Hindu-Muslim rift leaves Gangolli’s air smelling fishy

Gangolli, a small village in the Udupi district, sees the Panchagangavalli River find its freedom by merging into the Arabian Sea. With the river flowing to its east and the Arabian Sea to its west, Gangolli, which is mentioned on the postal seal as Ganguli, offers the sight of a natural confluence. Its people, however, are falling apart mirroring a larger trend of communal differences and divisions in coastal Karnataka from Dakshina Kannada to Udupi.

In the latest such clash, Muslims of the region have decided to boycott fish sold by Hindus in the Gangolli market in the face of an alleged insult to Prophet Mohammad during a protest against cow slaughter.

On October 1, members of Hindu Jagarana Vedike, a right wing group associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, took out a protest against illegal cow slaughter in Gangolli. The simmering tension came to a boil when some of the protesters reportedly started using insulting slogans against Prophet Mohammad. Among the thousands of the protesters were fisherwomen and fish vendors.

Beef versus fish