College in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada enacts Babri Masjid demolition, stirs up row

The college is run by Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha, whose president is Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, a member of the south-central regional executive committee of the RSS. Speaking to The Indian Express, Bhat defended the skit and said that it was only depicting history. “The message is how outsiders attacked India and demolished its temple and culture… It has nothing to do with religion but shows the brutality of the invaders. India has suffered a lot at the hands of invaders and the demolition of Ram Mandir was one among them,” Bhat said. “Does any Sikh question when Indira Gandhi’s assassination is enacted? Do Tamilians object when Rajiv Gandhi’s killing is enacted? Why do you question when students perform history?” he added.

A video of the skit accessed by The Indian Express shows that it portrays the alleged destruction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya; the demolition of the Babri Masjid; and a symbolic foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Ram Mandir.

This is not the first time that such a play has been performed in the communally sensitive Dakshina Kannada district that witnessed two murders last year – BJP worker Praveen Nettaru and B Masood – that heightened tensions in the region.

In December 2019, a similar play was performed at Sri Rama Vidyakendra High School, a school owned by Bhat. He had defended the programme then too, saying that there was nothing in it to create religious discord.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to register a case. Dakshina Kannada in-charge, Superintendent of Police C B Rishyanth, said that they have not received any complaints so far.

The incident comes at a time when the newly elected Congress government in Karnataka has said that it will not allow communal activities or moral policing in the state. On Thursday, an anti-communal wing was formed in Mangaluru under the City Crime Branch to monitor communal activities in the city.