Senior Kannada writer Kum. Veerabhadrappa (Kumvee), who recently spoke against communal divisiveness and hatred in Karnataka at an event in Bengaluru, has received a death threat via an anonymous two-page letter post delivered at his residence.
The letter not only threatens Kumvee, but 61 writers, artists and activists who recently signed an open letter to the Chief Minister expressing concern over rising communal tension in Karnataka, and former Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and H. D. Kumaraswamy who have been criticising the BJP and Hindutva organisations over the same issue.
The letter says the 61 writers, Kumvee and the two former CMs have been criticising Hindus and taking the side of Muslims, calls them ‘anti-nationals’, ‘traitors to their religion’ and asks them to ‘prepare for their death which may come in any form shortly’. The letter is signed as ‘Sahishnu Hindu’ (tolerant Hindu). The envelope in which the letter came has a seal from Bhadravati in Shivamogga district, Kumvee said.
The writer has not lodged a complaint with the police. “When the Home Minister himself is trying to fan communal tension in Karnataka by making false claims, what credibility do the police have for me to file a complaint,” Kumvee told The Hindu.
He came down heavily on Kannada news television for fanning tension in Karnataka and targeting writers like him who were speaking out against it. “If anybody is responsible for the death of M.M. Kalburgi, it is Kannada television media, which ran a provocative and factually incorrect campaign against him. Similarly, the writers who were signatories to a recent open letter to the Chief Minister, who spoke at an event in Bengaluru were continuously targeted for days on Kannada news channels, as a result of which I have now got a threat letter,” he said. He added that there was no question of him stepping back or remaining silent when Karnataka’s social fabric is being torn apart.
