<p>The violence that happened in Hubballi on Saturday night deserves to be strongly condemned, and the government should initiate stringent action against both the perpetrators and the individual who provoked them through his communal social media post so that such incidents do not recur. Incensed over a derogatory WhatsApp status, a group of people from the Muslim community attacked the Old Hubballi police station and several policemen were injured in the attack. Whatever be the provocation, nobody has the right to take law into their own hands, especially when the police had already arrested the provocateur, Abhishek Hiremath. When a community is continuously targeted, it may come under pressure to react and retaliate, however undesirable such reaction may be. This may be what happened in Hubballi, which already was on the boil ever since a group of miscreants from a Hindu outfit destroyed fruits being sold by Muslim pushcart vendors in neighbouring Dharwad. Communal and social unrest has marred Karnataka in recent months with one controversy after another erupting with regularity—be it the attack on Christian places of worship, the hijab and halal controversies, the calls for boycott of Muslim traders or a ban on their participation at temple fairs. This has vitiated the atmosphere in the state and the violence in Hubballi has to be seen in that context.</p>.<p>The back-to-back instances of communal violence are also a reflection of the poor intelligence gathering mechanism in the state. The policing and intelligence system in the state is severely impaired due to rampant political interference in police postings and frequent transfers. The government claims that the Hubballi violence was pre-planned and that stones had been stored in advance. Why then did the police not take preventive steps?</p>.<p>The people of Karnataka have always lived in harmony with each other. But the peace and social harmony in the state in under threat now. This is because of the total failure of governance in the state, and that cannot be separated from the wrong and aggressive brand of politics pursued by the government. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra should take the major blame for that. They have adopted a soft approach toward extremists, instead of dealing with troublemakers with a heavy hand, irrespective of their religion. The Chief Minister, and all other ministers, took the oath of office promising to “do right by all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”. As such, it is incumbent upon them to uphold constitutional values and discharge their responsibility to the state.</p>
<p>The violence that happened in Hubballi on Saturday night deserves to be strongly condemned, and the government should initiate stringent action against both the perpetrators and the individual who provoked them through his communal social media post so that such incidents do not recur. Incensed over a derogatory WhatsApp status, a group of people from the Muslim community attacked the Old Hubballi police station and several policemen were injured in the attack. Whatever be the provocation, nobody has the right to take law into their own hands, especially when the police had already arrested the provocateur, Abhishek Hiremath. When a community is continuously targeted, it may come under pressure to react and retaliate, however undesirable such reaction may be. This may be what happened in Hubballi, which already was on the boil ever since a group of miscreants from a Hindu outfit destroyed fruits being sold by Muslim pushcart vendors in neighbouring Dharwad. Communal and social unrest has marred Karnataka in recent months with one controversy after another erupting with regularity—be it the attack on Christian places of worship, the hijab and halal controversies, the calls for boycott of Muslim traders or a ban on their participation at temple fairs. This has vitiated the atmosphere in the state and the violence in Hubballi has to be seen in that context.</p>.<p>The back-to-back instances of communal violence are also a reflection of the poor intelligence gathering mechanism in the state. The policing and intelligence system in the state is severely impaired due to rampant political interference in police postings and frequent transfers. The government claims that the Hubballi violence was pre-planned and that stones had been stored in advance. Why then did the police not take preventive steps?</p>.<p>The people of Karnataka have always lived in harmony with each other. But the peace and social harmony in the state in under threat now. This is because of the total failure of governance in the state, and that cannot be separated from the wrong and aggressive brand of politics pursued by the government. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra should take the major blame for that. They have adopted a soft approach toward extremists, instead of dealing with troublemakers with a heavy hand, irrespective of their religion. The Chief Minister, and all other ministers, took the oath of office promising to “do right by all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”. As such, it is incumbent upon them to uphold constitutional values and discharge their responsibility to the state.</p>
