The ongoing campaign targeting Muslims in the State is spearheaded by fringe Hindutva organisations, some members of which have earlier faced criminal charges, raising concerns among the State police.
Sri Rama Sene, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a new organisation called Bharata Rakshana Vedike, and other organisations have been at the forefront of these campaigns and are constantly in the media limelight.
For instance, Pramod Mutalik of Sri Rama Sene has been spearheading the campaign against loudspeakers on mosques for azaan, and has been a prominent face of multiple campaigns including economic boycott of Muslims, halal meat, provocative processions on Rama Navami, and so on. A senior intelligence officer said that with his organisation splitting into multiple factions, Mr. Mutalik “has no strong base on the ground but has now emerged as a prominent face, particularly on television.”
