Writing letters to states wont cool down the ‘climate of hate’

The social environment of India has deteriorated significantly after the RSS-led government under Narendra Modi came to power in May last year with communal forces vehemently on the rampage all over.

When responsibilities like maintaining law and order come into the hands of a fascist group built on an extreme aversion towards minority communities, appalling things are likely to happen. Boasting repeatedly of a Constitution that guarantees secular democracy and social justice is pointless if the country lacks a government that is committed towards ensuring such values. The corporate giants who tried hard to push Modi to power and the media, who sang praises for the PM, had earlier tried to convince that the Prime Minister wouldn’t be allowing the realization of Hindutwa agenda in the initial years of coming to power. The country is currently witnessing the violation of all those promises and expectations. The beef ban is in no way linked to public health and is unacceptable to a progressive and civilized society of 21^st century. But the states are gradually mooting as well as implementing harsh laws aimed at suppressing the minorities. The recent tragic event in which a Muslim man from Dadri village of Uttar Pradesh was dragged out of his house and brutally beaten to death for consuming and storing beef at his home by a mob of hundreds and attacking his family following an announcement from a local temple that they had slaughtered a cow and stored its meat, has drawn widespread criticisms. Cow meat is banned in Uttar Pradesh. The family members denied eating or storing beef claiming that they had only goat meat brought for Eid kept in the house. That the tragic incident was triggered neither out of the love for the animal nor due to the religious opposition towards cow slaughter is plainly evident.

The Dadri tragedy is nothing but an attempt to bolster power by aggravating the communal atmosphere as worse as possible and communally polarizing the society. Azam Khan, senior Samajwadi Party leader had written to the UN Secretary General to look into the miseries of the Muslims as well as other minority communities and to protect them. He urged the UN to also instruct the BJP government not to push the saffronising agenda and transform India into a Hindu nation. The Union Home Ministry due to the fear of ruining the much puffed up image, soon wrote the states to take appropriate action against the forces that pose a threat to secularism. Fear among the minorities has increased greatly since the BJP government came to power. The scenario could be drastically improved if the Centre and the Sangh Parivar make efforts to curb the forces that threaten secularism. The ‘climate of hate’ would automatically cool down if sensitive issues like beef ban, Ghar Vapasi and Love Jihad and the protests against them cease to exist. In short, the resentment will calm down if the Prime Minister at least acts against the frequent communal riots and the people responsible for them.

Modi not just maintains a meaningful silence but has been ardently striving to implement his agenda. BJP MLA Sangeet Som, a hardcore extremist and an accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots is still continuing his inciting speeches in Dadri. BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj and VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi is also highly active with their hate speeches. It is bootless to write to the states instead of trying to curb their words and actions. Attempts to spread communal poison in Varanasi, Modi’s own constituency, are also being carried out. While Modi raves about the dreams of a Digital India and taking the country to greater heights, his hardcore extremist government refuses to even grant the minorities equal rights as animals. It’s nothing but idiocy to think that the rest of the world wouldn’t comprehend the hypocrisy of the BJP-led government or that the secular minded communities would endure all the agony in silence.