Uploaded on December 24, 2021
VIEWPOINT
Country Heading Towards the Path of Violence, Judiciary Should Perform Its Obligations!
Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam
Occurrences related to violence, hatred and communalism are on the rise. Political leaders and some protégé having links with political parties are bent upon spitting venom. Many a people occupying high offices act venomously and carry venom in their voice against Muslims; they cross all limits in their malicious treatment of minorities, Dalits and the weak. Such leaders and hate-mongers include persons from top to bottom. The latest statement from RSS Chief, Mohan Bhagvat, in which he talks about Muslims’ “Coming Home” (Ghar Wapsi). In the course of a programme, he urged the participants to take an oath to work on the ground for Muslims’ coming home. Preceding this event, he falsified history saying Islam reached India by the use of sword and through invaders. Sometimes, he says that all citizens of Bharat are Hindus. Scores of his statements promote violence, hurting the sentiments of minorities, while also violating the rights to equality, justice and freedom.
Man occupying the chair of the Prime Minister also makes statements almost alike. A few days ago, he made remarks unbecoming of the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir. Far from the truth, he fabricated a story instead. The speech was provocative and contrary to composite culture (Ganga-Jamni Tahzeeb). Even against Masood Salar Ghazi, he resorted to falsehood. The public address by a man who holds a high profile office is certainly detrimental to national integrity, peace, security and mutual amity. Such utterances in the speech of a responsible person would certainly become a cause of shame; uncouth words would incite hatred; his devout followers would take recourse to violence and incite communalism. Negative image will go across the world about India.
Yogi Adityanath is not far behind; he too continuously spreads false stories coated with poison. Once he said that during Akhilesh’s rule, ration was distribution to the people of ‘Abba Ji’. His favourite hobby is to connect his adversaries with Mohammad Ali Jinnah and to question their patriotism. Emulating his example is the Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who also spits venom, continuously targeting Muslims day in, day out. He revealed that Ram Mandir has already been built; a glorious temple at Mathura is under way and Kashi still remains there. On several occasions, it is said assertively that as we destroyed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and built a temple there, similarly, we will demolish the mosques in Mathura and Kashi to build magnificent temples there.
V H P leader Mr. Singh, who is a doctor by profession, has compared the partition of India and creation of Pakistan with surgery to remove ‘cancer’. He said that when the country was partitioned on the ground of religion, we gave a separate land to Muslims. It should be seen as an act of removing cancer from the country since this was synonymous with terminating cancer. However, unfortunately, this didn’t succeed; some Muslim brothers stayed back in India. According to the spirit of Hindu tradition of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is a family) and ‘Atithi devo bhava’ (guest is like god), we accommodated them respectfully, forgetting that cancer spreads slowly. Today, after a lapse of 70 years, the cancer has entered the last stage and has taken over our whole body. There are not many options with us to remove this cancer except prescribing chemotherapy. We have to apply such a treatment that the human body stays alive while the disease terminates. When asked if he was describing Muslims as ‘cancer’, Singh replied that he is a doctor, so he was just citing an example which does not mean that he dubbed them as ‘cancer’. He claimed that Muslims believe in the concept of ‘Millat’ (community); they don’t have the concept of ‘Qaum’ (Nation), meaning that the concept of Nationalism is foreign to them, and they believe that the whole world should follow one religion.
The foregoing statement is based on communal ideology, inciting hatred and violence. Declaring Tablighi Jama’at as a terrorist body, the Working President of Vishva Hindu Parishad has urged the Government to ban it. In the past few days, spokesmen of Bajrang Dal and other saffron outfits have spit venom against Muslims. Communal statements are being made day in, day out. A video has gone viral on social media in which a BJP MLA from Bihar is saying that this country belongs to Hindus only and Muslims have no right to live here. There is a long list of such venomous statements.
Incidents of mob lynching are on the increase. Muslims, Dalits, Christians and weaker sections of society are being lynched in the country almost every day on a regular basis; they are being targeted selectively. Police is not performing its duty. Action is not initiated against troublemakers. Rather, those present in Government patronise such anti-social elements. Last year, Supreme Court of India had instructed the Centre to make a law against mob lynching, but the Government has not paid any heed to it as yet. There seems to be no plan for making a law against mob lynching nor does Government show any will or seriousness to prevent such incidents.
We are confronted with a battery of questions, like why does the judiciary not taking any notice of hate speeches? Why does the judiciary let leaders delivering hate speech go scot-free? Why is action not taken against the perpetrators of hate politics? Why is police not delivering on its responsibility? Why do politicians and political leaders go unbridled? Who is patronising such trouble makers and mischievous leaders? On what basis the Government is ignoring the instructions issued by the Supreme Court? Why is the Government evading making a law against mob lynching? Will the agenda of U.P. election be based on hate and violence? Will the whole country be thrown into the gust of hatred just to win the election? Will the people be divided on communal ground by drawing a line of division between Muslims and Hindus? Will communal politics carry on like this? Whatever is happening in this manner is manifestly set on the course of communalism, hatred and contrary to the values of the country. Stopping such incidents, reining mischief mongers, taking notice of the leaders spitting venom are the steps required urgently, failing which the country will slip into anarchy, incidents of mob violence will increase, and unity and integrity will suffer a setback. Such incidents happening on the eve of election are being orchestrated to scare people, so there is no clean and transparent election and people are frightened while exercising their franchise.
Anyhow, the judiciary is supposed rightly to take note of the fragility and sensitivity of the present situation and take suo moto control over the matter and initiate, on its own accord, practical measures to arrest the increasing incidents of evil-mongering and hatred and assure that justice, equality, and freedom thrive in our society.
(The writer is General Secretary, All India Milli Council)