CD Web Desk
Newsroom, Nov 15: The mainstream media in Karnataka has once again toed the Sangh Parivar line, displaying unwavering loyalty and unconditional allegiance to the self-proclaimed saviours of Hindutva by unhesitatingly twisting facts in the arrest of a Kannada journalist who had allegedly made offensive remarks against Prophet Muhammad at an event in the communally sensitive Kodagu district earlier this month.
Santosh Thammaiah, whose articles often appear in Hosa Digantha and other right-leaning Kannada newspapers and magazines, was arrested by the police late Monday night when he visited his in-laws’ residence in Madhugiri, Tumakuru district, under Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings). He was released on conditional bail the very next day.
The arrest came a week after a complaint was lodged against him by Askar KV, a resident of Siddapura in Kodagu district, on November 6. The complaint pertained to an inflammatory speech Mr Thammaiah had delivered on November 5 at an “illegal” event organised by Prajna Kaveri, a Hindutva group, in Gonikoppa, Kodagu district. According to the police, the organisers had not even obtained permission for the event.
The hate speech
In his address, Mr Thammaiah reportedly said that the tenets preached by Prophet Muhammad in Arabia centuries ago were full of intolerance and selfishness. He went on to claim that Tipu Sultan became India’s first terrorist by following the Prophet’s teachings. BJP activists widely circulated media reports of his provocative speech. The complainant also alleged that Mr Thammaiah hurt Hindu sentiments by comparing Mir Sadiq (the minister who betrayed Tipu Sultan during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War) to Sri Krishna.
The complainant expressed concern that such speech could lead to unrest and disrupt peace in the region. He further stated that the remarks were intended to create hostility between Hindus and Muslims. Although the police initially ignored the complaint, they registered a First Information Report (FIR) after protests by local Muslims.
BJP’s misleading campaign
Within hours of Thammaiah’s arrest, the BJP’s social media team launched a campaign claiming that a journalist who opposed the Karnataka government’s Tipu Jayanti celebrations had been arrested as part of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s Muslim appeasement policy.
Journalist-turned-politician Pratap Simha, MP from the Mysuru-Kodagu constituency, was quick to denounce the arrest. “You timid govt arrested my dear friend Santhosh Thammaiah. We vl fight it out (sic),” he tweeted.
“Santosh Thammaiah, who spoke about the brutalities against Hindus by tyrant Tippu Sultan, has been arrested by the communal government in Karnataka… (sic),” tweeted C T Ravi, Karnataka BJP general secretary and Chikkamagaluru MLA.
“Arrest of Thammaiah is a sledgehammer blow to the freedom of the press,” claimed senior BJP leader Aravinda Limbavali.
“Santhosh Thammaiah, a writer with nationalist leanings, arrested by coward Karnataka Police for speaking against Tippu Jayanti. We will fight tooth and nail against this cowardly act (sic),” tweeted RSS leader B L Santhosh.
Meanwhile, activists of the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishat, Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagarana Vedike staged a protest in Madikeri on Wednesday and called for a Kodagu bandh from 12 noon to 1 pm (a lunch-hour bandh), which evoked a poor response.
The role of the media
While official mouthpieces of the Sangh Parivar brazenly justified the journalist’s provocative remarks, several newspapers and television channels that often proclaim their “impartial and neutral” stance deliberately concealed his abusive statements and falsely claimed that he was arrested merely for opposing Tipu Jayanti organised by the Karnataka government.
Leading English dailies such as The Hindu, The Times of India, and The New Indian Express apparently refrained from disclosing the real reason behind Mr Thammaiah’s arrest and instead highlighted the BJP’s claim that he was “arrested for speaking against the celebration of Tipu Jayanti”.
Press Trust of India, a prominent national news agency, claimed that Mr Thammaiah was arrested for his “speech against the recent Tipu Jayanti celebrations”, while the official website of Times Now directly stated that he was arrested for “opposing Tipu Jayanti” and amplified a BJP leader’s claim that “Hindus are under attack”.
