An ugly scene surfaced near Parliament on August 8. Amidst the people enjoying the finest sporting moment, a group intoxicated with the spirit of hatred, uttered Jab mulle kaatey jayengey, Ram-Ram chilllayengey (when Muslims are slaughtered, they will scream ‘Ram, Ram’). It did not stop here. They further uttered Bund karo, bund karo, mulle kaa Vyapar bund karo (Shut down, shut down Muslims’ businesses)”.
These slogans poisoned the atmosphere not far in the hinterland, but the venue was Jantar Mantar in the heart of the national capital and definitely within the earshot of the seat of power that governs the Union of India. The rally was organised by former Delhi BJP spokesperson, Ashwani Upadhyay under the umbrella of the Bharat Jodo Movement, demanding the end of colonial era laws by implementing a uniform Civil Code. Later Upadhyay sought to dissociate himself from the sloganeering.
Its coverage in The Telegraph (Kolkata, August 10) reflects how far some goons supporting the ruling dispensation have gone in tarnishing the image of pluralism in the country. It reports: “Anmol Pritam, a reporter with the YouTube channel National Dastak was roughed up and told to chant “Jai Shri Ram”, which he refused to do under duress.”
“When I asked them about why issues like unemployment or food security do not elicit such public protests from them, one youth started yelling that I am from a Jihadi channel that hates Modi and Yogi,” Pritam is told the Telegraph.
The reporter was suddenly gheraoed by about 150 people. One large man put his arm around me and asked Terey muh mein dahi jam gayi hai ki ‘Jai Shri Ram’ nahi bolega (Is your mouth stuffed with curd that you won’t say, ‘Jai Shri Ram’)?.
Civil rights defender Harsh Mander is reported to have tweeted “Runaway hate speech spouting venom against Indian Muslim citizens by rallyists and that too in the vicinity of Parliament. The police take no action to detain or punish them. This is the character of the ruling establishment.”
A similar outburst a year ago had culminated in the Delhi riots in which 53 people were killed. The Delhi minority panel is reported to have said in its report on the riots that the police “were complicit and abetted the attacks” and tended to arrest the victims rather than the people they accused.
A few days ago Hindutva groups and other organisations held a mahapanchayat in Dwarka, a residential neighbourhood on the western fringes of Delhi, to protest against the construction of a Haj House. Purported videos from the event showed the protesters making communally charged comments and calling for violence if the building came up.
Ishrat Hashmi, a social activist, has sent me a video which depicts a person reminding our Prime Minister of the oath that he happened to take on assuming the post of Prime Minister. It is but an irony that most of our political leaders ignore to undertake what they would promise to do for all round development of the society and the nation as a whole. In fact, the picture of the nation would have been something else had our ministers and leaders kept their words made to the general masses. For them “words are made not to be kept”.
Ejaz Ahmed Aslam, Editor-in-Chief of this magazine, during the course of my talk with him, advised me to remain hopeful, to remain always positive and look at the bright side of things. He then quoted me the Urdu couplet: Noor-e Haq Shama Elahi ko Bujha Sakta hai Kaun / Jiss ka Hamii ho Khuda usko Mita Sakta hai Kaun (Who can extinguish the light lighted by Almighty God…).
The present Modi establishment has used national agencies against its political opponents and to crush dissent in the country to the point that the credibility of these agencies has come under question. Little else can express the attitude of Indian politicians who, after being elected, begin to treat their electors like subjects. This especially characterises the conduct of the ruling dispensation in Delhi. It dresses up all aspects of governance – policies, federal transactions, inherited schemes, infrastructure projects – as gifts from the prime minister. The right to equality enshrined in this provision is a guarantee of protection against arbitrary State action. Colonial style whimsicality and hollow promises made for short-term political gain must not be tolerated but condemned forcefully.