Voices for unity matter in our times

At a time when Karnataka is witnessing a series of campaigns targeting minorities including the hjab row, the demand to exclude Muslims from trade around temples and the halal meat controversy, the appeal by veteran BJP leader and former CM BS Yediyurappa to people to live like ‘children of one mother’ comes as a whiff of fresh air amid the many controversies.

Karnataka has a huge minority community population like many other states and there are streets and mohallas where people have been living as good neighbours for years disregarding differences of caste and religion. Religious row or no row, these are citizens who have to fight a different battle every day-for their livelihoods and for decent living conditions after the pandemic wrought havoc. Peace and positive measures from the government to build harmony are all that people are looking for as they heave a sigh of relief hoping the worst of Covid is behind them.

Yediyurappa like most other political leaders, knows that people are more concerned about their immediate problems-drinking water, sanitation, roads, power and education than controversies of the kind the state has been witnessing in recent months. Even when he split away from the BJP to form his own outfit in the wake of the illegal mining controversy, BSY as he is popularly known, continued to endear himself to the masses with his pragmatic and down-to-earth approach hardly caring for the barbs he had to face from many quarters.

People inevitably look up to leaders like him in troubled times when all that one wants to hear are voices of sanity from those who command respect, which can bridge the divide between communities.

It is not sure if CM Bommai and Yediyurappa himself have taken up the task of restoring a semblence of normalcy on the insistence of the BJP high command after vitriolic remarks against fruit sale by Muslims and even cabs driven by them, had left people wondering what was happening in serene Karnataka.

There have also been distressing signals emerging from business and industry with some reports indicating that the IT sector is looking at neighbouring states to set up shop unable to digest the stifling atmosphere in the state. One can imagine the havoc this would cause to the economy of the state which is crucially reliant on the IT|BT sector to shore up its revenues and provide employment to the millions of youngsters emerging from varsities every year.

So the CM’s warning of tough measures against those who do not respect the law of the land and the BJP patriarch’s quiet call for harmonious living have not come a day too early.