January 18, 2022

Since the 1970’s, the state of Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the capital, has been the major beneficiary of the rapid growth in information technology businesses (IT) in India. The IT, other high technology and related businesses currently employ several hundred thousand in high paying jobs in Bangalore and its suburbs as well as in Mysore and other parts of the state.  

The head offices of Infosys, market value $107 billion, Wipro, $46 billion, and other major Indian IT companies are located in Bangalore. The southern Indian city, officially known as Bengaluru, is also where Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other global tech companies have large operations, in pursuit of the Indian market as well as to secure cheap skilled labor. Zerodha, India’s largest online investment brokerage, Flipkart, a leading online retailer now part of Walmart, and several Indian start-ups too are based in the city.

But recent events, including actions by the Karnataka government, have hurt Bangalore’s image as a global tech center and raised serious doubts about its future prospects. Karnataka is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also rules India with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.

Rising attacks on Christians

Last year, there were at least 39 separate attacks on Christians in Karnataka, according to media reports. Earlier, the attacks occurred in small towns and rural areas of the state where there are few Christians. But recently, attacks have occurred in Dharwad, Hubballi and other large towns as well as in Bangalore.

The attitude of the government was a reason for the “increase in attacks” on Christians, Peter Machado, the Archbishop of Bengaluru, told The Hindustan Times last month. “Certain behaviour or certain utterances from the government…is the reason that (these attacks are) allowed and tolerated,” the Archbishop added.

Last month, during Christmas week, the Karnataka State Legislative Assembly passed a Freedom of Religion Bill, referred to by the media as the anti-conversion bill. It states, “No person shall convert or attempt to convert either directly or otherwise any other person from one religion to another by use of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage, nor shall any person abet or conspire for conversions.”

Under the proposed law, any relative of the person, who is changing her or his religion, can file a complaint. Those found guilty face, in addition to steep fines, three to five years in prison for converting the general population; and three to ten years in prison for those converting minors, women, tribals or members of the scheduled castes.

The anti-conversion bill is awaiting passage in the upper house of the Karnataka legislature. If the bill becomes law, all religious minorities in the state, their “institutions, practices, services and charities (are) suspect,” Margaret Alva stated in a letter to Prime Minister Modi. Alva, a Christian, is an official of the opposition Congress Party and a former Union Minister.

“The state becomes the arbiter of our personal lives, making us subject to probes, charges, and jail,” Alva added. “If we (Christians) were involved in mass conversions, why is our number under 3% (of India’s population)? 200 years of rule by Christian colonial powers and work by so called ‘missionaries involved in forced conversions’ should have shown in our numbers, which have been declining. Why then this false propaganda and violence against us?”

Comedians forced to cancel shows

The attacks on Christians comes at a time of rising attacks on other religious minorities, especially Muslims, and threats to civil liberties in Karnataka. Last year, the police registered two formal complaints and questioned Chetan Kumar, a film and stage actor, three times for allegedly “hurting religious beliefs,” by using the term “brahmanism.” In his defense, Kumar said that the term was widely used by prominent Indian social reformers, including B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, which was passed in 1950. “By Brahmanism,” Ambedkar said, “I mean the negation of the spirit of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.”

A.Shivaram Hebbar, a minister in the Karnataka Government, and some other Brahman leaders in the state demanded Kumar’s arrest. There is also a campaign to deport Kumar back to the U.S. Kumar, 38-years-old, is an American citizen and a Hindu who grew up in Chicago. In 2005, he graduated from Yale University, where he studied drama. He then received a Fulbright Scholarship to work in India, where he taught in a rural school in Karnataka. He is based in Bangalore.

In June, after being questioned for over four hours by the Bangalore police, Kumar tweeted, “I stood by truth & democracy I’m proud to contribute in my own small ways to the global movement for equality, justice, & non-violence. Fight goes on!”

“Hello Bangalore people. I am happy to inform that my shows in Bangalore which were scheduled over the next 20 days have been cancelled,” comedian Kunal Kamra tweeted early last month to his 2.2 million followers. “Threats have been made to shut down the venue if I were to ever perform there…I suppose I am seen as a variant of the virus now.”

In his videos, podcasts and live performances, Kamra is critical of Prime Minister Modi’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and questions the validity of the BJP’s Hindu nationalist ideology. Kamra, 32-years-old, is a Hindu based in Mumbai. He, his family members, colleagues and friends have received death threats from Hindu extremist trolls.

Earlier, in November, comedian Munawar Faruqui tweeted in Hindi “Nafrat jeet hai, Artist haar gaya,” (hatred won, artist lost), while announcing the cancellation of his live performance in Bangalore. This was due to threats to attack the audience and damage the venue as well as police pressure to cancel the event. In about three years, Faruqui, 30-years-old, is a Muslim based in Mumbia. He has emerged as a popular Hindi comedian, with 1.7 million subscribers to his official YouTube channel.

Hyderabad welcomes comedians

The BJP Government’s attacks on civil liberties in Karnataka faces criticism from global civil liberties groups as well as Christian organizations. This, together with pressure from shareholders and from foreign staff working in India, will lead American and other Western companies to avoid expanding operations in Bangalore - and even move out of the city, if the attacks continue and escalate, as several major companies have done elsewhere. 

As it is, Bangalore faces strong competition from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state, which is India’s second largest IT center. The state government is run by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, a regional party. It is actively seeking to attract more tech companies to set up and expand operations in and around Hyderabad.

Following the wide media coverage of the attacks on civil liberties in Bangalore and Karnataka, K.T. Rama Rao, Telangana’s minister for information technology, invited the comedians Kunal Kamra and Munawar Faruqui to perform in Hyderabad. Rao said that Hyderabad is “a truly cosmopolitan city, which is welcoming of all cultures…You can come here, criticize (the) government…We don't cancel shows of Munawar Faruqui and Kunal Kamra just because we're not aligned with them politically.” Both Faruqui and Kamra are planning to hold shows in Hyderabad.

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