Over a thousand activists staged a demonstration outside the office of the tahsildar of Sindhanur on Tuesday, condemning the attacks on minorities in Mudhol town during the Gandesh idol immersion recently. The rally that began from the Raitha Bhavan of the APMC marched through the major streets in the city before culminating on the premises of tahasildar’s office.
The agitators, holding banners and placards, raised slogans against “communal Hindutva outfits”, holding them responsible for the attacks. The protest was organised by Forum Against the Atrocities on Dalits, Backwards and Minorities, a conglomerate of various civil society organisations.
The agitators aired their anger against the State government for not taking any action against the culprits of the attack. “Over 40 shops and other small business establishments belonging to Muslims were reduced to ashes, inflicting a loss of over Rs. 40 crore. The police department neither prevented the attackers nor did it arrest any accused in the incident. The Bagalkot district in-charge Minister or MLAs did not visit the spot and give courage to the victims who are living under terror,” they said.
They demanded that the government suspend the concerned Deputy Superintendent of Police and Circle Inspector on the ground of delinquency and compensate the victims who lost their property in the attack.
Chandrashekhar Gorbal, the convenor of the forum, said that the attacks on minorities and destruction of their properties in Mudhol were well-planned and well-executed by Hindutva outfits.
“Hindutva extremists who have divided costal society along the lines of religion through a series of attacks on minorities have now expanded their disruptive activities to the north Karnataka region that is known for peace, harmony and co-existence of different communities,” he said.
Allamaprabhu Bettadur, senior Bandaya Sahiti, condemned the “inhuman act by anti-social forces” that were disturbing peace through communal violence. “These forces are destroying the secular and pluralistic fabric of Indian society by dividing the communities along religious lines,” he said and called upon peace-loving people to stand united and pose a stiff resistance.
Peer Bhasha, another progressive writer, demanded that the State government set up a special task force to prevent communal violence.
