VZCZCXRO8163
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0239/01 1981040
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161040Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1748
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3187
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000239 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KIRF KDEM IN
SUBJECT:  MUSLIM RIOTING IN BANGALORE HANDLED WELL BY NEW BJP 
GOVERNMENT 
 
REFS:  A) Chennai 170, B) Chennai 104 
 
¶1. (SBU) Riots broke out in one of Bangalore's Muslim districts on 
July 11 following the desecration of two mosques and some hot-headed 
agitation.  Police apparently acted professionally to quell the 
violence.  This may help calm some Muslim concerns about the 
attitude of Karnataka's newly elected BJP government towards the 
state's Muslim minority.  Allegations that Muslim politicians trying 
to gain support ahead of local elections may have perpetrated the 
desecration of the mosques, however, speak to the unease of many 
Muslims about the BJP's rule. 
 
Locals take offense at desecration of mosque 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Muslims from the Jaya Chamarajendera Nagar and Hebbal areas 
of Bangalore took to the streets on July 11 following the discovery 
of pig heads placed at the entrance of two local mosques.  (Muslims 
consider pigs "unclean" and the placement of the heads of these 
animals in the proximity of a mosque would give Muslims great 
offense.)  Locals discovered the animals' heads just before Friday 
morning prayers. 
 
¶3. (U) Government officials sprang into action to calm local 
reaction to this offense.  Bangalore's Deputy Commissioner of 
Police, Syed Ulfath Hussein (a Muslim), and Roshan Baig, a Muslim 
state legislator in Karnataka's legislative assembly who represents 
the area (ref A), came to the area immediately and sought to assure 
locals that the police would investigate and take action against 
those responsible.  Baig told us that the situation was "back to 
normal" by mid-day. 
 
Neighborhood activists rile up the locals 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Baig said that other local leaders -- including some known 
trouble-makers -- used the offensive incident to stir up unrest 
later in the day.  This agitation led to a crowd gathering and to 
the blockading of some of the area's narrow streets.  At one point, 
a female motorist apparently lost her way and found herself in the 
midst of the protestors, bumping one, which incited a round of 
stone-throwing that shattered the her car's windshield.  Police from 
the local precinct rushed to rescue the woman, and the crowd turned 
their stones on officers, resulting in severe injuries to at least 
one policeman.  The police eventually arrested eight "rowdies," 
bringing the crowd under control. 
 
A test of tolerance for the new government 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Baig praised the actions of the government and the police, 
saying that police efforts to work with local leaders and target 
only the most violent offenders was a success, in contrast to 
incidents in the past where the police resorted to fairly 
indiscriminate mass arrests of Muslim youths.  The incident was a 
test not only for Karnataka's new BJP government, which some feared 
might openly antagonize Muslims (ref B), but also for Bangalore's 
new police commissioner, Shankar Bidari, a long-time Consulate 
Chennai contact who took over as the city's top cop on July 11. 
 
An inside job? 
------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Bidari told us that "local politics" was behind the ruckus, 
insinuating that the events may be linked to upcoming municipal 
elections.  Some of our interlocutors told us that the original 
offending incident -- the placing of the pigs' heads in front of the 
mosques -- was likely perpetrated by certain Muslim local 
politicians to stir up communal support in the run-up to these 
elections.  They told us that in previous such incidents, pig parts 
have been thrown over the walls of mosques haphazardly, likely by 
people who were outsiders (i.e., non-Muslims) afraid of being seen. 
In this case, however, the pig heads were placed carefully at the 
entrances to the mosques, suggesting that the perpetrators had 
enough local knowledge to feel comfortable knowing when and how to 
approach the entrances of the mosques without raising suspicions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) This set of incidents was unfortunate, but could have been 
much worse.  The fact that the police acted to defuse tensions and 
target only the worst offenders is a positive sign that the new BJP 
government has no interest in stoking sectarian tensions.  It is 
also positive that there were apparently no groups of non-Muslims 
involved -- in previous incidents in Bangalore, Hindu groups have 
taunted protesting Muslims with offensive slogans and material (like 
pigs' heads), inflaming communal tensions.  The allegations that 
local politicians might resort to mosque desecration to gain support 
 
CHENNAI 00000239  002 OF 002 
 
 
are unsettling, but hint at some of the suspicions that Muslims may 
have about the new BJP government and its intentions towards 
Karnataka's Muslim minority. 
 
HOPPER