The Hindu Jagarana Vedike (HJV) on Monday launched a campaign to prevent what it called “Christianisation” of Kapalabetta, where a 114-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ is proposed to be installed.
RSS ideologue Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who led a rally, alleged that the proposed statue was a “conspiracy for conversions”.
Harobele village, where Kapalabetta is located, was turned into a fortress, with the police on Monday barring entry of any outsiders.
The rally saw nearly a thousand activists from Hindu right-wing organisations congregate at Kanakapura in Ramanagaram district.
Activists were mobilised from Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Channapatna, apart from Kanakapura town.
As the rally went through the town, shopkeepers downed shutters voluntarily till the rally was over.
BJP leader Ashwath Narayan, party’s candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, took part in the rally, but did not address the gathering.
Different hillocks
Giving a new twist to the controversy, a pamphlet by HJV and several speeches at a rally in the town claimed that Kapalabetta was originally called “Muneeshwara Betta”, a holy site of Hindus.
However, Kapalabetta and Muneeshwara Betta are two different hillocks, at least two kilometre apart from each other, in two different villages — Harobele and Kadle Doddi, respectively.
Kapalabetta is also known as Ganghasale Kadu locally, and has a recorded history of being a Christian site since at least 1906 and Hindus never worshipped atop the hill, several Hindu residents of the surrounding villages told this correspondent.
