This is with reference to the recent attacks on ladies in a pub in the town of Mangalore in the state of Karnataka in southern India.
The recent outbursts against what some are referring to as the "Talebanisation of Mangalore", or "Talebanisation of Karnataka", is amusing, to say the least. While the recent attacks on ladies who were patronising a pub in Mangalore, is despicable and deserves condemnation in the strongest terms, the phenomenon of a group of people proclaiming to protect the interests of certain communities and taking the law into their own hands, is not a new one in Karnataka. The incident in Mangalore may be considered as the latest manifestation of the innate fanaticism of certain sections of people in Karnataka.
What we are basically dealing with, is a group of people with an obviously warped mentality, who are unable to come to terms with certain other people doing, or indulging in, what they themselves are either incapable of or unwilling to do. This is leading to a feeling of frustration arising from an inferiority complex, which results in outbursts of violence of different forms against these other people who seem to be more successful in life, than these so-called protectors of the larger section of the population that are seemingly deprived one way or another.
Other manifestations of this form of "protectionist" fanaticism in Karnataka, are the anti-Tamil Cauvery riots that began way back in the early 1990's, and kept surfacing every now and then, with successive Chief Ministers demonstrating a shockingly inept attitude in tackling those situations.
In late 2004, we had attacks on cinema halls in Karnataka, including the so-called "technology-conscious" capital city of Bangalore, where Hindi (and other non-Kannada) films were screened on the first day of their release. The groups that carried out these attacks claimed they were doing it to protect the Kannada film industry that was in poor shape, and that Hindi films should be released for viewing in Karnataka only two weeks after release elsewhere in India ! Should those who watch non-Kannada films pay the price for poor quality films being made in Kannada ? Just as those ladies who visit pubs pay the price for a certain section of the people in Karnataka being unable to adapt to that life style ?
We should stop using terms like "Talebanisation" and instead use the term "Karnatakisation" for any such act by a group that claims to protect the interest of a few who are incapable of or unwilling to do, what others seem to do successfully without infringing on anyone's rights.
