What led to the arrest of Kannada journalist #SantoshThammaiah?

On Tuesday, a Karnataka court granted bail to journalist Santosh Thammaiah who had been arrested for allegedly making inflammatory comments against Prophet Muhammad and Tipu Sultan during an anti-Tipu Jayanti meeting in Kodugu on November 5. The Ponnampet Court in Kodagu granted conditional bail directing the journalist to stay in Kodagu.

Thammaiah, an editor of the Right-leaning Kannada magazine Aseema, was booked under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs). Thammaiah was arrested late on Monday night by Gonicoppa police, resulting in outrage among Right-wing dominated areas of Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. Social media had a hashtag supporting Thammaiah and slammed the government for the arrest. The Kannada journalist also writes columns for Right-wing daily Hosa Digantha published from Hubballi, Mangaluru, and Bengaluru.

The FIR was filed on November 7 by a local resident Askar KV on the basis of a news report published in Kaveri Times, a local newspaper. Local police said they deferred the arrest to avoid any unrest until after the Tipu Jayanti celebration on November 10. The police said the arrest was made after verifying the audio recordings of a speech delivered by Thammaiah at the event.

The copy of the FIR filed by Askar KV.

Thammaiah made the alleged remarks during the Tipuvina Karala Mukhagala Anavarana (“the exposure of Tipu’s dark side”) programme organised by a thinkers group called Pragnya Cauvery.  The outfit is founded by writer and theatre personality Addanda Cariappa. He could not be contacted as his phone was switched off.

Here is a loose translation of the speech published in Kaveri Times: “A certain prophet born in Arabia had established a religion based on intolerance towards others, this was the main reason behind the birth of terror element like Tipu Sultan. The Prophet’s ‘siddhantha’ (religious code) like self-centric, intolerance, etc. is explained in one of the chapters. Tipu Sultan, who believed in these religious codes, was the first terrorist the country has seen. His cruelty and intolerance against others is now being brought back by way of organising his Jayanti. The Kodavas who have suffered his cruelty will have to rise against Tipu Jayanti.”

The article published in Kaveri Times.

Kodagu has been dealing with unrest every November since 2015 when then Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the celebration of the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan on November 10 in all taluk and district headquarters. This angered the Kodavas, natives of Kodagu, who believe that the 18th-century ruler carried out a massacre against their ancestors in 1785.

According to the complainant Askar KV, Thammaiah allegedly said that Tipu Sultan’s acts of destruction were influenced by the teachings of the Prophet. Claiming that the speech was delivered to create unrest between Hindus and Muslims, Askar in his complaint said the alleged remarks had hurt Muslim sentiments. Askar told 101Reporters that a group of speakers including Thammaiah, RSS leader Sudhakar and Robert Rozario spoke against Islam. Senior writer Bacharaniyanda Appanna also endorsed their views. “The Muslim community reveres the Prophet and abusing or criticising him definitely pains them,” he said.

Amin Mohsin, former district unit president of political outfit Social Democratic Party of India, alleged that in the name of opposing Tipu Jayanti, the group was spreading hatred against Muslims—an offence under the law. Urging stringent action against accused, Mohsin said the provocative speech would disturb communal harmony and lead to clashes between two communities.
 

Protests in Kodugu over Santosh Thammaiah’s alleged comments.

However, Chammatira Praveen Uthappa, a Kannada journalist in Gonikoppa who was present at the seminar, said Thammaiah did not even mention any religion in his speech and only criticised Tipu Sultan. BA Appanna, who chaired the seminar, also said Thammaiah never desecrated any religion nor the Prophet during his presence. “Only one newspaper reported the speech in a distorted way while other papers reported in a usual fashion. Last year, when I was the chief guest at a function, the same paper had misquoted me as well,” he said.

Prakash Ilanthila, the CEO of Hosa Digantha, said, “Santosh’s arrest took place due to a portion of the speech he made in one of the events in Gonicoppa. Though it was not because of his articles, the company has hired advocates for his bail since he is our man. We will do everything to support and protect him.”

District RSS head Chakkera Manu Somaiah said the arrest was an atrocity on Hindu writers and the community. “Hundreds of anti-Hindu posts are floating on social media but no midnight arrests are made. Why was the police in a hurry to arrest Santosh? The state government did this only to engage in vote bank politics.”

Vinayak Bhat Muroor, editor of Hosa Digantha, said, “I have not seen this kind of arrest in my last 20 years as a journalist. The police have unduly targeted Thammaiah.” He also said they would run a special column against the “anti-Hindu move”. “How can they arrest a journalist on the basis of a news report? The claims made in the complaint should have been verified in both video and print before the arrest was made.”

However, Kodagu Superintendent of Police, Dr Suman D Pennekar, assured that the police have verified evidence against Thammaiah. “The arrest was made only after going through all facts of the event and ascertaining the committing of the offence as per the evidence available to us through various means.”

But Chikmagalur MLA CT Ravi and Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali claim the police had not followed the procedure in the case. “There was no need to arrest Thammaiah in the middle of the night and treat him like a criminal or an antisocial element. The government was clearly involved in the arrest and framing of charges,” Ravi said.

K Krishnamurthy, a senior advocate at the Gonikoppa court, said, “Section 295A was a strong section which was not needed in this case. It appears from the initial investigation that the prosecution may not stand enough ground on this case.”

The incident has taken the state politics by storm. While protesting against Thammaiah’s arrest, the Kodavas in Kodagu called for a bandh with the backing of the BJP and other Right-wing groups. This is the second time Tipu Jayanti celebrations have led to unrest in Kodagu. In 2015, two people lost their lives during the anti-Tipu Jayanti protests. On November 10 this year, the district administration ensured that the celebrations took place under tight security cover.

(The authors are members of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)