By Shankar Raj*
Bengaluru: After the hijab and halal row and the ban on Muslim traders from fairs in some temples in Karnataka, it is the ‘season’ for ‘mango fatwa.’
Also read: Religion comes in the way of vendors in Udupi
Right-wing Hindu groups have asked Hindus to boycott Muslim mango farmers and sellers because they “monopolise” the trade and deny Hindus space in the business.
Mango trading and selling are dominated by Muslim traders even as the season has started peaking across the state, especially in Bengaluru.
However, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has distanced itself from the call to boycott Muslim mango traders saying neither the party nor the government is involved in the campaign. Horticulture minister K Gopalaiah said: “It’s up to the individual to buy fruits from whomever or wherever s/he wants. The government has no role to play in it.” He however added that it is “the opinion” of some people that Muslims are monopolising the business. “Farmers hand over mangoes to those who offer a good price,” Gopalaiah said. “People of all communities grow mangoes and sellers are also from all communities. Let us leave this at this stage. We have other work [to do]. ”
The Congress Party has flayed the move. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar said the ban on Muslim vendors will impact farmers as most mango traders and vendors are Muslims. “Farmers will sell to those who offer the best price and it is Muslims who offer the best price,” he said and accused the BJP of targeting Muslims for political gain. “This will harm farmers more than anyone else. Even a ban on halal meat will hurt farmers,” he said.
The Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said “It is antinational on the part of groups to ask people not to buy mangoes from Muslim vendors. For hundreds of years, we have all eaten fruits and other food they (Muslims) sold. Why do such issues come up only around elections? Only to get votes?”
Opposition leader and former Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, said with the Assembly elections nearing, the BJP is “manipulating society with communal issues for political gain.”
Meanwhile, Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, in a tweet said: “Karnataka government has enabled brazen mob rule. Mobs are deciding who can sell what, and who can buy from whom. There is no “Muslim monopoly”, it’s just another excuse to enforce untouchability against Muslims.” Owaisi is an MP from Hyderabad in Telangana.
The call to boycott Muslim mango traders came from Chandru Moger, coordinator of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti in Karnataka. In a post on Twitter, he urged Hindus to buy fruits only from Hindu vendors and boycott Muslim traders.
*Shankar Raj is former Editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
