– Mohammad Atharulla Shareef
Mangaluru: Hate speech incidents in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts have surged fourfold, with rising Hindu vigilante moral policing. Over three years, 16 FIRs were filed for speeches harming communal harmony, per Legislative Council data.
Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara, responding to Ivan D’Souza, revealed hate speech cases: 1 in Dakshina Kannada (2023), 5 in Uttara Kannada (2023), 5 in Udupi (2023), none in D.K. and Udupi (2024), 4 in Uttara Kannada (2024), and 1 in Udupi (2025).
Communal violence in 2022 saw 174 incidents, including 86 hate speech cases (up from 29 in 2021 and 47 in 2020), 41 moral policing cases, and 15 violent cattle vigilantism incidents. Citizens for Peace and Justice, citing activist Suresh B. Bhat’s Chronicle of Communal Incidents in Coastal Karnataka, linked many cases to Hindutva outfits like Bajrang Dal, ABVP, and VHP, often tied to saffron protests after the Hijab ban at Udupi’s PU College for Girls.
Bhat, of Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum and PUCL, categorized 2022’s 174 incidents: 86 hate speeches, 41 moral policing (37 by Hindu vigilantes, 4 by Muslim vigilantes), and 15 cattle vigilantism cases (mainly by Hindu Jagarana Vedike and Bajrang Dal). Vigilantes targeted interfaith couples, attacking them even for sitting together or drinking juice. Suspected cattle transporters, often Muslims, faced assault and lynching. The report also covered religious conversions, attacks, and desecration of worship places.
