Hubbali Idgah row: 1994 firing victim’s father refuses felicitation, ‘won’t be pawn to politics’ | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
VHP members track down two of six families, Manjunath's father says those who died were not part of any organisation
Friday, Sep 02, 2022
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HomePolitical PulseHubbali Idgah row: 1994 firing victim's father refuses felicitation, 'won't be pawn to politics'
Hubbali Idgah row: 1994 firing victim’s father refuses felicitation, ‘won’t be pawn to politics’
VHP members track down two of six families, Manjunath's father says those who died were not part of any organisation
Written by Sanath Prasad
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Hubbali | Updated: September 2, 2022 8:14:26 pm
Right wing organizations during the Ganesha procession near Hubbali Idgah maidan. (Express photo/Sanath KP)Six people were killed in the police firing to deter a group of protesters, led by the BJP’s Uma Bharati, who tried to forcibly hoist the national flag at the Idgah ground in Hubbali-Dharwad on August 15, 1994, defying a curfew. On Thursday, with the ground dragged back into religious tensions, the father of one of them refused to be a part of it.
When VHP members approached Balachandar Barad saying they wanted to felicitate the victims of the 1994 firing, including his son, he said no. The VHP workers, part of the Rani Chennamma Maidana Gajanana Utsav Mahamandali, Hubballi, that led the installation of an idol on Tuesday to celebrate Ganesh Utsav at the Idgah maidan, following a court order, felicitated one of the other four victims they could trace.
His son Manjunath was only 12, recalled Barad, who has three other children and retired as a welding fabrication worker. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said: “Manjunath was playing outdoors when he suddenly rushed into the house on hearing gunfire. Later, he realised that he had left his slippers behind on the road, and went to get them. He never made it back.”
Unable to shake off the memory of Manjunath’s death, the family left their house near the Idgah ground and moved to a different residence for nearly 10 years.
Furious over how things have blown up again, Barad says: “Hoisting the national flag is our right and barring us from doing so is injustice. We are fighting against this injustice even today. But all those who were killed in the August 15 firing were innocents and not a member of any organisation. Politics took centre stage then, and now after so many years, we are being called for felicitation, without giving us any prior notice. We don’t want to be pawns for somebody else’s politics.”
Rating: 5