MUSLIM RIOTING IN BANGALORE HANDLED WELL BY NEW BJP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000239

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KIRF KDEM IN
SUBJECT: MUSLIM RIOTING IN BANGALORE HANDLED WELL BY NEW BJP
GOVERNMENT

REFS: A) Chennai 170, B) Chennai 104


1. (SBU) Riots broke out in one of Bangalore's Muslim districts on
July 11 following the desecration of two mosques and some hot-headed
agitation. Police apparently acted professionally to quell the
violence. This may help calm some Muslim concerns about the
attitude of Karnataka's newly elected BJP government towards the
state's Muslim minority. Allegations that Muslim politicians trying
to gain support ahead of local elections may have perpetrated the
desecration of the mosques, however, speak to the unease of many
Muslims about the BJP's rule.

Locals take offense at desecration of mosque
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2. (U) Muslims from the Jaya Chamarajendera Nagar and Hebbal areas
of Bangalore took to the streets on July 11 following the discovery
of pig heads placed at the entrance of two local mosques. (Muslims
consider pigs "unclean" and the placement of the heads of these
animals in the proximity of a mosque would give Muslims great
offense.) Locals discovered the animals' heads just before Friday
morning prayers.


3. (U) Government officials sprang into action to calm local
reaction to this offense. Bangalore's Deputy Commissioner of
Police, Syed Ulfath Hussein (a Muslim),and Roshan Baig, a Muslim
state legislator in Karnataka's legislative assembly who represents
the area (ref A),came to the area immediately and sought to assure
locals that the police would investigate and take action against
those responsible. Baig told us that the situation was "back to
normal" by mid-day.

Neighborhood activists rile up the locals
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4. (SBU) Baig said that other local leaders -- including some known
trouble-makers -- used the offensive incident to stir up unrest
later in the day. This agitation led to a crowd gathering and to
the blockading of some of the area's narrow streets. At one point,
a female motorist apparently lost her way and found herself in the
midst of the protestors, bumping one, which incited a round of
stone-throwing that shattered the her car's windshield. Police from
the local precinct rushed to rescue the woman, and the crowd turned
their stones on officers, resulting in severe injuries to at least
one policeman. The police eventually arrested eight "rowdies,"
bringing the crowd under control.

A test of tolerance for the new government
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5. (SBU) Baig praised the actions of the government and the police,
saying that police efforts to work with local leaders and target
only the most violent offenders was a success, in contrast to
incidents in the past where the police resorted to fairly
indiscriminate mass arrests of Muslim youths. The incident was a
test not only for Karnataka's new BJP government, which some feared
might openly antagonize Muslims (ref B),but also for Bangalore's
new police commissioner, Shankar Bidari, a long-time Consulate
Chennai contact who took over as the city's top cop on July 11.

An inside job?
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6. (SBU) Bidari told us that "local politics" was behind the ruckus,
insinuating that the events may be linked to upcoming municipal
elections. Some of our interlocutors told us that the original
offending incident -- the placing of the pigs' heads in front of the
mosques -- was likely perpetrated by certain Muslim local
politicians to stir up communal support in the run-up to these
elections. They told us that in previous such incidents, pig parts
have been thrown over the walls of mosques haphazardly, likely by
people who were outsiders (i.e., non-Muslims) afraid of being seen.
In this case, however, the pig heads were placed carefully at the
entrances to the mosques, suggesting that the perpetrators had
enough local knowledge to feel comfortable knowing when and how to
approach the entrances of the mosques without raising suspicions.

Comment
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7. (SBU) This set of incidents was unfortunate, but could have been
much worse. The fact that the police acted to defuse tensions and
target only the worst offenders is a positive sign that the new BJP
government has no interest in stoking sectarian tensions. It is
also positive that there were apparently no groups of non-Muslims
involved -- in previous incidents in Bangalore, Hindu groups have
taunted protesting Muslims with offensive slogans and material (like
pigs' heads),inflaming communal tensions. The allegations that
local politicians might resort to mosque desecration to gain support

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are unsettling, but hint at some of the suspicions that Muslims may
have about the new BJP government and its intentions towards
Karnataka's Muslim minority.

HOPPER