Antony- Kerala's Terminator Seed?
By Binu Mathew
18 July, 2003
The last time I wrote an article on the communalisation of Kerala, I titiled the article "In Memory Of Kerala".(1) Some criticised the title as too alarmist and naive. It was in January, when the American missionary James Cooper was attacked near Trivandrum by Sangh Parivar goons, and he was unceremoniously given deportation orders by the government of kerala even before recovering from the severe injuries he sustained, a la Gujarat, the victim being victimised again with the connivance of the state machinery.
I was appalled that such a thing could happen in Kerala, which prides itself in its great tradition of multi–culturalism and secular, democratic politics. But the events that followed only proved that our worst nightmares are coming true.
Muthanga Police Firing
It was on the 19 th of February that the unthinkable happened in Kerala.(2) On that day a police force of around 1000 men surrounded a group of agitating tribals inside the Muthanga forest reserve and fired indiscriminately at the virtually unarmed people. One tribal died, and a police man who was being held hostage by the tribals also lost his life in the altercation. What followed was even worse. Hundreds of tribals including women and children were hunted down and mercilessly beaten up. Some of the tribals who went missing on the 19 th and the days of police brutality still havent turned up. Women were sexually abused in police camps.
The way the government handled the issue crossed all levels of democratic decency. The government manufactured news stories in mainstream news papers linking tribal agitation with Peoples War Group , without any evidence. They even went so far as to say that the tribals were plotting to kidnap two of the Kerala cabinet ministers, that too with no evidence to support.
It was the worst police atrocity that occured in post independent Kerala. It was led from the front by the then Director General of Police, K.J. Joseph, a former military man who found it hard to differentiate between the police force and the military. The 'operation' that occured in Muthanga and what followed was truly militarist in nature. After the police firing, the police flushed out the media present at the forest and removed all traces of evidence. There were accusations of more tribal deaths, but they are not confirmed yet. The language the DGP used in his press conferences were shame to a democratic society. When a reporter pointed out that even pregnant women were beaten up by the police, pat came his reply, " Should the police ask, Madam, are you five months pregnant?" That tells the man, his force, and his political masters.
Idukki VHP Temple
The Temple that is being built in the Idukki reservoir (3) is another instant were the administration is dragging its foot to draw Kerala into the quagmire of communalism. On April 30, the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad conducted the "idol installation ceremony" at the "Ayyappa temple" while the government looked the other way. The case filed by the Kerala Electricity Board (KSEB) to remove the structure from its land is still pending in Kerala High Court.The KSEB claim that eight acres of land and Rs. One lakh resettlement amount was allotted by the Government in 1974 for relocating the temple which existed before the dam was constructed. As per then High Court order in 1976, the original idol was installed at the newly constructed temple at
Thoppippala.Pujas were not performed in the old temple from 1985 as the entire area got submerged in the reservoir.Recently the VHP activists trespassed into the 30-cent land where the old temple stood and started renovating it.
As all these things were going on, and as VHP went ahead and built the temple, the government of A.K. Antony looked on condescendingly with its soft Hindutwa eyes.
Trishul Distribution
On April 26 VHP supremo Ashok Singhal came to Kerala and launched the "Thrishul Diksha" ceremony at Alwaye. There were calls from several quarters to ban the Trishul Diksha. But it did not reach the 'soft hindutwa' ears of the Chief Minister. What the Kerala public got instead was a tirade against minorities by Singhal threatening to "eliminate" the entire minorities, communists and secularists. Singhal also demanded to oust Dewaswom Minister G. Karthikeyan from the State Cabinet for his comment that Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, where people of all religions worship, is not a temple of Hindus alone. Here again, the paragon of all virtues and Hindutwa's darling Chief Minister looked the other way.
Minority Survey
Early this month came the report of clandestine survey of christians and muslims (4) in Kerala. The hugely secretive survey which was being conducted by the Home department of the central government, employed the revenue authorities as opposed to the general census which is conducted by the Census department. The survey is restricted to two communities of Kerala,Christians and Muslims,their churches,mosques and the related institutions like schools or orphanages. With experience of Gujarat in mind there was a huge public outcry and the survey was halted temporarily.
MaraduAnd then happened the unfortunate incidents at Marad (5). At around 6.30 p.m. on May 2, 2003, a group of Muslim extremists who formed four groups, armed with lethal weapons attacked a group of unsuspecting fishermen belonging to Araya community. Within just half–an–hour, when the police came on the scene, there were nine dead bodies and over a score severely injured men and women on the beach.
This is the second time Marad has become the centre of communal clashes after the AK Antony led United Democratic Front government came to power in Kerala. Last year, on January 3, 2002, communal clashes between Hindu and Muslim extremists started in the afternoon and by morning there were five dead, and several injured.
It is too early to pass a judgment on the nature of the conspiracy behind this incident; the Kerala DGP said that it was a retaliatory attack carried out by the kith and kin of a person who was killed in the last conflict. But there are other indications too. It is now evident that the mosque and the mosque committee was involved, since discussions on how to retaliate for last year’s losses took place there and the biggest cache of weapons seized by the police came from the mosque premises, showing a wider communal conspiracy.
The Hidutwa forces which were trying desperately to find a foothold in the state decided to make the most out of it. They unleashed the technology made perfect in the communal laboratory of Gujarat in Marad also, ethnic cleansing. The 500–odd Muslim families who lived side by side with their Hindu neighbours in this small area have all left and there is no immediate likelihood of their returning home. And the Hindutwa forces had been playing every card in the pack to prevent their return.
Two families which were rehabilitated by the government under heavy police protection were forced to leave the area after sustained verbal abuse and physical destruction of their properties by the BJP activists. And the BJP and the RSS are not turning up for the several all party meetings held to seek a negotiated solution to the rehabilitation issue.
To add insult to the injury Viswa Hindu Parishat international secretary general, Pravin Togadia, visited Marad and warned of "Marad III" if muslims were rehabilitated. He said that the entire muslim families who fled the massacre were "criminals". He also threatened to pull down the Juma Masjid at Marad. As Togadia was seething such venom the police looked on. In fact he was escorted every where by the Kerala police inspite of the calls from the opposition and several organisations to prevent Togadia from visiting Marad and to arrest him. But in a farce, the police booked a case against the organisers of Togadia's meeting in Calicut for using loud speaker without police permission!!!!!!!
The day after Togadia left Kerala, A. K. Antony returned from Congress leaders meeting in Shimla. Listening to the pronouncemenst he made at the Trivandrum airport made one wonder whether Togadia never left Kerala soil at all !!! Both sounded the same. When reporters queried about the Muslim League demand, a coalition partner in the United Democratic Front(UDF) ministry, that the refugees of Marad should be rehabilitated before July 15,the Chief Minister dismissed the demand and accused the minorities of armtwisting the goverment with their organised strength. He also said, quite out of context, that the minorities who migrated to Europe and the Gulf states are better off in Kerala, and this is creating resentment among the majority community. Such statements coming from a Chief Minister shocked the Kerala society. Public outrage is pouring in from all quarters. But Antony is holding on steadfastly to his comments.
Antony's irresponsible statement has done irreparable damage to the social fabric of Kerala. What he has done is to divide the Kerala society with a huge wall of suspicion between the majority and the minority community which no peace loving Keralite ever wanted. His observations about the financial status of minority communities was all the more damaging. His wild allegations were not supported by any facts. He should have checked the census report which was readily available at his disposal. It would have shown that Muslims are one of the most backward communities in Kerala, either in financial status or in educational achievement. As about the Gulf money, Antony should have known that nobody would leave his/her native land for the harsh weather and insecurity of an alien nation, if the governments were able to provide employment. It is a well known fact that people of all religion have migrated to the Gulf/Europe/USA and the money the migrants send home is the life blood of the economically ravaged Kerala society.
The accusations that Antony made were not his new findings. These are the key arguments of the Sangh Parivar's hate campaign in the state. Antony was merely parroting the Sangh language.The Chief Minister was legitimising the Sangh parivar hatred of the better off minorities. Giving them a meaning for their hatred.
Not long time back, such accusations about the financial polarisation were made by another Chief Minister as well. It was none other than Narendra Modi of Gujarat, the Prince of Indian fascism. What a splendind harvest he reaped with his seeds of hatred is history. What is Antony out their to achieve with his brand hatred? Will he be a terminator seed for Kerala?
( Binu Mathew is the editor of www.countercurrents.org)
1.In Memory Of Kerala By Binu Mathew
http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-binu200103.htm2.The Unthinkable Is Happening In Kerala By V. Muhammad Sharif
http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-sharif.htm
3 VHP Builds A Temple In Idukki Dam By Mukundan C. Menon
http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-menon110503.htm4 Clandestine Survey Of Christians And
Muslims In Kerala
http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-survey030703.htm5. Massacre In Marad By N.P. Chekkutty
http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-chekkutty150703.htm