A recent report investigating the attack against women in a Mangalore pub has found cultural policing was rampant in Dakshina Kannada district even before that incident.
The study titled Vigilante Attacks on Women and Minorities 2008-09 by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties in Karnataka said Hindutva groups like Ram Sene and Bajrang Dal were involved in several such incidents in the past.
The report was based on a research involving individuals from various communities, social activists, police officials, and journalists. The district comprises five taluks including Mangalore, Bantwal, Puttur, Sullia, and Belthangady.
“We went to Mangalore to investigate the incidents and collect testimonies regarding acts of cultural policing in March. We found there was an atmosphere of intimidation and fear still prevailing there. Students were talking about minority youth coming under the scanner of Hindu groups. We found that there were several incidents of cultural policing reported in newspapers nearly six months prior to the pub attack,” said Ramdas Rao, Bangalore co-ordinator ofPUCL.
Rao, along with Shakun Mohini from Vimochana, BN Usha of Hengasara Hakkina Sangha, and Arvind Narrain of the Alternative Law Forum (ALF), was part of the fact-finding committee which prepared the report.
The study quoted cases where youth from different communities were hauled to police stations by Hindu activists for meeting in public or travelling together.
“I’ve heard that when someone wears a tilak and walks around, people treat him with respect. The tilak has become a symbol of power and these men feel free to do any illegal act. They know that they will not be harmed,” said Narrain.
The pub incident had tarnished the image of Mangalore as an education hub. The city was proud of its high literacy and out-of-state student population.
“Now parents feel insecure about sending their children here. It doesn’t help that these acts of cultural policing have an unofficial sanction from state agencies like the police and district administration,” Rao said.
Most of the reported incidents of cultural policing have dealt with interaction between women and men of different religions, mainly minority communities. “These activists prevent youngsters from different communities to socialise, which is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” Narrain said.
According to social activists, this report was mainly prepared to highlight the courage of the youth. “Don’t look at the women and men who were attacked as victims. They are young people who are trying to live by the spirit of the Constitution by acknowledging the freedom of expression and opportunity to fraternise with other communities,” Rao said.
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