Kalburgi murder case: You can’t stifle the voice of freedom

Bengaluru: Over the last decade, atrocities by right-wing activists, including acts of moral policing, have cast a shadow on free liberal thought in Karnataka, and the killing of renowned scholar and researcher Dr M.M. Kalburgi has only validated that fact. Team DC reports on the cold-blooded murder and the outrage of writers and the common man against this heinous act.

Renowned scholar and rationalist Dr M.M. Kalburgi, who was shot dead recently by an unidentified gunman, was laid to rest with full police honours at a graveyard in the Karnataka University campus on Monday.

A pall of gloom descended on literary circles as thousands of people converged  for a last glimpse of the academician. A sea of humanity bid adieu to Dr Kalburgi. His mortal remains were taken in a silent procession from the Karnataka College grounds to the University after performing all the rituals at his residence in Kalyan Nagar. Emotions like anger, sorrow and dejection were writ large on the faces of litterateurs and intellectuals who had arrived from various parts of the State to pay homage to the deceased scholar.

Several pontiffs and elected representatives from across the state also attended the funeral. A number of schools and colleges were closed voluntarily out of respect for the scholar, even though the district administration had not declared a holiday. Members of various Lingayat organisations and Basava Sene, who had arrived from neighboring districts, formed a human chain and tied black cloths over their mouths at Jubilee Circle in Dharwad to condemn the killing of Dr Kalburgi.

Several litterateurs have submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner after going in a procession, to demand the immediate arrest of the assailants. Confusion prevailed in front of Dr Kaluburgi’s residence as hundreds of his students and Lingayat leaders shouted slogans against fundamentalist elements, seeking action against the killers.

“State government should extend security to all intellectuals who are facing a threat from Hindu fundamentalists. CCTV cameras should be installed at their residences and other technologies should be used to provide security to their houses. The police should also step up surveillance and patrolling around their residences. The threat perception can be reduced to some extent only if the assailants are arrested soon,” said M.I. Savadatti, scientist and the former vice-chancellor of Mangalore University.

BJP national vice-president B.S. Yeddyurappa, State president Pralhad Joshi, Opposition leader Jagadish Shettar, Kannada and culture minister Umashree are among those who have paid homage to Dr Kalburgi by visiting the Karnataka college grounds, where his mortal remains were kept for public viewing. Addressing the press, minister Umashree termed the incident a heinous attack on the Kannada literary world. Stating that the government has taken the incident seriously, she said that the culprits, who are spreading inflammatory statements through the social media, will be severely dealt with.

State cabinet hands over probe to CBI
 
The state cabinet on Monday decided to hand over the sensational killing of Kannada scholar Dr M.M. Kalburgi to the  Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), if the central investigative agency is willing to take it up.

Earlier, the state government had handed over the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Director General of Police Kishore Chandra confirmed that the government has directed CID to investigate the assassination of Dr Kalburgi.

The septuagenarian scholar’s cold blooded murder has shocked the state. “It is a well-planned murder by hired professional killers. It seems to be a supari killing, going by the manner in which it was executed. The assassins knew about Dr Kalburgi’s routine and attacked him at a time when he was at home with his wife, daughter and grandchild. The element of surprise and the precision at which the murder was executed shows that the assailants were professional killers,” said an official source.

He said that besides the alleged involvement of right-wing hardliners from who Dr Kalburgi had allegedly received death threats, the police are also looking at other angles including property dispute and personal enmity.

Meanwhile, the Hubbali-Dharwad police sought information from the Pune police on the initial investigation in the murder of Maharashtra’s anti-superstition activist and rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who was shot dead on August 20, 2013 by two motorcycle-borne men on the Omkareshwar Bridge near Pune’s Shanivar Peth area while he was out on a morning walk. The assailants had fired three rounds before speeding away. The killer bullet, which had pierced his head, had claimed Dr. Dabholkar’s life. The case is now being investigated by CBI.

“The police have also sought information from Kolhapur police on the murder case of Communist Party of India leader and rationalist Govindrao Pansare, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants in February this year, when he and his wife were returning home from their morning walk. After battling for life for four days, he had succumbed to injuries. The modus operandi in all the three cases seems to be similar,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.

According to eyewitness accounts and police sources in Dharwad, the assailant, who had come on a motorcycle with his accomplice, shot Dr Kalburgi pointblank on the forehead from a 7.65 mm countrymade gun, when the latter came to meet him in the living room. The criminal then escaped on the motorcycle. The police have recovered two empty cartridges from the crime scene. Ballistic experts from Forensic Science Laboratory, Bengaluru visited the spot on Monday and collected the cartridges from the spot.

‘Why blame right-wing groups?’

The state BJP on Monday slammed the police department for making “irresponsible” statements and alleging that right-wing groups were involved in the killing of renowned writer Dr M.M. Kalburgi in Dharwad on Sunday.

BJP spokesman and former minister Suresh Kumar said that the Home Ministry is irresponsible in concluding that right-wing groups were involved in the killing. He demanded an impartial and speedy inquiry.

“Dr Kalburgi’s murder is a shocking and shameful act. The party condemns this heinous incident. The state government should order a high-level inquiry and book the criminals,” he said. Slamming the police department, he said, “How could the police conclude that the right wing activists were involved even before an inquiry? It is not right to blame the ideology without conducting a probe.”

He said the man who sent a tweet threatening Mysuru writer K.S. Bhagwan should be arrested immediately.

When rational voices are silenced by bullets

The shocking murder of rationalist thinker Dr M.M. Kalburgi has caused an upheaval across the state. Over 500 people gathered at Town Hall on Sunday evening after the word spread like wildfire across social media. Eminent writers like Girish Karnad, Baraguru Ramachandrappa and Dr G. Ramakrishna were present to mourn the passing of the former Vice Chancellor of Hampi University.

With the Bajrang Dal lauding his death and talking about who will be next, one thing is clear. We no longer live in a society that is open to differing points of view, where opposing the beliefs of the masses will result in death. Dr Kalburgi’s tragic end is a clarion call to society, one that needs to be answered at any cost, the writers said.

“This is one of the most shocking and dastardly acts that I have come across,” said writer Vikram Sampath, who has been at the receiving end of similar backlashes in the past. “I was writing a series of articles for a newspaper and one of my views on Tipu Sultan resulted in violent protests, copies of the paper and effigies were burnt,” he said. “This is a dangerous time we live in because the only way to deal with a view that opposes yours is to do so intellectually. Kill the argument, not the person who made it,” Sampath said emphatically, adding, “Of course, the investigation is still on, so it’s wrong to jump to conclusions about the motive. However, a series of rationalists have been killed recently.”

Kannadigas pride themselves on being tolerant people, but are they really, asked eminent Kannada writer Gauri Lankesh. “The Lingayats who protested against Kalburgi need to learn about their own religion,” she said. Dr Kalburgi found himself under fire for merely referring to an essay by Dr U.R. Ananthamurthy, written over 20 years ago. “He cited that as an example at a conference of rationalist thinkers and it was misinterpreted. Lingayats need to understand their own religion before they speak about other people,” she said.

Author Baraguru Ramachandrappa, who addressed the gathering at Town Hall, called Dr Kalburgi a “great scholar who contributed hugely to Karnataka”. While Ramachandrappa had his own intellectual differences with Dr Kalburgi, these were sorted out at the academic level, he said. “Our society has deteriorated to the extent where we express our disagreement by shutting out a voice altogether,” he said.

Dr Kalburgi had drawn the ire of Lingayats in Karnataka for speaking out against idol worship, which is, in fact, expressly forbidden even according to Lingayat beliefs, Lankesh explained. “They were founded in the 12th century by Basavanna, who was looking at an egalitarian society. How many Lingayats know what the Ishtalinga means?”