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How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; Part 5: Gauraksha goes mainstream, Hindu groups launch National Cow Weekly in Udupi
Greeshma Kuthar •The Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) picked up gauraksha as one of its primary action points immediately after its formation. In 1952, a national call was given by the BJS and the RSS to observe 26 October as Anti-Cow Slaughter Day and to collect signatures against slaughter.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 9: Flag wars hit Dakshina Kannada port, Bunder shows how commerce trumps communalism
Greeshma Kuthar •The culture of flag wars at the port isn’t more than two decades old. It started after the Surathkal riots of 1998, in which the Sangh played a major role. The violence which put the region under a 12-day curfew left six Muslims and two Hindus dead. The flags on the mast of fishing trawlers docked at Bunder mark out the communal faultlines that today define Coastal Karnataka.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 10: Early Communal riots break out; Sangh ups Hindutva frenzy
Greeshma Kuthar •Despite the Sangh's best efforts, its politics had few takers in Coastal Karnataka as up until then — the Tulu identity was more powerful than the 'Hindu' identity. The support for Hindu mobilisation remained mostly in the urban areas and small towns of the region such as Mangaluru, Ullal, Udupi, Puttur, Sullia, Karkala, Moodabidre, Ujjire.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 11: Economic, political shifts create vacuum in Dakshin Kannada; identity-crisis furthers Hindu homogenisation
Greeshma Kuthar •Only with the coming of the Sangh and its projects like 'Hindu Samajautsav' and 'Ittiga pooja' were these spaces revived to operate as another space from where the Sangh could further expand their base.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 12: Nagpur-born Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangathan alters history across Dakshin Kannada to fit national religious narratives
Greeshma Kuthar •The manner in which oral narratives have been altered across Dakshin Kannada to fit narrative of religious forces. The most recent entrants to have altered the local history of Coastal Karnataka are the Nagpur-born Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangathan.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 13: Under Deoras, Sangh widens base in Dakshin Kannada, ramps up support from lowered castes
Greeshma Kuthar •The Sangh, by now, had made its political entry into coastal Karnataka by winning the Municipal Corporation elections in Udupi. At 28, VS Acharya took charge as the youngest ever Municipal Commissioner. He later emerged as one of the most significant politicians for the BJP, going on to become the Home Minister of Karnataka in 2008. But this decade was not his to shine.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 14: RSS uses religious festivals to embed sense of Hindu identity in locals, widen its base
Greeshma Kuthar •Till the 1970s, RSS didn't have a strong mass base in urban coastal Karnataka. The organisation remained Brahmin-centric, with most leaders belonging to the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 15: VHP strengthens after Hindu Samajotsav; newborn BJP distances from Sangh ahead of 1984 polls
Greeshma Kuthar •The Hindu Samajotsava is a yearly show of strength of the Sangh Parivar in Coastal Karnataka. The first such rally was held in Mangalore in April 1981 when Alva was serving his term as the district president for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The theme that year was 'unity of Hindus.'
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 16: Sangh appropriates local cultural symbols as Congress' brand of 'Hinduness' falls flat
Greeshma Kuthar •The programmes of the Sangh relied heavily on evoking a homogenising religious pride while appropriating local cultural symbols.
How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 17: Multiple accounts from Dakshin Kannada describe how divisive politics corroded everyday lives
Greeshma Kuthar •South Karnataka has a different side to offer everybody. For the occasional tourist, it brings forth images of the pristine coastline. For a historian, Karavalli is a treasure trove, with the expanse left by successive rulers and colonial governments. Even better for oral historians, as the majority, Tulu speaking population of this region believes in deities rooted in their past, the stories of whom have been passed on from generation to generation.