Will Karnataka go the Gujarat way?

[Swati]

Drill Them All Into Line
Karnataka’s BJP government brooks no ideological incongruence from officials
Sugata Srinivasaraju

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265435

We see no signs of legal action being taken by the State govt. despite proof against the Ram Sene. The govt. is trying to subvert all the institutions. Are we waiting for a full blown riot to react?
I hope those living in Karnataka are not lulled into complacency by economic development as in Gujarat.

Criminal outfits like the Ram Sene are not new. The Congress State govt. secretly supported Bal Thackeray and his Shiv Sena in the 1970s.

[siddharth]

Under Vasundhara Raje's regime, Rajasthan saw many activities which one could say made it more like Gujarat. The VHPs and the Bajrang Dals opened offices in the smallest of villages. Began recruiting members. Imparted training to little children. Gave hate filled speeches. Took part in violent activities. Got into mob fights with muslim fundamentalists. And got scott free as the police would never arrest them. Apart from this, the social sciences curriculum in the state education board was tampered with to suit their agenda.

[Swati]

Valid points about Rajasthan. The concern about Karnataka is that governments of economically better-off States can ignore the Central govt. and rest of India's opinions. Having seen how the Shiv Sena grew and gained political legitimacy - from goons to politicians by feeding on Mumbai's economic activity, there is danger of similar rise in Bangalore/Bengaluru and other metros.
Thankfully, the regional satraps haven't yet played the linguistic identity card.
I read an article by G.N. Devy, writer and social activist in "Tehelka" after the Gujarat riots. He mentioned the culture of silence and fear that had pervaded the people living there. He said even his fellow writers had turned on him saying that since he was not originally from Gujarat so he didn't get it.

[siddharth]

True. Gujarat is one state where the RSS experiment in infiltrating the administration, media etc has completely succeeded. And this isn't a conspiracy theory.