A round of applause for this arrest

There has been a usual criticism against the Kerala Police for taking a soft stance against Sangh Parivar hate mongers - be it those who address public gatherings or those who spread venom through speeches and posts on social media. There are many instances cited out, where the police, who voluntarily filed cases against social media posts opposing the court verdict in the Babri Masjid case on charges of spreading communal strife, refrained from taking action even after complaints against the propagation of inflammatory campaigns carried out by the BJP-RSS ideologues and activists. Despite all that, the action taken by the Perinthalmanna police the other day is surely a small corrective. They arrested a person who was constantly spreading communal hatred through social media platforms. He made highly objectionable remarks including that the owners of many restaurants serving vegetarian food in Malappuram district were Muslims and that the people should be cautious while eating at such places. The arrest was made on the orders of Malappuram District Police Chief in the case registered suo motu by the Perinthalmanna Police Inspector for spreading communal hatred with the malicious intention of destroying religious harmony. The person, who is on the police station's rowdy list, with multiple criminal accusations against him, is known to be operating in connection with certain news websites and claims to be a journalist.

It is an indisputable fact that this is a time when free press is under constant threat. The media and journalists who fearlessly come forward to report and publish news face displeasure and legal actions from the government or corporates for doing so. Led by leaders who are reminiscent of the dark days of the Emergency, the central government has outdone all the precedents of media censorship. The way media outlets such as The Wire, NewsClick, Caravan, Scroll and AltNews are being stifled is indescribable. But they keep moving forward without bowing their heads and that is where hope lies. Journalists face a plethora of hurdles in Kashmir and in states like UP, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh which are under the Sangh Parivar rule. In Kerala too, things are not all rosy. The state government has a tendency to accuse those who report unfavourable news. The association of journalists was even forced to organize a march to the Secretariat the other day demanding the withdrawal of false cases against journalists. At the same time, those who use news websites as a cover for blackmail and a platform for spreading hatred go unpunished. In this backdrop, it is a positive sign that the police came forward to arrest at least one of them.

Add to this the news of a prominent Sangh Parivar leader's recent interaction with the owners of some online media. One leading online media outlet 'The News Minute' reveals that the leader promised 'support' in return for favourable coverage ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and that moves are being made to form a syndicate including such news websites. Among the participants in the discussion was a group of people who were arrested the other day for spreading communal hatred. The only agenda that the Sangh Parivar can implement is polarization driven by communal hatred. The anti-Muslim campaign called Love Jihad, which was once carried out by some of the mainstream media in Kerala, by propagating the lies cooked up by the Sangh Parivar, spread throughout India and created havoc. By the time the media realized the mistake and was about to rectify it, seeds of lies and hatred they had planted already sprouted abundantly. The police has to come forward as done in the aforementioned case, to bring the hate mongers to justice no matter which category they belong to, and which platform they use. The Supreme Court verdict against hate speech also demands this. Alongside, such developments remind us that traditional journalism should be more careful, cautious and responsible.