Dakshina Kannada: at last, the return of reason and peace

 For the first time in many years, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts have seen a spell of relative calm. Ever since the State Government introduced stricter law-and-order measures to curb the communal incidents that had long plagued the region, the difference has been visible. The administration’s message has been simple: peace and public order are non-negotiable, and those who disturb it—no matter their affiliation—will be dealt with under the law.

For decades, this coastal belt has been held hostage by communal forces that thrive on polarization. The Sangh Parivar, with its network of affiliated outfits, repeatedly fomented unrest through a steady stream of provocations. Attacks and counter-attacks between communities became a tragic routine. Educational institutions, hospitals, and businesses that gave Dakshina Kannada its progressive image suffered reputational damage as fear spread. Outsiders began to view the region as unsafe.

The BJP and its affiliate organisation like RSS and VHP both in power and out of it, bear much of the responsibility for this atmosphere of lawlessness. Whether through silence or active complicity, the party and its affiliates encouraged their men who were behind the trouble. Murders, arson, and mob clashes became so frequent that the abnormal became normal. The party’s discriminatory behavior during crises deepened the divide: when former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visited Mangaluru after communal murders on both sides, he chose to visit only the bereaved Hindu family and ignored the Muslim victim’s. That single act sent out a devastating message — that the ruling party cared only for one community’s grief. It was a symbol of the larger political narrative: the BJP is for Hindus, not for all citizens. The BJP never followed Raj  Dharma as profounded by its own stalwart Vajpayee, former PM.

This partisan approach, reinforced by the RSS and the VHP, entrenched distrust between communities and turned Dakshina Kannada into a powder keg. The administration of that period failed to act impartially, allowing troublemakers to masquerade as defenders of faith. It is only now, under the current Congress government, that the tide appears to be turning.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parameshwara deserve credit for standing firm. They have given the police a free hand and refused to bow to political pressure. For the first time in decades, the police forces in Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada are working on the side of peace, not politics. FIRs are being filed, arrests made, and no one—Hindu or Muslim—is being spared if found responsible for violence.

Predictably, the BJP and its allies have accused the government of being “anti-Hindu,” a claim that falls apart under scrutiny. The Congress government’s policy is not anti-Hindu; it is anti-violence. It targets those who create unrest, not those who pray in peace. The loud protests from the Sangh Parivar merely reveal its discomfort at losing the political monopoly over communal narratives.

The public, meanwhile, has largely welcomed the new order. Citizens who were once weary of curfews and riots are now reclaiming normal life. There is cautious optimism that the region’s potential—as a hub of education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship—can finally be realized without fear.

Peace, however, is fragile. The challenge for the government will be to maintain its vigilance, to ensure that law enforcement remains non-partisan and professional. As long as the police act without fear or favour, and as long as the political leadership continues to protect that independence, Dakshina Kannada can look forward to a future where religion is a matter of faith, not a tool of division.

For now, credit where it is due: the peacekeepers—both in uniform and in government—have restored reason to a region that had almost forgotten what it looked like.