On October 1st, 2023, the city of Shivamogga in Karnataka had its peace shattered by communal unrest during the Milad un-Nabi/Id-e-Milad procession. The atmosphere took a distressing turn when an Islamist mob resorted to stone-pelting and a perverted mob mentality. The mob caused property damage and injuries to several individuals. This incident cast a somber shadow over the city.
This peaceful Muslim celebration showcases their lack of tolerance for others in the procession. The ‘peacefuls’ went on a rampage to harm Hindus in the region. While peace has been restored in the region, the locals must ask themselves if they got what they deserve. By voting a ‘secular’ party into power, the Hindus of Karnataka are facing repeated suppression and insults. Is this what they wanted to accomplish when they chose ‘freebies’ over freedom?
‘Peacefuls’ Use Provocative Imagery and Stone Pelting
The root cause of the unrest was the provocative imagery displayed during the Id procession. The procession had contentious cutouts depicting Tipu Sultan, shown in the act of harming Hindus. Additionally, some posters featured the glory of Aurangzeb and his role in building a Muslim empire in India. Moreover, there was a prominently displayed sword inscribed with Urdu text that seemed to be a suppression tactic of the ‘peacefuls’ in the region.
In an attempt to keep the region secure, the police initially covered a portion of the contentious cutout. However, their efforts to quell the unrest proved ineffective. The situation escalated, resulting in stone-pelting at the houses of Hindus in the region. Moreover, some participants in the procession also resorted to violence against law enforcement officials. Currently, the police have taken 60 people in custody. A total of 24 cases were filed by the police. Although the region is now peaceful, the Hindus are left to pay the price of secularism. Therefore, the chaos of a celebratory ‘peaceful’ event leads the residents to ask a poignant question, “Can’t Hindus live in Shivamogga?”
Stone Pelters Break A Teacher’s Heart
The price of ‘secularism’! Lady in the picture was a Kannada teacher in an Urdu school in Shivmogga. When riots broke on Eid, her own students attacked their home! pic.twitter.com/YZEoPbcU7H
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) October 6, 2023
Recently, a couple has spoken up about their heartbreak. The husband, at 72 years old, had dedicated his life to educating the youth of the region.
His wife, Sushila Bai, was also a teacher who had taught many of the students involved in the incident. In a media byte, the man expressed his deep sorrow and shock at the actions of her students. Some of her own students were pelting stones at her house during the violence.
Sushila Bai imparts Kannada language skills to local children at an Urdu school. Her secular heart led her to self-teach herself in Urdu to connect with her students. However, little did she anticipate that the very students she had nurtured and guided would destroy her home and property.
The heartbreaking video where the husband spoke to the media speaks of his loss of confidence in the goodness of humans. Since 90% of the couple’s attackers were students of his wife’s school, he says he and his wife are unable to contain their fear and grief at the way the ‘peacefuls’ treat their gurus. Despite the damage to their home, Sushila Bai and her husband have refrained from filing a complaint against the students they once considered their own.
The State of Hindus in Bharat
This unsettling incident in Shivamogga represents the cost of secularism that Hindus pay repeatedly in Bharat. Communal harmony always becomes the onus and responsibility of Hinds. Thus, the incident is a poignant reflection of the vulnerability that Hindus experience in the quest for ‘secularism’ in a land infested with ‘peacefuls’.
The teacher couple of Shivamogga has become the symbol of pain ‘peacefuls’ imparted to non-Muslims. Despite being educators who lovingly nurtured their students, the couple was a victim of stone-pelting by an Islamist mob that mostly comprised their students. Is their experience a glimpse of the challenges Hindus will face in Karnataka under the Congress government? Is this the Karnataka that freebie-loving Hindus wanted to experience?