Press Release
My dear Citizens of Mangaluru,
I am born and brought up in Mangaluru and now 65 years of age. While people elsewhere think that they are intelligent but we are of the opinion that we are super intelligent! The derisive terms with we address outsiders and sniggers behind their back show this! We are also very prosperous, spiritual and have a very refined degree of social consciousness. We are also very tolerant, particularly when it comes to injustices perpetrated on us by the rich and powerful.
Let us take the case of the brutal murder of the RTI activist Vinayak Baliga. It was carried out at 5.30 am and it was clear that it was a professional job. He was a GSB a devout one at that but not a single GSB organization spoke up for him because he had questioned the waywardness of the method of management of the Venkatramana temple of which he was a devotee. He had pointed out the irregularities there and had suggested ways to make the management more accountable and probably that was his fault. He had questioned a number of builders for violation of the rules out of interest for the citizens but a few of us raised our voices on his behalf. He had questioned the management of the school nearby his home because they would block the road by parking and they had also violated the laws by building nearly twice the area that was sanctioned. He wanted the streets to be sewage free as a large complex of nearly 360 flats near his home had not put up a sewage treatment plant as required under the law and it has still not become functional! But no one living on that road condemned his murder. As one of the residents of a nearby house said when others suffer let us also suffer with them when he had asked him to sign a memorandum which he refused to sign!
Some of you have alleged that he was a blackmailer. This also included an eveninger rag whose editor knows very well that a dear person can be defamed with impunity. Well, let us have a statement from anyone of you who has been blackmailed by him and let us know why you succumbed to it too because you would have had something to hide. Anyway, the police have given him a clean chit on that front and the top policeman has said that it is very clear that he has not made any person gains from his activities as an RTI activist. If any one of you thinks so I suggest that you visit his house and see the conditions under which his 85-year-old father, 80-year-old mother and his two unmarried sisters live and decide for yourself.
He was a Konkani speaking person but no Konkani speaking cultural or any other organization has spoken up for him. He was a Hindu a devout one at that. All those who attack couples of two faiths going together in the name of love jihad, spend crores on renovating places of worship and thousands who do it are fast asleep. The so called minorities who cry foul when their places of worship are attacked or their ‘religious sentiments’ are hurt have not uttered a whimper against this foul murder of a fellow human being. All those who gather in thousands for the protection of gau mata have no tear to shed for a fellow human being.
Well, Baliga was murdered by professional killers who hired them and why? Are the questions that we would like to be answered. We a few concerned citizens who have raised our voices against this murder most foul demand these answers.
I am writing this open letter to you fellow Mangalureans as a fellow citizen, a consumer activist, a Humanist and a rationalist. He has an unfinished mission how many of you are willing to join in? How many of you are willing to raise your voices and tell those who killed him that we are not afraid of you. Baliga’s mistake was that he dared to take on all these vested interests all alone. How many of you are willing to join in and say that we agree with what he has said about the issues of public importance that he had taken up? As it is we know that the city is going to dogs because of the blatant disregard of laws, unauthorized constructions, overload of the ancient sewage transport system and such. What will be your answer to the next generation when they ask you about what it is that you did to change the system when you had the chance.
As the eminent parliamentarian Edmund Burke said “All it takes for the dark forces of evil to take over this world is enough number of good people who do nothing” are you going to be good people who will do nothing to let the dark forces of evil take over our city? The choice is yours. Remember yesterday it was Baliga who dared his voice against injustice who was the victim, tomorrow it may be yours truly who dared to raise his voice and day after it may be you who chose to remain silent.
Narendra Nayak
Born and brought up in Mangaluru and spent all his life except a few years here.
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Vinayak Baliga Murder Case – Two Arrested
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Murder of Vinayak Baliga, RTI Activist who Fought for Justice
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Man Hacked to Death at Kodialguttu
Dear Sir,
I shall stand up for my rights .
Dear Sh. Narendra Nayak,
We support your effort and we already have written letters to CM and other concerned officials. Copies have been circulated on facebook and google group of rtmanu.
In service of RTI
Bhaskar Prabhu
Convenor
Mahiti Adhikar Manch, Maharashtra RTI Council,
National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information(NCPRI)
Did Mr. Narendra Nayak or any GSB organization speak out and protest against the Mangalore church attacks in 2008?
I am not sure what is the parallel Roy is trying to draw. Prof Narendra Nayak is an impartial person who fights for social injustice. His concern is genuine.
Mr. Narendra Nayak does not mention if he stood with the victims of the Mangalore church attacksa and sought justice for the victims. He questions why minorities are not speaking up and demanding justice for Baliga. If he did not speak out against the injustice done to the victims of the Mangalore church attacks, he is in no moral position to question the silence of minorities on the murder of Mr. Baliga.
It took Bangladesh’s High Court less than two minutes on Monday to dismiss a petition aiming to remove the designation of Islam as the country’s state religion. Yes – less than 2 mins is what High Court spent to decide if state religion should be Islam or not.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/world/asia/bangladesh-court-islam-state-religion.html?_r=0
Where are our illiterates who cried ‘intolerance’ while enjoying the enormous freedom provided in secular India? Where are those ‘vote bank’ groups who attacked Indian govt as if it has turned India into a religious state?
What a comparison Bangladeshi Islamcracy with Indian democracy( The largest, vibrant, progressive democracy in the world)
I extend my support. Tell me what next.
Honestly, had not heard of this activist before. To strengthen activism, all activists should be united and connected. But as the article says, everyone has something to hide. We mangaloreans definitely lack the courage and conviction to speak out our mind, we are forever diplomatic. We do not want to hurt anyone, even at the cost of truth, justice and honesty. And that is why, we are at this state of affairs in Mangalore, literally a crime city.
What a disgrace. As a GSB, I can tell you that people from my community lack that wit, courage or strength to stand against the corrupt and say wrong is wrong. But, GSB community, as far as I know, never had a person who could use such heinous ways to eliminate such prominent social personalities. This is something new which has evolved in the last 10 years under the influence of VHP, RSS or BJP. Can I assume that Mangalore turned into Mumbai? It’s time to open crime branch in district police and appoint Yennehole Daya Nayak as the DCP.… Read more »
Every murder is bringing its own pain and sorrow to the members of victim’s family irrespective of how old his dependents are. But just imagine GSB people protesting against GSB person’s murder, Bunts protesting against Bunt person’s murder, Billava’s protest against Billava person’s murder, Catholic’s against catholic murder etc. etc. As some one earlier made the comment I also never heard the name of this Baliga earlier. But I know the name of the author of this article and as per my knowledge he is the main enemy of some god man from Andhra Pradesh. Since he is a retired… Read more »
Narendra Nayak sir, Mangaloreans are indebted to you for ever, they may not realise it now, but the future will tell them. I am glad to hear that you will continue the work that Mr. Baliga had taken up on himself. I pray that with your efforts the people who misappropriated the temple funds will be brought to book and the builder you mentioned and the school management on the same road where Mr. Baliga lived are also legally punished for their misdeeds. That is the only way to get justice to Mr. Baliga’s parents. With your able leadership this… Read more »
“He is in no moral position to question the silence of minorities….” writes Roy from ‘beef club’.
Interesting!! Incidentally, I don’t remember either Rationalists or Beef Club standing up for free speech when the entire nation was bullied into silence over cartoon controversy by a peace-loving group. As I have said many times on this forum, contrary to what we hear in mainstream media, the real bigots are NOT in BJP or Sangha Parivaara!!