Now, Bhatkal is notoriously famous as terror hub

The swift transformation of a sleepy Karnataka town into a terror centre

On  August 29, as Yasin Bhatkal, the co-founder of Indian Mujahideen –  one of the terrorists who was allegedly involved in several blasts in India -- was arrested, the spotlight was once again on Bhatkal, which some fear has been spawning terrorists.
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Bhatkal, a port town on the Arabian Sea, is described as a hotbed of terrorism. Precisely, the town is in Uttara Kannada district – about 488 km from Bengaluru –  has been hitting the headlines after every terror attacks since 2008.

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The quiet town earned the terror tag after police and anti-terrorism squads of several states named brothers Riyaz and Iqbal Shahbandari, and Mohammad Ahmad Siddibappa alias Yasin, with links to the town as suspects in several blasts starting 2008, and identified them as co-founders of the IM.
 

According to Police, Bhatkal played a crucial role in almost all terror assaults across the country between November 2007 and July this year, including the Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Bodh Gaya blasts.
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It was once ruled by Jain king Bhattakalanka and thus it got the name Bhatkal. Surrounded by rolling hills on three sides and the Arabian Sea on the other, Bhatkal is a town with well laid roads and sprawling bungalows. People have easy access to hospitals, shops, ATMs and modern educational institutions. But unlike other towns, it’s the Muslim here who is affluent, and not the Hindu.

 

The extent of polarisation can be judged from the fact that there are hardly any Hindu homes in upmarket areas, which are full of gleaming houses where Muslims live. Unkempt buildings and thatched houses mark the Hindu areas.

Experts say Bhatkal is on the coast, which makes it easier for people to access the sea. The cultural gap between the Hindus and Muslims has also been strengthened by the fact that the Muslims speak their own language — a mix of Konkani and Marathi called Navayathi. Muslims are primarily known to be either Navayaths or Dahknis. The Navayaths trace their origins to Arab nations and believe their ancestors came to the seashore town in the 8th century. The Dakhnis are referred to as original inhabitants.
 

They are mainly traders, with interests in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra. 

 

Census data shows, besides the predominant population of Muslims and Hindus (almost 50-50), Bhatkal also has Christians, Buddhists and Jains. Barring a few minor clashes in 1974, ’78 and ’88, the town had a laidback pace and free contact among the people of different communities. 

Economic prosperity rode on the 1960s Gulf boom when Muslim youth went to West Asia to work. The flow of petro dollars fed smuggling operations in electronic goods and gold as well. By the 1990s, Bhatkal had transformed into a hotbed of communal violence.

 

In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, riots broke out in and around Bhatkal, 150km north of Mangalore. The communal riots lasted for almost a year, resulting in a huge loss of life and property worth Rs 12 crore. 

 

Bhatkal has also been the focus of right wing Hindu outfits such as  Sri Ram Sene and Hindu Rakshna Veddike. The Hindu radical organisations have also blamed Muslims for the assassinations of BJP MLA U Chittaranjan in 1996 and local BJP worker Thimappa Naik in 2004.

At a rally in Bhatkal,  Sri Ram Sene’s local convener Shabbanna Kollur had said: “We look forward to the day when Bhatkal will become a Hindu rashtra.” Intelligence agencies are also worried about moderate Hindus turning radical in deeply polarised Bhatkal

 

There is also a general feeling that the Muslim community does not use Bhatkal as surname. It is a media creation.