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Troubled Waters
The
Karnataka chief minister's handling of the Cauvery dispute is making life
for Tamils in Bangalore more and more difficult, writes India Today's
Stephen David.
A
ticket on
a Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation bus from Bangalore to
Mysore-a three-hour, 140-km ride-normally costs Rs 49. These days, however,
it comes for Rs 96 and passengers have to journey an additional three
hours to cover the same distance. With the agitation over sharing of Cauvery
waters with Tamil Nadu getting intemperate, even bus drivers prefer to
wend their way around Mandya, Chief Minister S.M.
Krishna's bastion that has witnessed some of the worst violence
over the water-sharing dispute.
Last week, Krishna tendered an "unconditional apology" to the
Supreme Court saying his Government erred by not implementing its earlier
order for release of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu. Farmers in his village,
Somanahalli, who greeted him with buntings and banners during his six-day
padyatra just two weeks ago-when he defied the court ruling-are appalled
at the sudden turnabout. There was more bad news. Two days later, on October
30, Mandya MP and Kannada filmstar Ambareesh nnounced his decision to
resign from the Lok Sabha. The same day indefinite curfew was imposed
on Mandya to bridle the riots over the water-sharing dispute in the district.
Not that Krishna acted of his own volition. He was forced to open
the floodgates under pressure not only from the courts, but also his party
high command. Congress President Sonia Gandhi made it clear that Krishna
had to obey the court orders, even if he has to face hardships in his
constituency. After that, Krishna could scarcely afford to be adamant.
That explains why a few hours before the court was to give its
verdict, he apologised. The about-face was also brought about by Sonia's
emissaries-senior advocates H.R. Bharadwaj and R.K. Anand-who counselled
the chief minister on further action.
Water was released from Krishnaraja Sagar dam in Mandya and
Kabini dam in Mysore districts. This time, the chief minister did not
take chances with security breaches-authorities mercilessly clamped down
on rioters. This is linked to the apex court's observation that a chief
minister who could not guarantee law and order must quit.
By heeding to the court orders, Krishna may have saved his chair
but life is far from smooth for the nearly two million Tamils living in
Bangalore. Broadcast ban on Tamil tv channels and Tamil films in the state's
theatres has spawned Kannada chauvinism. "Krishna must now intervene
to make Tamils in the state feel secure. We don't want to go back to 1991,"
says
Karnataka Tamil Sangam chief R.S. Maran, referring to the water
riots that saw thousands of Tamils being hounded out of the state. Having
ignored the court ruling once, the chief minister is more now more than
making up. KR Sagar authorities have been asked to increase the outflow
of water to Tamil Nadu-on the night of October 29, for instance, 20,925
cusecs of water was released. Although Krishna's turnaround has attracted
a barrage of protest from a section of the farming community, it has at
least ensured his survival as chief minister's for some time more. But
if the riots do not die down in the three district most affected by the
crisis, the next round of crisis could have its roots in his own party.
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