Bengaluru’s risk-averse force

Bengaluru's police force has been described as "risk-averse" regarding protests and dissent. Recently, a suo motu FIR was registered against a woman for displaying a placard that read "Umar Khalid Zindabad" and "Sharjeel Imam Zindabad" at a student protest. Neha Bora, the National President of the All India Students' Association, criticized the Congress government in Karnataka for its actions, stating that parties opposing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should lead by example.

Both senior Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, have voiced support for Israel during its war on Palestine, yet the Bengaluru Police booked three suo motu FIRs against pro-Palestine demonstrators. The police have also disrupted indoor meetings where pro-Palestine films and issues were being discussed, despite no police permission being required for such gatherings.

The police have been accused of weaponizing the Licensing and Regulation of Protests, Demonstrations and Protest Marches (Bengaluru City) Order, 2021, which mandates that all protests must be held at Freedom Park. Activists argue that restricting protests to this location ghettoizes and renders them less visible. A campaign to reverse this order since the Congress came to power in 2023 has not been successful.

The police contend that allowing pro-Palestine protests would lead to similar demonstrations by pro-Israel groups, which they aim to avoid. Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra had to relocate his show after a Hindutva outfit opposed it. Stand-up comic Munnawar Faruqui's performances were also canceled twice during the BJP regime. A criminal complaint was filed against Azim Premji University's students for discussing the 1991 Kunan Poshpora incident in Kashmir without prior approval, following a campaign by Hindutva groups.

The Congress government in power since 2023 has been slow to counter the Hindutva agenda out of fear of being perceived as "playing into the hands of the BJP." Despite the new Home Minister's face-off with the RSS over public spaces, the State Cabinet approved a bill in 2026 to regulate the use of government premises and public property, though it remained untabled during the recent legislature session.