Team Clarion
BENGALURU – A lecturer and research scholar from Mangalore University has been booked for advising Hindus not to send their children to schools run by religious minorities and hire marriage halls owned by them.
The Mangaluru police booked Arun Ullal for allegedly making the controversial remarks at an event in Kinnya near Mangaluru. Ullal claimed that a part of the revenue from minority-run schools and marriage halls was sent abroad, urging Hindus to be cautious about supporting them. He was addressing a gathering at an event organised to felicitate newlywed couples, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The police booked Ullal on Saturday under sections 196 (promoting enmity between different religions) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with section 66C of the Information Technology Act.
A video of his speech, widely circulated on social media, has drawn criticism.
Ullal, who once taught at a minority-run college, said that he could have received a discount if he had held his wedding at his former employer’s hall but that he chose a Hindu-owned venue instead.
Ullal encouraged Hindus to prioritise using facilities owned by their community, regardless of the amenities provided by others. He also said that Hindu-run educational institutions in Mangaluru were struggling with low enrolment while those run by minority groups were thriving.
Even though Ulal’s political affiliations have not been established, his diatribe against minorities, especially Muslims, is seen as a part of the Hindutva strategy of marginalising Muslims by boycotting their businesses and institutions.
