Recently Prime Minister Mr. Modi spoke about the sacred nature of human rights. He criticised the dangerous trend of seeing human rights violation in one incident, but not in another incident of similar nature. He is absolutely right. All humans are equal, there should not be some persons who are more equal. The Holy Prophet ﷺ had also said that all human beings are equal like the teeth of a comb.
But what is happening in our country? Take the case of Bhima Koregaon accused. There are 10 accused persons in jails under the stringent provisions of UAPA and other infamous laws. Full three years have passed and the legal proceedings have not yet started. An 80 plus ailing activist Stan Swamy breathed his last behind bars. Why even bail was not given to him? Why these accused are being denied a fair trial. These old, infirm and ailing activists are being continuously denied their right to liberty. Medicine, books and small requirements like a chair, a full sleeve sweater were refused to these activists. Does the heartless government want to make an example of them? Does it want that these persons should die one after another in their cells? Why aren’t Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court taking suo moto cognisance of this criminal attitude of the authorities?
Atrocities in Lakhimpur Kheri incident are more than evident. The Supreme Court had to intervene and ask tough questions. Why a central minister’s son is being protected? Why a maharaja’s treatment for him? All these things are being done under the nose of the CM of the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. Our PM, perhaps with an eye on impending state elections, praises the law and order of that state as an ideal one.
The infamous North East Delhi anti-Muslim riots of February 2020 were enacted under the very nose of our Home Minister Amit Shah. A conspiracy theory falsely linking Shaheen Bagh and CAA, NRC protests was invented by the Delhi Police. When a judge reprimanded police and asked tough questions, he was transferred to a lower court. Same was done to Delhi High Court Justice S. Muralidhar, who was sent to Chandigarh. It is illegal interference in the law implementation process.
Our judicial process is so slow, tedious and expensive that poor and deprived class people cannot afford it. A disproportionate number of sufferers of these atrocities are Muslims, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes people. They are the wretched of the earth, voiceless and less than equal citizens of our democratic India. Mr. Modi sounds concerned about the dent in the image of India in the world. But under whose dispensation these atrocities are being committed?
When Indira Gandhi government during Emergency adopted anti-people and atrocious policies, she was defeated in elections and thrown out of power. Portents indicate that the same fate awaits the new perpetrators. History will record once again that a government which was given a big mandate acted arbitrarily and foolishly and was promptly punished by the people. The time is close by when the pot of sins would be full and it would be thrown out on the crossword.