Outspoken Indian scholar killed by gunmen
MM Kalburgi died on his way to hospital after being shot by unidentified men in southern Karnataka state.
Renowned Indian scholar and rationalist, M M
Kalburgi, has been killed after being shot by unidentified men in the
southern state of Karnataka, police have said.
Police said on Sunday that two men came to
Kalburgi's residence in the town of Dharwad,
nearly 400km from IT hub of Bangalore,
and shot him after he opened the door.
 |
| Malleshappa M Kalburgi |
Kalburgi, a recipient of several literary awards,
including prestigious Sahitya
Academy, was rushed to
the district hospital by his family members but died on the way.
The Times of India newspaper said that the police
"strongly suspect" he may have been the target of "Hindu
fundamentalists".
....................................................................................
....................................................................................
Dharwad City Police Commissioner Ravindra Prasad,
however, told Al Jazeera that police was considering it as a case of murder and
a "special squad" has been formed to crack the case.
He said the police was not suspecting the hands
of any group and that investigation was under way with a "clean
mind".
Kalburgi, who was former vice chancellor of Kannada University,
in the southern town of Hampi,
was in a controversy last year in June for his remarks against "idol
worship," which is an important aspect of Hindu belief.
Far-right groups such as the Vishwa Hindu
Parishat and Bajrang Dal had filed cases against him and also demanded his
arrest for allegedly offending religious sentiments.
Kalburgi had recently requested the police
to withdraw armed guards, who were deployed at his house after receiving a
number of threats over his remarks on idol worship, International Business
Times India reported.
His murder comes months after a social activist
Govind Pansare was killed while on a morning walk in the city of Kolhapur in the western Maharashtra
state.
The killing is a reminiscent of the murder of rationalist
and author Narendra Dabholkar in the western city of Pune in 2013.
Indian news website Scroll.in pointed to a tweet from an account
belonging to the Bajrang Dal co-convener in Bantwal seemed to issue an open
threat to other academics who allegedly hurt Hindu sentiments.
Police Commissioner Prasad told Al Jazeera that
he was unaware of the above tweet, but promised to investigate it.
Since coming to power of Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi last May,
far-right groups have become vocal. The country of 1.2 billion has seen a sharp
rise in social tension in the first five months of this year.
Activists and members of civil society have
warned the government to rein in such groups.
...................................................................................................................................................................
The Times of India
..............................
Malleshappa M Kalburgi, controversial writer and scholar shot dead
BENGALURU: Malleshappa M Kalburgi, a reputed scholar and
academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi was
shot dead by unidentified men at Dharwad on Sunday morning, police said .
Three men who barged into his house shot him after an heated argument, police said.
While police strongly suspect that he might be the target of Hindu fundamentalist , they have also ruled out personal enemity over sharing of property.
Kalaburgi was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of hundred of his research articles.
Three men who barged into his house shot him after an heated argument, police said.
While police strongly suspect that he might be the target of Hindu fundamentalist , they have also ruled out personal enemity over sharing of property.
Kalaburgi was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of hundred of his research articles.
He was a noted Kannada epigraphist and a renowned scholar of the Vachana literature. However, his scholarship on the Vachanas has come under acute criticism in the 21st century.
A controversy broke out in the early 80s over Kalburgi's book, Marga-One, erupted. Religious zealots belonging to the powerful Lingayat community came down heavily on Kalburgi and he was forced to recant the allegedly derogatory references to the founder of Veerashaiva-the liberal Shaivism followed by Lingayats-Basavesh-wara, his wife and sister.
The denouncements grew louder among the community and he was summoned to a math in Hubli and forced to 'recant' a life's work.
Kalburgi's writings are a product of extensive research. Marga-One is a collection of papers on Kannada folklore, religion and culture. The controversy revolves around two articles which deal with Basaveshwara's wife and sister.
Though Kalburgi had apologised to the Lingayat seers, the controversy continued, with the fundamentalists demanding that the book be proscribed.
A frustrated Kalaburgi had declared later that he would never again pursue any research on Lingayat literature and Basava philosophy.
Last year, Kalburgi's comments at a public programme raised nany a eyebrows. Speaking at a programme on , Kalburgi had referred to remarks made by late Jnanapith awardee U R Ananthamurthy about idol worship in a collection of essays called "Bettale Puje Yake Kudadhu" (roughly translated as "Why nude worship is not acceptable").
Kalburgi had stated that writer U R Ananthamurthy had once urinated on the idols of Hindu gods, to prove that they are not powerful.
No comments:
Post a Comment