Gauri Lankesh murder similar to Narendra Dabholkar's? Tracing rise of Hindutva outfits in Konkan, Maharashtra

After senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered, parallels between her death and of rationalists’ Narendra Dabholkar and MM Kalburgi started cropping up. Historian Ramachandra Guha felt that Lankesh’s murder was “part of a pattern that links the deaths of Dabholkar, Kalburgi and (Govind) Pansare”. The link was further confirmed by a senior police official who said the modus operandi in the Lankesh murder seems very close to what had been witnessed earlier. Hindutva group Sanatan Sanstha has allegedly been associated with the killing of Dabholkar and Pansare. According to a News18 report, the special investigation team constituted to probe Pansare’s killing charged the Sanstha members with the murder. [caption id=“attachment_4018927” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sri Ram Sene’s chief Pramod Muthalik. PTI[/caption] Lankesh’s killing has brought back the spotlight on the murder of other rationalists because she had also taken on Hindutva elements and the right wing in her work. The Konkan coast seems intricately connected with Hindutva fringe organisations like Sri Ram Sene, Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Jagaran Vedike. In a bid to gain power in Karnataka, RSS functionary Prabhakar Bhat Kalladka was recently elevated from a behind-the-scenes strongman to the forefront to win the Dakshin Kannada region for BJP. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has also said that there would be peace in the coastal region if the BJP and the other Sangh Parivar outfits did not create trouble, The Hindu reported. It is only under Kalladka’s tutelage that fringe outfits like Sri Rama Sene and the Hindu Jagaran Vedike are thriving. The Sanstha, which claims of being able to “scientifically tabulate spiritual levels” has managed to build a large base of influential donors, followers and supporters, Scroll quoted Ramesh Gauns, a member of the Goa Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, as saying. “Every political party sees the number of people behind them and leaves them alone,” he added. The Sanstha began work in the 1990s mainly in the regions bordering Maharashtra and Goa and hence, it now has a good network of followers in Konkan and Goa besides parts of South Maharashtra, according to The Wire. As followers increased, the Sanstha began organising weekly satsangs in temples or conducting moral science classes in schools. It presents itself as a spiritual organisation that works for social uplift and national security, and to rekindle dharma. According to a report in The Indian Express, after Dabholkar’s murder, Sanstha mouthpiece Sanatan Prabhat said in an editorial that “it was better that he (Dabholkar) died this way, rather than dying of some disease.” The Sanstha workers have allegedly been involved in several bomb blast cases. Santan Sanstha workers Vikram Bhave and Ramesh Gadkari were convicted and awarded 10 years life imprisonment for planting a bomb in the parking area of Gadkari Rangaytan Auditorium in Thane. They have also been found to be involved in a bomb blast in Madgaon. The Maharashtra government has even sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a ban on the organisation. Other fringe organisations like the Hindu Jagarana Vedike and Sri Ram Sene are also doing their part in terrorising the people. Hindustan Times reported that many trace the origins of vigilantism in Karnataka to the 1998 communal riots in Surathkal near Mangalore. Eight people were killed in those riots that started when the Hindu Jagarana Vedike attacked a Muslim man for dating a Hindu girl. When an RSS activist was killed in the Dakshina Kannada region earlier this year, some members of the Vedike were also arrested. Sri Rama Sene’s chief Pramod Muthalik and his supporters staged a protest, attacking Pejawar Mutt seer for hosting an iftar party at a temple complex, The News Minute reported. The chief reportedly said that there will be bloodshed if iftar parties are held in temples. The Bengaluru police registered a suo motu case against him. In a sting operation organised by Republic TV on Sri Ram Sene, Muthalik claimed that he has “informers” in all schools and colleges in the city and has all dating information from educational institutions, as The International Business Times report said. The entire Konkan coast along with Southern Maharashtra seems to be under constant threat from these fringe Hindu groups, which are thriving regardless of which party holds the reins in the state.