Indian scholar who criticised idol worship killed

Kalburgi, 77, regularly spoke out against superstitions and had questioned the worth of idol worship by Hindus


Afp August 31, 2015
Kalburgi, 77, regularly spoke out against superstitions and had questioned the worth of idol worship by Hindus. PHOTO: SANTOSH SAGAR/ THE HINDU

BANGALORE: An Indian scholar who had spoken out against idol worship and angered hardline Hindu groups was shot in the forehead after opening the door of his home on Sunday morning and later died in hospital, police said.

Indian scholars on Monday condemned the execution-style killing of leading scholar, M M Kalburgi, an academic and writer from southern Karnataka state.

The motive for the killing is unknown, but Kalburgi, who was 77, had been given police protection in the past after receiving death threats from Hindu hardliners.

"Security cover was withdrawn last year on Kalburgi's insistence, as he wanted to be accessible by anyone being a public figure and popular in literary and social circles," Karnataka additional director general of police Alok Mohan told AFP.

Read: India's top court suspends ban on Jains fasting to death

Kalburgi, who taught at Kannada University in Karnataka, regularly spoke out against superstitions and had questioned the worth of idol worship by Hindus, who form the majority in deeply religious India.

Writers and scholars expressed outrage as they gathered in the state's literary heartland of Dharwad on Monday for his funeral as well as in the state capital Bangalore.

"He was known to create controversies and make sharp observations against certain practices and beliefs which he thought were superstitious," actor and playright Girish Karnad told reporters.

Read: The power of faith: Hindus celebrate the ‘Lady of good health’ with Catholics

"Everyone has a right to have his opinion. You can agree, disagree with him and we have a democracy where people can speak out," he also told the NDTV network.

Baraguru Ramachandrappa, who like Kalburgi wrote in the Kannada language of southern India, said his friend was well known for "criticising certain practices and beliefs."

"Even if people differed with him and his ideology, killing him is not acceptable," Ramachandrappa said.

Dharwad police commissioner Ravindra Prasad said police were studying CCTV footage that showed "two youths moving on a motorbike" away from the house after the murder.

Kalburgi's killing sparked protests in the town on Sunday, with colleagues calling for justice and the right to freedom of expression.

But it also brought celebration form some hardline Hindu groups on social media.

The killing comes two years after another leading rationalist thinker, Narendra Dabholkar, was shot dead by two gunmen as he was taking his morning walk in the western city of Pune. No one has been convicted of the murder.

COMMENTS (16)

Gurion | 8 years ago | Reply @vicktor d'souza:
Maybe they queued before he expounded his views on astrology !?
Clutching at straws much?
Black | 8 years ago | Reply It's unfortunate that people who speak the truth, are taken down by the extremists. All this scholar was trying to out some sense into the people who worship thousands of handmade gods instead of just one Creator. May Allah put the idol worshippers on the righteous path. Amen.
VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ