RSS leader compares Mangaluru’s Ullal to Pakistan, urges people to elect Hindu legislator

"The people living there changed their mindset after the partition. The same mindset is now seen today in Ullal. I don't have any regret regarding my statement on Ullal becoming Pakistan."

Veteran Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat Friday compared Mangaluru’s Muslim-majority municipality Ullal to Pakistan, daring the people of the region to elect a Hindu legislator instead of always electing a Muslim for the post.

This is the second time that Bhat, a RSS strongman in the coastal Karnataka region, has drawn a comparison between Ullal and Pakistan in the last six months.

Speaking to a local media, Bhat said, “The land which is now called Pakistan, was with India. The Sindhu River is flowing there only. The people who live there were all Indians. The people living there changed their mindset after the partition. The same mindset is now seen today in Ullal. I don’t have any regret regarding my statement on Ullal becoming Pakistan.”

“A few years ago in Ullal, these people attacked fisherwomen when men went fishing. A few days later, a youth was murdered. Youths who were going on bikes were stabbed. Cow slaughter and love jihad is happening in Ullal. If this is not Pakistan then what is it? What is the difference between Ullal and Pakistan?,” he added.

After delimitation, the Ullal Assembly constituency was renamed as the Mangaluru constituency, which is now represented by Congress’ U T Khader, who has won four terms in a row. Earlier, the constituency was represented by Khader’s late father, U T Farid, who had won the seat four times from 1972.

According to the 2011 Census, Muslims form 56 per cent of the region while Hindus constitute 34 per cent.

In November last year, Bhat had compared Ullal to Pakistan and urged the Hindus in the state to “produce more children in order to protect the Hindu culture”.

“Who will protect our temples and who will protect our traditions? Our numbers reduced and their numbers increased and that is why we now got Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you go to Ullal Pete (town in Kannada), isn’t it Pakistan?” he had said.

Bhat, 73, who is often refered to as the Bal Thackeray of Dakshin Kannada region, is not new to making polarising statements. In December 2019, Bhat, along with other governing body members of the Sri Rama Vidyakendra High School in Mangaluru, were booked by police after its students re-enacted the demolition of the Babri Masjid as part of its sports day programmes.

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