Karnataka’s cities are seeing bandhs over Amit Shah’s insult to Ambedkar

With dozens of civil society groups in Karnataka banding together to give a call for action, this is the first time Mandya and Bidar saw a bandh over an insult to Ambedkar.

A group of people stand around a small fire on the ground during a protest on a street with buildings and signs in the background.

Organisers of the bandh in Bidar raise slogans against Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks about BR Ambedkar. Special arrangement

Two towns in Karnataka have seen complete shutdowns for the first time over what some may perceive as a ‘Dalit issue’ — an insult to Dr BR Ambedkar. Sparked by Union Minister Amit Shah’s remarks about Ambedkar, several marginalised groups and progressive organisations have joined forces to successfully organise bandhs in at least six cities and towns across the state.

During the winter session in the Rajya Sabha last December, Amit Shah had said, “It has become a fashion now to (chant Ambedkar’s name). If you had taken god’s name that many times, you would have gone to heaven for the next seven births.”

The comment triggered protests across the country, with the opposition Congress demanding Shah’s resignation. Dozens of civil society groups in Karnataka banded together and gave a call for a bandh, achieving success in several cities.

The bandhs began with Gadag and Kalaburagi on December 24, followed by Koppal on January 6, Mandya and Mysuru on January 7, and Hubballi-Dharwad, Bidar, and Vijayanagara on January 9. This is the first time Mandya and Bidar saw a bandh over an insult to Ambedkar.

The bandhs received good, and in some cases, near-total response from the public. Protesters took out bike rallies and held public meetings, waving blue flags. Effigies of Amit Shah were burned in several places and most shops remained shut during the day. Transport services were also suspended, and some schools declared holidays. In Gadag and Mysuru, some Congress MLAs extended support.

In Bidar, a city in northern Karnataka with a population of about five lakh, the Swabhimani Dr BR Ambedkarvaadigala Horata Samiti, a federation of about 30 progressive groups, successfully organised the bandh.

Mahesh Gornalkar, the general secretary of the samiti, told TNM that this was the first time that such a bandh had been organised in the city. “Even though four of the district’s six MLAs are from the BJP and two are from the Congress, not a single shop was open. Only hospitals, medical shops, and petrol bunks remained operational,” he said.

A large number of shops in Bidar are owned by Muslims, while the Lingayats dominate the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee. Mahesh said that many civil society groups, “Basavanna’s followers,” as well as Muslim and Buddhist religious leaders, supported the bandh. “It is not possible for Dalits alone to organise a bandh,” he said.

According to Mahesh, there is a growing concern among many communities that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are out to change the Constitution.

He said that the organisation he heads, the Manava Bandhutva Vedike (loosely translated as the Forum for Human Solidarity), along with other groups, had held several discussions. “All those who have the right to vote, those who have benefitted from reservations, who have the right to an education, have all supported the bandh. There is a feeling that the BJP is anti-women, anti-Constitution, and anti-equality.”

This sentiment, he said, has been building for the past decade, acquiring momentum in the wake of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act passed in December 2019, alongside the threat of the National Register of Citizens (which has so far only been implemented in Assam). BJP leader and former MP Ananthkumar Hedge’s statement in March 2024, ahead of the Parliamentary elections, that the BJP needed to secure over 400 seats to change the Constitution, strengthened the belief that the country’s Constitution was under threat. The ongoing violence that broke out in Manipur in May 2023, particularly the sexual violence against women, further reinforced this threat. “People now think that this will not stop if they don’t unite,” Mahesh said.

Shobha Kamatar of Slum Janandolana, told TNM that progressive and pro-Dalit organisations together decided to call for a bandh. Progressive groups had established close ties in the Hubbali-Dharwad region during joint agitations over the Kalasa-Banduri issue, she said, and often held protests together. 

In the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad, the shutdown received a positive response, with shops remaining shut and vehicles remaining off the roads. Dharwad district has been a BJP bastion for decades and has also seen significant communal flare-ups, perhaps more than other parts of northern Karnataka.

Gadag town saw a shutdown on December 24, supported by Lingayat groups, merchant associations, and Kannada organisations.

Ashwini Madankar, co-convenor of the Samvidhana Samrakshana Samiti, which organised the bandh in Kalaburagi, told TNM, “Leaders of many marginalised and backward communities, such as Kuruba, Bhovi, Kabbaliga, Banjara, and Muslims, are convenors of the samiti. All of us went around the city area-wise to get public support. That’s why it was such a success. On the day of the bandh, people were holding Basavanna’s and Kanaka Dasa’s flags during the protest rally. This is an indication that Ambedkar’s ideas are reaching people.”

Basavanna, a 12th-century philosopher, is the founder of Lingayatism, while Kanaka Dasa, a 14th century Dwaitha Vedana philosopher, was a Kuruba who was not allowed entry into the famous Krishna Temple in Udupi.

In Kalaburagi, however, this is not the first time that a bandh has been observed over what is considered a ‘Dalit issue’. Ashwini said there was a complete shutdown following the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old Dalit girl in Vijayapura district (formerly known as Bijapur) in December 2017. “Although the bandh was successful, it was mostly supported by Dalits back then,” she said.

The CAA-NRC protests played a significant role in building cross-community alliances. “Since then, many Muslims participate in protests against insults to Ambedkar or the Constitution. Now, Dalits and Muslims protest together. When one is in trouble, the other joins in protest.”

Ashwini added that Kalaburagi had also shut down when Anantkumar Hegde made his remarks about altering the Constitution.

Naganna Gowda, an activist based in Mandya, told TNM that this was the first time Mandya had seen a bandh over an insult to Ambedkar. While Dalit groups formed the driving force behind the bandh, farmers’ groups, progressive activists, Muslim organisations, and left-wing groups all lent their support, he said.

He said that the organisers had gone around the town garnering support for the bandh, and most shop owners cooperated. A large number of shops in Mandya town are owned by Marwadis, followed by Muslims. “We ensured that small eateries stayed open. Workers need to eat.”

Aroma of protest: Meat served at Kannada Sahitya Sammelana for the first time in 100 years

Naganna said that although the bandh was peaceful and the town was shut down, the media focused on the few shops where altercations occurred. While attempting to get some open shops to close, the bandh organisers had faced resistance from a supermarket chain outlet and a few other shops run by BJP supporters. 

“Even during Cauvery bandhs, these kinds of altercations occur, but the headlines always say the bandhs were a success. Because this bandh is about Ambedkar, the media isn’t ready to give credit,” he said.

Siddharth Singe, co-founder of the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (Bheemavaada), told TNM that these bandhs were part of a larger shift in consciousness across Karnataka, particularly in response to the perceived attacks on the Constitution, such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about winning over 400 seats in Parliament and fears about the BJP changing the Constitution.

“In the past, there wasn’t much awareness about the Constitution,” Siddharth said. But that changed when the CAA was pushed through in 2019. “Dalits and Muslims felt that they would be driven away from their homes.”

Since then, many Constitution-awareness programmes have been held across north Karnataka, he added.

“Now, smaller backward communities are coming together. There is a feeling that we have benefitted from the Constitution, that we have some security because of it, and that without the Constitution, we will be treated as second-class citizens. People now feel that Ambedkar wrote the Constitution for all people, (not just Dalits). They feel that if they protect the Constitution, they are protecting themselves,” Siddharth said.

On whether the Congress government’s Constitution Awareness Jatha in January-February 2024 had any impact on the movement, Siddharth acknowledged that it had contributed to some extent. “The jatha and progressive groups have played a role (in creating awareness about the Constitution), but the major push comes from Dalit groups.”

Asked about support from caste groups such as the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who have long been projected as a numerical majority in the state, Siddharth pointed out that while these two groups were socially dominant, he pointed to the leaked findings of the caste census and said that the two communities did not form a numerical majority.

Why Karnataka’s caste census report is still a secret: The inside story

“Today, we are seeing many Scheduled Tribes, Muslims, Backward Castes, participating across the state and they are the majority,” Siddharth said.

He also said that Lingayats were not a homogenous block, even though many Lingayats and Lingayat seers were aligned with Hindutva. “Followers of Basavanna, not the Lingayats who see themselves as Hindu, support this movement because they too believe in the Constitution. There are also backward castes among the Lingayats, such as the Ganigas, who participate,” he added.

Courtesy: The News Minute

Note: This news is originally published on thenewsminute.com and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially for human rights.