Will women voters destroy 'Hindutva Laboratory' of Coastal Karnataka?

This election, one may find that apart from the political discussion, for the very first time, the culture of this land too has become a topic of discussion in the election ring.

As far as women from coastal Karnataka are concerned, they have never confined themselves to the four walls of their house. They have always ventured out and have toiled to supplement the income of their family shouldering the responsibility with the men. May it be the fisherwomen who walk miles and miles, from one village to another to sell the catch or may it be the women who sit at home and roll beedies, may it be women from agricultural families, cultivating agri produce and taking them to the market to eke out income or may it be the modern educated women who find themselves placed in plush offices, women from coastal land have comparatively been free from clutches. One will notice that after Bangalore, it is only the undivided Dakshina Kannada which has huge workforce of women, in Karnataka. With this kind of exposure, modernity has been a part of the lives of the Dakshina Kannada women.

People from some parts of India may find it difficult to digest when they see the husband sitting in a bar gulping up a glass of beer while his wife sitting in front of him relishes a sumptuous meal. Though many feel that Mangalorean women are way too ahead of time, the instances of Mangalorean women spoiling their lives after being swayed by modernity is rather less.

In such a situation, the act of moral policing by certain fringes has raged the people of the region. The attacks on Hindu and Muslim youth by fringes of both religions have been rampant. Since it has not been able to prove this act as a crime, the lodging of complaints has been far from satisfaction. Apart from this, many say that, instigated by the Sangh Parivar, the police too indulge into these kinds of acts.

All this and more has stranded the boat of the Sangh Parivar, due to which the Congress has already started basking over a victory which is yet to come. Meanwhile, programmes conducted by Congress Leader Janardhan Poojary, which includes offering of auspicious materials (vermellion, bangles, flowers etc) to women who have lost their husbands and also 'padapooja' of dalit women have given a blow to Sangh Parivar, which over the years has come to be a 'woman hater'.

Bunt community, which was a pillar of support for the BJP in terms of number and resources, has been raged because of the attacks, targeting their women in particular. The women of this community are more exposed to modernity than the rest. Undoubtedly the women of this community are called 'the bold and the beautiful'.

With the mixed culture of Tulunadu where English has been a part of the dialects and where 'Anna' (brother) and 'Akka'(sister) has been a way of addressing from time immemorial, who is to distinguish what is correct and what is wrong? Who will draw the line between traditional and modern is a million dollar question.

Surprisingly, the ones who have taken the onus of safeguarding the culture of Tulunadu are not sages. Most of them or even all are those who have cases registered against them for one crime or the other.

The tiff between the 'Shudra culture' and the 'Vaidika culture' here has been an ancient one. The biggest testimony for this are the tales of the Daivas, who had once upon a time played the role of 'social activists'! The Daivas that the people of Tulunadu pray were the non-veg eaters and alcohol drinkers, just like their devotees. The offerings given to these Daivas are the same. Probably, that is why Lord Shiva takes a back seat and Daivas like Jumadi, Kordabbu, Panjurli are closer to the hearts of the Tuluvas.

The BJP, which has been making huge hue and cry over deterioration of culture and has been waging a conquest of restoration of culture has to think on the lines of the damage caused by its soldiers who are caught in the muck of watching blue film in the Assembly, mysterious death of a MLA's wife and him subsequently featuring in a video with some other woman, the rave party and several other episodes, which would certainly not fit into the cultural bracket of the region. The women of coastal Karnataka are feeling cheated. One has to see if this feeling translates into crashing down of 'Hindutva laboratory'.