Why Centre's rejection of Sree Narayana Guru tableau could have provoked anti-hijab protests in Karnataka

On Republic Day, in protest against the Centre's rejection of Kerala's tableau featuring social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, hundreds of Billava community members draped in yellow and waving yellow flags staged a massive procession billed the ‘Swabhimana Nadige’ (walk for self respect) in Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka.

Just a week later, on February 2, 50-odd Hindu students in saffron shawls and turbans massed in front of the Government Pre-University College, Udupi, where six Muslim girls insisted on wearing a hijab. This was the first 'mass saffron shawl protest' that instigated larger and more threatening ones in the subsequent days, not just at the Udupi College but also in other campuses.

There is a reading that the 'saffron shawl' provocation would not have been staged frequently and in such large scale fashion had it not been for the resentment of the Billava community and the shockingly huge mobilisation it achieved against the BJP in the form of the 'swabhimana nadige' on Republic Day.

“The hijab issue could have been scaled up to such monstrous proportions probably to distract the Billava community from the deep hurt it had felt at the BJP government's insult of Sree Narayana Guru,” said Harikishna Mijar, a Billava community member and a historian.

Guru's cross-border influence

Billavas are the mirror image of Ezhavas in Kerala. Like Ezhavas they were toddy tappers and small tenant farmers and, like the Ezhavas, were refused entry into temples. Like in the case of Ezhavas, it was Sree Narayana Guru who instilled self respect in Billavas. Sree Narayana Guru is the spiritual deity of Billavas, too.

Just like he pulled out a piece of rock from a river and installed the Aruvippuram Shiva idol, the Guru created a similar Shiva idol for Billavas in Kudroli, Mangaluru. The Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara temple remains the centre of the social life of the Billava community. It is said that there are over 300 'mandirs' dedicated to the Guru along the Karnataka coast.

Nonetheless, unlike Ezhavas in Kerala, Billavas are economically backward. Also, Billavas have been turned into the foot soldiers of the BJP, something the Sangh Parivar has attempted but failed to do with Ezhavas in Kerala.

Growing Billava discontent

However, the Sangh Parivar's sway over the Billavas has been waning. A realisation has dawned within the community that the BJP has an upper caste leaning than they had earlier thought.

Billavas are numerically superior, and therefore politically valuable, in coastal Karnataka but are still victims of social prejudices spilled over from a feudal past. The BJP seems reluctant to provide adequate political representation for Billavas.

During the 2018 Assembly elections, for instance, the Billava community had resented the fact that only two of the 12 seats in Dakshin Kannada and Udupi districts were offered to its members by the BJP. More seats were given to the Bunt community, a land-owning warrior class similar to Nairs in Kerala, that was numerically weaker. Later, to suppress discontent, both the Billava MLAs – V Sunil Kumar and Kota Srinivasa Poojary – were given cabinet berths.

BJP's betrayal

Kumar and Poojary are token presence at the top, deceptive symbols of Billava existence. In reality, Billavas are made to function as the BJP's goon squad; they are sent out as lynch mobs and pushed into street fights. But once they are in police custody, the community feels the BJP casually abandons them.

“An awareness grew within the community that they were being used, leading to frank and open internal discussions. Gradually they started withdrawing from protests and street activities organised by the Sangh Parivar,” said Prof Chandra Poojary, an academician based in Karnataka. “Now, the BJP government's move to reject Kerala's Sree Narayana Guru tableau has strengthened the Billava community's resolve to break away from the Sangh Parivar,” Prof Poojary said.

Republic Day uprising

The massive Billava mobilisation against the BJP in the Sree Narayana Guru tableau issue was a rude wake-up call for the BJP. There was panic because the 'Swabhimana Nadige' was led by senior Congress leader Janardhana Poojary, a former Union minister and a Billava.

It is a fact that the hijab issue exploded after the Billava mobilisation against the BJP. But A Narayana, associate professor with Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, argued against any direct link. “At the most, we can say that the BJP took advantage of the hijab issue to engineer a counter mobilisation on religious lines, which the party hopes would carry the Billavas too in its sweep,” Narayana said.

According to him, the hijab issue had come in handy for the BJP to divert the attention of the public from not just the Sree Narayana Guru issue but also from many of its failings, including the poor handling of the COVID situation. “What perhaps would have given them more pleasure is their success in creating religious polarisation in school and college campuses, from where new voters emerge,” Narayana said.

Hijab explosion

That said, Narayana conceded that the BJP's considerable power in the three coastal districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada was powered by Billava support. “They are the most dominant OBC community in these coastal areas and they are almost entirely with the BJP,” Narayana said. The three districts together have 19 seats and the BJP now owns 17 of them.

The Republic Day insult of Sree Narayana Guru might have prompted a political rethink in the Billavas. But the hijab rebellion, like a public explosion that could distract a person from individual grief, could keep the Billavas still under the Sangh Parivar's sway.