Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 23: It is a well-known fact that VHP and its brigade Bajrang Dal have a strong presence in Mangaluru. It is also not uncommon for Bajrang Dal's name to crop up whenever Mangaluru hits national headlines for the wrong reasons. Now, a book reveals how exactly the Bajrang Dal uses fear factor to make money in Mangaluru, simply by having the security agency run by its leader provide protection to the businesses, be it malls or real estate.

An excerpt from the book, 'Shadow Armies: Fringe Organizations and Foot Soldiers of Hindutva', by journalist Dhirendra K Jha, quotes Sharan Pumpwell, the convener of Bajrang Dal, on how he combines the fear and anxiety created among the businessmen in the city by his right-wing outfit with his own shrewd sense of business, to run his agency, by hook or by crook. The result, ironically, is a harmonious one, where Muslim businessman are compelled to hire his men for protection, and in turn, are assured of no harm coming their way.

"The affable manner of forty-year-old Sharan Pumpwell, the Mangalore-based leader of the Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, belies his exceptional business acumen. Like a good entrepreneur – obeying the laws of demand and supply – he has put to good use the anxiety felt by local businessmen as a direct result of the Bajrang Dal’s activities. He offers them protection by using the foot soldiers of the very same Hindutva outfit he represents," the book says.

In the book, Sharan Pumpwell comes across as a person with an acumen for business. "We strictly follow the rules of business," he tells the author. "Businessmen are prepared to work with us because we offer them security services at a very reasonable rate."

File Photo

The author notes that unlike earlier, it is not politics but business that is the driving force behind Bajrang Dal's activities in Mangaluru.

Jha explains, "It works like this: first, the demand is created through the Bajrang Dal's agitational activities, which range from vigilantism to hooliganism to vandalism. This creates a sense of insecurity among owners of malls, shops and apartments. Then Eshwari Manpower Solutions Limited, a company owned by Sharan, offers security guards to the terrified businessmen so their fears are assuaged. The manpower for both these activities is drawn from the same pool."

Sharan Pumpwell admits to the author that all the 'supervisors and the majority of the security guards who work for the company are Bajrang Dal karyakartas'. "As the leader of the Bajrang Dal in this city, it is my duty to secure a livelihood for the karyakartas. But I don’t turn away anyone who comes to me for a job. There is enough demand for security guards in the city. Some of our guards are even Muslims," Sharan says.

"I started this business soon after I was made the convener of the Mangalore division. Now I have the security contracts of three malls – City Centre, Forum Fiza and Big Bazar – apart from several shops and apartments in the city," he tells the author.

Jha says that with Eshwari Manpower Solutions Limited requiring constant business opportunities, Bajrang Dal considers its agitational activities crucial to its economic gains under Sharan's leadership.

Jha also observes that a Hindutva outift having a Muslim client base has given way to 'communal harmony' in the city. "Interestingly, most of the shops in City Centre and Forum Fiza belong to Muslims, the community that is the main target of the Bajrang Dal's attacks in Mangalore, as in other parts of the country. In Mangalore, however, the anti-Muslim basis of the Bajrang Dal’s politics gives way to communal harmony the moment the Hindutva outfit doubles up as a business firm with minorities as clients."

However, Sharan Pumpwell insists that it is the 'trust' factor that is drawing Muslims to his company. "We are getting a lot of business from Muslim shopkeepers and mall owners. That is primarily because they have faith in us and in our company," he tells the author.

The author however notes that "Sharan maintains silence about the secret of his success among minorities - the fear factor that compels Muslim businessmen to opt for Eshwari Manpower’s security services."

A Muslim shop owner is quoted in the book admitting that seeking security cover from Sharan's company was the best way to keep peace. "Given the kind of activities they [Bajrang Dal members] indulge in, this is the best way to do your business peacefully," says the Muslim shop owner in City Centre. "In a city like Mangalore, if you don’t outsource your security to them, you become extremely vulnerable. In the end, it is not a bad deal either. You do not just get security guards from them but also an assurance that you will be spared from any Hindutva activity. After all, one attack is enough to bring down your business."

Jha then draws attention to the failure of the police and government machinery to reign in troublemakers. "The transformation of the Bajrang Dal into a protection racket is not necessarily the natural progression of street-level Hindutva politics. It has been possible in Mangalore because of the widespread perception among businessmen and ordinary citizens that appealing to the police for protection is futile. When the state is unable to rein in troublemakers and the government’s law and order machinery appears overwhelmed by them, perhaps the only option is to cooperate with the perpetrators of criminal culture," he notes, while adding that Bajrang Dal's approach to politics in Mangaluru ('small scale, local and business-oriented') makes sense given the fact that a large number of its activists are unemployed youth from economically weaker sections of society. "It is equally obvious why employment via the Bajrang Dal protection racket appeals to those who have struggled - and failed - to secure a livelihood in a highly competitive market," he adds.

Article 'doctored', claims Sharan Pumpwell

Speaking to daijiworld Sharan Pumpwell denied that there was any 'racket' of making money in the name of providing protection to businessmen. "He (Dhirendra Jha) had interviewed me a year ago. There is no such racket of making money in the name of protection as written in the article. Eshwari Manpower Solution is my firm but there is no fraud and no one has been forced into becoming client in this buisness.

"We do not have any contract signed with any of the malls, be it Forum or Big Bazaar. The article has been doctored. If a company needs security, it invites tenders, and we apply and follow the procedure accordingly," he said.