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print version[Posted below is selection of recent editorials from the Indian newspapers]
The Asian Age, August 31, 2015
Editorial: Taliban-like extremism
The gunning down of rationalist Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi is a blot on our society. The behaviour of these fringe religious zealot groups, who have assassinated three such eminent thinkers and elderly scholars in the last two years in Maharashtra and Karnataka, is no less than that of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A country boasting of such huge numbers of people of so many different faiths should also show tolerance for those who subscribe to atheism and are opposed to superstition and idolatry, etc. Kalburgi’s views may have been even more extreme, but then the same could be said of many professing faith in God and practising formal religion.
The fact that such murderous extremists have been emboldened to the extent of knocking on a man’s door and shooting him in cold blood points to how much leeway has been given by the lack of eagerness to solve such cases and bring the perpetrators to book. We know that for a while now extreme rightist elements have been playing up in certain areas of Karnataka, behaving quite like the Taliban or Al Qaeda in harassing people with different opinions and outlooks.
Kalburgi may have contributed somewhat by calling off the security provided to him. It is, however, not a matter of how much security a state can provide as it is of where our society is headed if people are allowed to get away with wanton destruction of the principles of a safe and secure life. A country that once boasted of one of mankind’s most ancient civilisations has to show that these values have not been extinguished by intolerance.
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The Times of India, September 1, 2015
Editorial
A rationalist’s murder: Don’t go soft on M M Kalburgi’s killers, even if they belong to a Hindu extremist group
On Sunday, 77-year-old Kannada scholar and rationalist M M Kalburgi was shot dead at his residence in Dharwad, Karnataka. The former vice-chancellor of Kannada University had often invited the ire of Hindu extremist groups for his views. Kalburgi’s murder seems to fall into a pattern. Rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare were gunned down in similar fashion in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Both had been at the receiving end of threats from Hindu fundamentalist groups.
People have the right to air their views in a democracy, no matter how offensive they may be to some. It is too early to conclude if Kalburgi’s killers belonged to the Hindu extremist fringe. But Bajrang Dal leader Bhuvith Shetty has welcomed the assassination. The point is that even if there were reasonable grounds to suppose that the dastardly murder was the work of a Hindu group will it be investigated – and charges pressed – with the rigour it deserves?
The question is pertinent because there have been too many instances where Hindu extremists are suspected in terror attacks and the killers have not been brought to book. Be it the Malegaon blasts in 2006 and 2008, the Samjhauta Express bombings in 2007 or the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad the same year, investigations have been sloppy at best. In June this year Rohini Salian, special public prosecutor in the Malegaon blast case, made the disturbing allegation that the National Investigation Agency had instructed her to “go soft†on the accused. It is high time the government realised that terror has no religion – whatever its prefix, it needs to be tackled sternly.
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The Hindu, September 1, 2015
Editorial
Act against right-wing groups
Sunday’s murder in Dharwad of the outspoken Kannada scholar, M.M. Kalburgi, is tragic and alarming. It is the first such instance in Karnataka, which has a tradition of free speech and a record of outspoken scholars and writers. Kalburgi, a Sahitya Akademi award winner and an authority on Vachana literature, was known for his sharp criticism and questioning of superstitious beliefs, and received a death threat from the leader of a fringe right-wing group last year. Since June 2014 he was given police protection but some months ago he requested that it be withdrawn. While the identity of the two assailants, and their motive, are yet to be conclusively established, the nature of the threats against him has led investigators and the intelligentsia to suspect the role of fringe groups. This, especially given the backdrop of the murder of rationalist writer Narendra Dabholkar in 2013, and of CPI activist Govind Pansare in 2015, both in Maharashtra. In all the three cases the assailants were motorcycle-borne, and shot from point-blank range.
While hasty conclusions on the latest murder would be imprudent, there is no denying that fringe right-wing groups have created an atmosphere of intolerance to outspoken writers and academics who question religious practices and myths, thereby putting pressure on freedom of speech and expression. Soon after Kalburgi’s murder, a case was filed by the police in Mangaluru against a Bajrang Dal activist who tweeted that the “next†victim would be the Kannada writer K.S. Bhagwan, and the activist was arrested. The social media have amplified such threats, which are acerbic and abusive in nature and typically target writers or academics who question ideologies and religious beliefs. There is enough evidence of the use of brute force by these fringe groups to enforce their points of view. There is a need to crack down on these groups which profess violence. It is important to use for some of these outfits the same yardstick as is used for other religion- and ideology-based extremist groups. Unfortunately, a majority of the cases filed against them or their leaders for inflammatory and abusive remarks and even violent acts do not result in convictions, and that emboldens them further. It is also crucial to monitor and promptly curb threats made through social media. These actions are needed to ensure that daring, fierce and tempered academic and literary opinion continues to be freely expressed without fear of any retribution. Whether or not fringe groups were involved in Kalburgi’s murder is immaterial here.
