It is very disturbing that the irresponsible politicians are constantly indulging in hatemongering to pursue their questionable political objectives. Hate speech has assumed the proportions of an epidemic. Rather it is a cancer which threatens peace and inter-religious cohesion of the Indian society. It is the devil’s weapon of mass destruction which is shamelessly being used by the merchants of death and destruction.
Unfortunately, the ruling dispensation of different hues and colours have been brazenly using the arsenals of hate with impunity which has poisoned the minds and opened the floodgates of fear, suspicion and unending conflicts endangering the civil society and the very foundation of rule of law and democracy.
We had welcomed the intervention of the Supreme Court when it had ordered, on October 21, 2022, tough action against hate speech. Unfortunately, this order was taken very lightly by the law enforcement machinery. Perhaps it was not liked by their political masters, because it did not serve their objectives. Responding to some petitions against hate speech, the Supreme Court bench of Justice K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna on April 28, 2023, reiterated its earlier order to take action against hate speech. Last year’s order has now been extended to all Indian States and Union Territories. The Court further said that the police should take suo motu cognisance of all hate speech cases and should not wait for complaint. Further, it has warned that if appropriate and urgent action is not taken, it would be considered to be contempt of court and action would be taken against the erring officers.
The Supreme Court has specifically remarked that “nobody should be allowed to play with the rule of law and states must take timely action to curb hate speech and the problem should not be allowed to go out of hand.”
Every sane citizen will agree with the learned judges that the heinous crime of hatemongering affects the future of the nation and poisons the mind of large sections and thus not only affects the dignity of people but also spoils the secular character of Bharat as is envisaged by the Preamble of our Constitution.
Let the powers that be stop playing with fire and desist from dividing people on communal lines. Let us also hope that if the government and police continue to look the other way, the Supreme Court will move forward to protect the interests of the people which lie in peace, cooperation and brotherhood. Nobody, however high he may be, should be allowed to harm the unity of the people and the integrity of the nation.