Dear Editor,
As soon as the second innings of ‘good governance’ has been guaranteed, what a deluge of ‘great news’ coming from the Hindi belt – that, too, even before the oath-taking ceremony of the central regime!
Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh. On the accusation of transporting beef, three persons of the minority community were severely thrashed. As if that was not enough, their ‘patriotism’ was also subjected to a ‘litmus test’ through the medium of “Jai Sri Ram.”
Gurgaon, Haryana. A minority youth, Mohamad B Alam, from Bihar, was thrashed for daring to sport a skullcap. He would have to chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Jai Sri Ram.”
Begusarai district, Bihar. Mohammad Qasim was not only directed to leave for Pakistan, he was also shot at.
Just for his ‘sin’ of posting the dietary rights of the tribals revolving around beef on social media, Jamshedpur teacher-cum-tribal theatre activist, Jeetrai Hansda, was arrested, two years after the post had been put on social media. What a cold-blooded vendetta!
New Delhi. Pune-based doctor, Arun Gadre, was gheraoed on his morning walk and compelled to chant “Jai Sri Ram” loudly. What an earnest duty to Hinduism! No prizes for guessing what his fate would have been had he refused their diktat, or had he been a Muslim.
Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Who’s Who of the BJP came to Bengal several times during the poll campaign and attacked the state in the most vulgar of terms, describing it as a “land of criminals with democracy throttled.”
May I now humbly ask the Modi-Shah brigade whether Seoni, Gurgaon, Begusarai, Jamshedpur or New Delhi is “part of Bengal?”
If the answer is no, may I ask, how can these crimes happen in the ‘heaven’ of the BJP-led/influenced states? How can such bizarre throttling of freedom of speech get registered there? Who should think what about beef consumption, whether one should chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai” or “Jai Sri Ram” or not – all would be dictated by the saffron bhakts.
So, will we now have to conclude that when the bhakts cause physical harm to the minorities by taking all norms of the law in their hands, it cannot be branded as a crime? And do the arrest or harassment of individuals for opining against the saffron mainstream, not obeying the diktat of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” or “Jai Sri Ram,” or daring to sport a skullcap not amount to an attack on the democratic ethos in ‘new India’?
Since the regime of the ‘good days’ has been overwhelmingly endorsed at the hustings, despite a series of Mohammad Akhlaques to Junaids to Pehlu Khans (to name a few) and the barbaric infringement on the freedom of expression since 2014, will this assault on minorities, the diktat of what one should/shouldn’t wear/eat/chant, and throttling of opposing viewpoints in the name of ‘hurt sentiments’ get a fresh lease of life?
Sincerely,
Kajal Chatterjee,
Kolkata