Karthik's musings

Rajkumar's death and the aftermath

There has been lot of discussion around how Bangalore reacted after the death of the legendary Kannada actor Dr.Rajkumar last month. Considering that Bangalore has a large population of non-localites, any discussion of this issue will tend to be heated. I was in Mangalore the day Dr.Raj died and could not come to Bangalore the next day because all the buses were cancelled. As such, I do not have any first hand account of the incident's aftermath.

However, I want to put forth what I feel is the key disturbing factor of these disturbances. It is the fact that in Bangalore pro-Kannada activism is been increasingly used by anti-social elements to mask their extra-curricular activities. Itz a no-brainer: you can carry out all your illegal activities and if cornered, say that you are been targetted because of your Kannada roots! The increasing jingoism all over - from established rowdies like "Agni" Sridhar, to local rowdies, to politicians like Vatal Nagaraj, to writers like DeJaGow, to organizations like Rajkumar Abhimanigala Sangha, to boot-lickers like Sa.Ra.Govindu - is indication of why everybody loves Kannada activism today. Couple of months back, the Bapujinagar wing of Karnataka Rakhshana Vedike was started and a big poster was put up announcing the same. I could see easily recognize a few local rowdies from the poster, and I can bet my wealth that the rest of them would not be people of great morals. I guess Vatal Nagaraj was the one who showed people how lucrative pro-Kannada activism can be, Sa.Ra.Govindu made the most of it, "Agni" Sridhar used it to come over-ground, and now petty rowdism in Bangalore has been institutionalized under the garb of fighting for Kannada.

Considering the increasing cosmopolitan nature of Bangalore and the reluctance of the migratory populance to become gel with the local population, these organizations are going to get a lot of opportunites to ignite fire. It will be unfortunate for Bangalore if there is no media for saner elements to voice their opinions.

Be courageous. Do not try to lead your brethren, but serve them.
-SWami Vivekananda