person who was facing charges of terrorism as someone who would “save Bharat”, he said. “What sort of a message does this send?”
As regards people such as Afzal Guru, who was facing a death sentence in Parliament attack case, Mr. Bhat said no one had ever glorified him. Rather activists were arguing that the evidence against him was not convincing and that the investigation of the case was flawed.
Director of Manipal Institute of Communication Varadesh Hiregange said the word “dharma” had no clear equivalent in English, but could be loosely translated as “moral order”.
By juxtaposing this particular verse with Pragya Singh Thakur, the image sought to “use the Bhagavad Gita to justify wrong actions”. The image was a “misinterpretation of dharma” Mr. Hiregange said.
