Five killed as India buries Kannada film star Rajkumar

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From The New York Times, April 13, 2006

Five Killed as India Buries Film Icon
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:46 a.m. ET

BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - Police opened fire in India's technology hub
on Thursday, killing four people as tens of thousands of fans mourning the
death of a film icon torched vehicles and attacked company offices. Police
said that an officer was earlier beaten to death as film actor Rajkumar's
cortege made its way through the streets of Bangalore. One man died of
bullet wounds after police opened fire in self-defence when mobs attacked
their bus. Three people were killed after the funeral as police fired at a
mob enraged at not being able to attend the service. The body of the
77-year-old actor, who died on Wednesday after a heart attack, was buried
with state honors at a film studio owned by his family on the city's
outskirts.

Violent mourners clashed with police, set vehicles on fire and damaged
shops along the route of the procession. Hundreds of fans threw flower
petals as the body was lowered into the grave. Rajkumar's son Raghvendra
implored fans to maintain calm but his words had little effect. Fans kept
away from the grave were seen throwing stones at passing vehicles and
police. Officers had earlier retaliated with tear gas and baton-charges as
thousands converged on a stadium in Bangalore, home to major Indian and
international technology firms, where the actor's body had been put on
view in a transparent coffin. The state government of Karnataka announced
a public holiday to mark the actor's passing. Schools, shops, cinema halls
were shut for the day and few buses were running.

Leading IT companies -- including Wipro, iGATE and Infosys, India's
second-largest software company, along with multinationals Microsoft, Dell
Inc and IBM -- said they would stay closed on Thursday. ``Most companies
are forced to close. Nobody wants to take a chance,'' an official at a
multinational firm told Reuters on the condition that that the person and
company not be named. ''Offices that are open get stoned. This is bad for
Bangalore's international image.'' Offices belonging to AXA, a leading
French insurance firm, and Microsoft were pelted with stones, company
officials told Reuters.

APPEAL FOR CALM

Police had to cane unruly fans surging to have a
glimpse of their icon as they attempted to restore order at the stadium
while thousands of fans, including women and children, stood in long
queues to pay homage.

At least 10 police officers were injured, and 50 to 70 vehicles were
vandalized, police said. Some were bemused by the violence. ``It is a
natural death. Why are the fans getting violent? It is out of fear people
are closing shops,'' said a street vendor near one of the city's main bus
terminals. Others were emotional.

``Our hero is dead. Annavaru (elder brother) was our inspiration,'' said
Hanumanthaiah, a fan paying his last respects at the stadium. Drivers
pasted pictures of the actor to their windows in the hope of avoiding the
mob's attention. Cable television companies blocked entertainment channels
to mark a day of mourning. Karnataka's chief minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy,
appealed for calm. ``By resorting to violence, you will only be showing
disrespect to the great actor,'' he said. Rajkumar starred in more than
200 Kannada-language films over five decades. He soon gained a fiercely
devoted following amongst fans for roles ranging from police to gods. He
found fame outside his home state of Karnataka after being kidnapped by
notorious jungle bandit Veerappan in 2000. He spent 108 days at
Veerappan's hideout before a release was negotiated.

[Listserv Manager's note: He also championed Kannada as the official
language of Karnataka State, and when in the custody of the kidnapper
Veerappan, part of the ransom negotiations (with the Chief Ministers of
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu)  involved (1) making Tamil a co-official
language of Karnataka, and making Tamil the *only* medium of instruction
in Tamilnadu schools. Part of the rage of the crowd (and the violence
against IT firms) has to do with the dominance of English in Bangalore and
the perception that Tamil is also encroaching on various domains in
Karnatak. (hs)]