Who is Pramod Muthalik?

New Delhi: Born in 1963 to a Brahmin family, Pramod Muthalik is the chief of the Rashtriya Hindu Sena. In his early life, he has been a member of a Bajrang Dal. However, after being rejected, he formed the Karnataka unit of the Shiv Sena.  Further, he quit Shiv Sena over the Balgaum border dispute and formed Sri Ram Sena.

Pramod Muthalik gained media attention when around 40 activists of Ram Sena barged into a pub in Mangalore, attacking young men and women on the terms of violation of traditional Hindu values. This has resulted in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banning him. Following this, in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he campaigned against the party.

In March 2014, he joined the Karnataka unit of BJP. However, he was made to quit following criticisms and protests from other members of the party.

Pramod Muthalik is known to be an admirer of Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Muthalik regularly attends the death anniversary of Godse.

Around 45 cases are registered against him. The cases are mostly related to inflammatory speeches, inciting hatred between religious groups, and also conducting training with the intent to carry out violence. He is wanted by police in 11 districts from Karnataka. Some cases are still under investigation while others are related to subversive activities, defiling religious books, unlawful assembly, violating prohibitory orders, and evading judicial warrants. Most of the cases are filled between the years 2000 and 2008.

The most highlighted controversial statement was said by Muthalik in June 2018, concerning the murder of Bengaluru journalist Gauri Lankesh. He compared her with a dog and stated, “Many wanted PM Modi to react after Gauri Lankesh’s death. Why should Modi react if some dog dies in Karnataka?” However, later, he defended the statement saying he did not compare Gauri to a dog, rather he wanted to say that PM Modi cannot comment on every death in Karnataka.