Hate Offender: Meet Pramod Muthalik of Rashtriya Hindu Sena

Serial hate offender Pramod Muthalik rises from slumber each time he smells a potential to add hate fuel to set communal embers ablaze in Karnataka, his home state. It is the only way he can stay relevant as his shenanigans in the past have only earned him ridicule, and his political career is all but over.

But all is not lost for this man, a specialist in communalising all matters, and each time he is in the news, it adds to his self-anointed crown of titles such as Chief of the Rashtriya Hindu Sena, said to be the parent organisation of the Sri Ram Sena. He has also been a Bajrang Dal member but has earned the rare qualification of being expelled from the group. He then formed the Karnataka unit of the Shiv Sena which he later quit / was forced to quit, and eventually formed Sri Ram Sena. Around 59 years of age, now he is still best known for being taken to task for his misogyny and being on the receiving end of the Pink Chaddi campaign.

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Now he has decided to warm his hands in the ongoing communal situation in Karnataka where the saffron versus hijab crisis continues. He has reportedly ‘warned’ Muslims that India is “not Taliban nor Pakistan, Iran or Iraq. Shariat Quran hadees won’t work in this country, there is Constitution, Law & order here. holding sword u can’t do anything.” Pramod Muthalik has not explained the reason behind his bizarre “warning”.

However, he knows that all eyes are on the developing situation in Karnataka, and this is his attempt to feed off some crumbs of attention. He has of course had a dubious communal past as well. In 2015, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea  against a Bombay High Court decision upholding an order restraining him and his associates from entering the territory of Goa, saying they indulge in “moral policing”.

“The order might have been passed to maintain peace in Goa,” a bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and justice Amitava Roy said while rejecting Muthalik’s plea. “Goa people will take care of their interests. What are you doing? You people are simply doing moral policing,” it said, adding that “Sri Ram Sene activists barge into a pub and beat up boys and girls.”

Muthalik continued surfacing now and then, wherever he smelt a communal opportunity, and reportedly has multiple FIRs against him. In October 2021, Muthalik publicly called for the destruction of the Gadag Jama Masjid or Gadag Jumma Masjid claiming it was a temple and “it should be taken down”. Muthalik also gave a call to communal unrest and potential violence and said that “a new campaign will start to demolish Gadag Jama masjid and build Venkateshwara temple.” He announced that he will also work on an “an awareness campaign” in Gadag.

He had shared his opinion of the hijab saying that Muslim girl students seeking the right to wear hijab “should be kicked out” of college and the state government should “take a tough stand on ensuring that every student follows the uniform rules strictly.” He who often wears saffron robes of a Hindu priest even though it is not known if he is one, claimed “uniforms cannot be subjected to religious, caste and class concession.” He said that if the Muslim girl students “wish to follow their separatists’ ideology then they can go to Pakistan or Afghanistan.” He had free advice for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai too, saying the CM must “understand that even if he begs vote by wearing a hijab or burkha the members of the Muslim community will not give him a single vote. So, instead, he should work towards protecting Hindu sentiments.”

Muthalik claimed Karnataka’s BJP government “compromised” national security by “allowing the construction of a mosque inside the Bengaluru railway station and letting Muslims pray there”.  Muthalik also said, “It angers and pains us to see BJP nurturing parties/organisations like AIMIM, PFI, SDPI CFI etc to divide the Muslim vote bank of congress, they are rasing evil for their own benefit.” He also “warned” the state govt “that the Hindus’ curse will fall upon the BJP government in the coming days if they do not address their sentiments and the party will be whitewashed or meet a tragic end in the coming days.”

However, here is the catch, Muthalik also seems to have access to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai himself, even though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banned him years ago, after his goons barged into and attacked patrons at a pub in Mangalore. He was so upset then that he campaigned against the party in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, but joined the Karnataka unit of BJP in March 2014. However, he was sacked after protests from other members of the party. Pramod Muthalik has claimed to be an admirer of Nathuram Godse, as well, and according to news reports, he regularly attends events related to Godse. In June 2018, less than a year after the assasination of journalist Gauri Lankesh, he had compared her to a dog and said, “Many wanted PM Modi to react after Gauri Lankesh’s death. Why should Modi react if some dog dies in Karnataka?”

He is now flaunting his access to CM Basavaraj Bommai who he met after the murder of Bajrang Dal worker Harsha in Shivamogga. Muthalik was accompanied by Public Works Minister C C Patil that day.

Image Courtesy: thenewsminute.com

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