Mangaluru, a port city by the Arabian Sea
in southern Karnataka, is home to about six lakh people. It has three malls,
two parks and two beaches where the young and not-so-rich can hang out—but they
can’t escape the gaze of vigilante groups that impose their moral code.
Suresh Bhat Bakrabail, 70, an activist with the Karnataka Forum for Communal Harmony, compiles a list of moral policing incidents reported in the local newspapers. Last year he says 139 incidents were reported from Mangaluru and neighbourhood. The majority, 129, were attributed to Hindu right-wing groups and six to the Muslim right-wing Popular Front of India. Everything is grist to their mill, a group of Hindu and Muslim girls and boys travelling for a sports event, a Muslim man dropping off his female Hindu employee at home, a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy’s friendship in college.
The Bajrang Dal, militant youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, is the strongest Hindu outfit. According to Sharan Pumpwell, its Mangaluru-based convener for Karnataka, the organisation has 80 units in the city, about 3,000 active members and 10,000 supporters. The Sri Ram Sene, of Amnesia Pub 2009 notoriety and Hindu Jagarana Vedike, whose activists assaulted men and women celebrating a birthday at Morning Mist Homestay in 2012, are technically different, but “we’re all the same, we work together”.
The Dal motto is Seva (service), Suraksha (security), Sanskar (culture). It draws most of its cadres from the Billava and Mogaveera communities, traditionally farmers and fishermen respectively. There is no single point of entry. Some might have attended RSS shakhas as children and moved to the Dal as adults. Others might enter via the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in college or through friends already part of Bajrang Dal.
The Dal provides a sense of purpose to these young, working class men who do not have much to occupy themselves with after work. While few understand the organisation’s larger ideology, they believe they are doing something to protect their country and religion. They give their best to the cause, even if it means breaking the law or a few bones.
Bajrangis, as they like to call themselves, regularly participate in activities such as blood donation and ensuring the delivery of government schemes. But their focus is the Sangh Parivar’s favourite bogey, “Love Jihad”, and cattle vigilantism. It helps that college students, who are often victims of “action” against “Love Jihad” or moral policing do not speak out or even file police complaints due to fear and parental pressure. But the cattle transporters and sellers for whom this is a livelihood hit back occasionally.
On October 9, 2015, flower seller Prashanth
Poojary, 29, was hacked to death by six men as his father watched in front of
their shop in Moodabidiri, 34 km from Mangalore. He was involved in raids
against illegal cattle transport and even led an attack on alleged cattle
smugglers about 45 days before his murder, his father said. Sharan Pumpwell
held the Popular Front of India responsible for the murder.

Ganesh Kullal, 19, caterer, joined because he wanted
to help people. ‘I like being a part of Bajrang Dal as it gives me a sense of
community. I can always do more when I’m part of a group than inspanidually. We
clean roads, clear stones off the road, volunteer during festivals and events.’

Arjun Poojary, 18, diploma student in mechanical
engineering, founding member of Kunjathbail unit. He says there were many
clashes between Hindus and Muslims over cows in this neighbourhood on
Mangaluru’s outskirts. ‘Once a friend saw a Muslim throw a stone at a cow and
confronted him, beating him up when he was rude. Later when three of us were
having noodles at a Chinese food stall, 23 guys came and beat us up.’ Arjun
doesn’t like people of the ‘other religion’, which is why he joined Bajrang
Dal. ‘We opened a shakha here. There have been no issues after that.’

Rakesh Gowda, 22, operates two sweet corn kiosks
with two friends. One kiosk used to be at the City Centre Mall. ‘The culture in
the malls is like foreign. The girls and boys are lacking in Hindu culture. The
girls go to parks and beaches with Muslim boys.’ He complains that though there are a lot of
Hindu boys in Mangalore, they don’t come and join the Bajrang Dal. ‘It is good
if they join the organisation and work for Hindu Rashtra. They only hang out at malls and
party.’


Preethesh Kumar, 24, accountant. ‘Christians don’t
do Love Jihad. They help poor Hindus financially and socially, give them the
Bible and convert them.’ To counter these conversions Bajrang Dal holds satsangs
and makes people aware of why they shouldn’t convert, organises ghar wapsi and
arranges for educational and medical help. There is a conversion centre called
New Life, we attacked
(in 2008) all their centres at the same time and broke the statues. The case is
going on but conversions have come down, they fear us a bit now but Muslim
conversions have gone up.’

Prajwal K Nagesh, 16, is a class ten student. He
has been part of the Bajrang Dal for seven months. ‘I like Hindutva and want to save my religion, which is why I have joined the
Bajrang Dal.’ He attends weekly meetings and says he learns good things about
his religion. Son of a bus driver, he hopes to become a mechanical engineer.

Nishanth Shetty, 28, a hotel management graduate,
trained on a ship in Dubai and is looking for a job in Mangaluru. ‘College
students here get sucked into drugs and alcohol. We talk to them during
meetings and tell them to not consume alcohol or drugs and to engage themselves
more in spirituality. We are Hindus and our New Year is Ugadi. We tell people
beforehand not to celebrate in public spaces. They don’t always listen but what
can we do about it?’

Sushant Suvarna, 28, is a contract worker. To
prevent Love Jihad, Bajrang Dal relies on a network of eyes and ears searching
for instances of Muslims going out with Hindu girls. ‘When they go with Muslim
boys to a mall, our guys working in the mall alert us. In colleges ABVP members
pass on information. When they go to a movie hall, auto drivers and bus
conductors alert us. They call or WhatsApp us and we take action. They may not
even be members of the Dal, merely supporters.’

Mahesh Kotian, 23, factory supervisor. He joined
the Dal six months ago. ‘About 5-6 months ago we got information about a tempo
carrying 10 animals in Bajpe. I informed our leader and messaged our
karyakartas. Five of us asked the driver where he was bringing them from. He
didn’t answer and tried speeding away. We chased him on our bikes. We gave him
2-3 slaps and he agreed that he was smuggling them. We handed him to the
police. The cows were moved to a goshala. When we beat up Muslims (for illegal
cow trade) the police file cases against us but when we don’t, they support us.
They tell us we are doing good work and ask us to inform them so that they can
also come along.’

Vikesh Kumar, 27, sales manager in an automotive
company. ‘We work for Bajrang Dal just as Hanuman works for Lord Ram. New
Year’s is not Indian culture. This time I went with a group of 20 to the police
and complained about girls dancing with boys under the influence of marijuana
at the Gold Finch pub. People were drunk and kissing in public. They go to
rooms and sleep with boys. There were also Muslims there, so I thought the
situation isn’t right. Police came with us, warned them and closed it down by
11 p.m. We didn’t beat up anyone; we used to earlier but not so much now.’

Nilesh Hindupura, 23, full time Bajrang Dal
Vistarak, sleeping in a room adjoining his office. From Kasaragod in Kerala, he
chose Mangaluru because Muslims are in a majority there [Kasaragod] so it’s ‘a
gone case’. ‘I don’t want that to happen here, but this place will be like
Kasaragod in five years. They start attacking Hindus once they are a majority.
Their numbers shouldn’t rise. Love Kesari (Hindu men marrying Muslim women) hasn’t
begun yet, but we need to start it soon. Hindus respect everything—land, river,
etc., as mother. If Muslim girls go with them, wherever they go they will be
respected. I am not speaking on behalf of the Dal, but personally I think it
should be done.’

Chetan Pumpwell, 32, auto spare parts salesman when
not busy as Bajrang Dal samyojak. ‘This was a Hindus Rashtra earlier and it
should be the same again. Our aim is to build the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, to
ensure that other religions don’t trouble Hindus and stop conversions and Love
Jihad. Once we stop all these we won’t have any work to do at Bajrang Dal, it
will be a Hindu Rashtra. Those who say the Dal takes the law into its own hands
have no idea how much work it does.
Whenever there is a squabble and people are
beaten up, the blame falls on Bajrang Dal. People always talk against us,
nobody says anything about the good work that we do.’

Sharan Raj, 29, auto driver. He says Muslims are
involved in ‘Land Jihad’, threatening Hindu landowners to sell, sometimes
offering more than market rates. ‘They build flats sold only to Muslims,
ensuring that their numbers rise in the locality which helps them during
elections. We request landowners to not sell to Muslims but to Hindus who will
offer the same rates. We explain about Hindu Rashtra—we are a majority and
Hindu Rashtra can be achieved only if we continue to be a majority.’