Watch him

The likes of Pramod Muthalik,founder of the Sri Ram Sene that attacked women in a Mangalore pub in January,find their sustenance in the civic outrage they cause. As such,adverse publicity does not harm them; in fact,any publicity is better than no publicity as far as they are concerned. That is why it may seem that it makes sense to deny him precisely that publicity. Yet,there is an equally good case for tracking his moves and public utterances in a sustained manner. Even now,so many months later,the atmosphere of fear created by his followers in Mangalore is palpable.

In a feared extension of his reach,Muthalik came to Delhi on Saturday,addressed delegates of sundry organisations over a two-day meet,and slipped out. (Incidentally,the deputy commissioner of police in whose jurisdiction the meet lay,claimed ignorance of Muthaliks presence in the national capital.) It has been learnt from the delegates that Muthalik had come to promote his Hindu agenda apart from haunting pubs,terrorising youth on Valentines Day and imposing a dress code on women university students,it appears the agenda will also include the plight of the Hindus in countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The danger posed by agendas like Muthaliks is greatly magnified by the kind of discourse they wreak upon even those unaffected directly by their violence. In most societies there often exists,amongst a handful,a socially regressive instinct thats silenced by the more rational,and carefree,consensus of the rest. Agitations like Muthaliks spark that regressiveness and feed on it. And they put normal,law-abiding folks in fear of the consequences of running into his goons. Ignoring him is not an option.