By Abdul Bari Masoud, MM News,
New Delhi: At a time when the country is horrified and shocked over the brutal killing in Dadri, which is much closed to the National Capital, the situation at the spot of the incident is getting vitiated every passing day with the involvement of the BJP and its supporters.
After this ghastly incident, it’s frightening to know that media is being targeted and radical elements are having a field day in Dadri while victim family is running for justice from pillar to post. There are also reports that the local police and the SDM have threatened dire consequences to the suffering family against naming local BJP leaders who were involved in stoking the communal fire.
However, it is intriguing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for tweeting every tidbits things, did not break his eloquent silence on this outrage that has shaken the whole nation. His silence should be seen in the context of his (Modi) own venomous rhetoric against cow-slaughter, in the run up to the 2014 elections and before that.
The Aam Aadmi Party said that the Prime Minister has chosen to selectively remain silent on the issue which in turn is a mute support to BJP’s colonels on ground to make the maximum out of the communal divide. It further said that Union minister Mahesh Sharma has covertly and overtly supported the communal frenzy.
“The involvement of the BJP in the Dadri incident is further established with the arrest of a party leader’s son as prime suspect in organizing the meeting which culminated in the attack on the victim’s home”.
The party alleged that every person having expertise within the BJP fold in monetizing the communal tension seems to be employed in Dadri. Muzaffarnagar riots accused Sangeet Som today visited and made his contribution by his inflammatory speeches and by further poisoning the atmosphere. The minority community in the area is in a state of terror and is left with no choice but to flee their place of residence. BJP seems to be contemplating to repeat Muzaffarnagar with an eye on rich dividends in the upcoming local body polls in UP and assembly polls in Bihar.
AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has visited the Bisara village in Dadri on Saturday to console the bereaved family of Mohammad Akhlaq who brutally lynched by a right-wing mob on Monday night.
The modus operandi of the right wing communal elements seems to be the same as before. Hate Tweets and social media posts glorifying the Dadri crime are flooding the media which creates a situation of fear among law abiding citizens. With beef as a pretext, these forces try to divide the country.
Aam Aadmi Party demands urgent intervention of the centre in Dadri and seeks that the Prime Minister to should come out clear and mention if he supports the incident or will he take strict action against the elements who are out to destroy the harmony and unity in the society. The role of a union minister and other elements who are either part of the BJP or its extended family need to be investigated and punished.
The Samajwadi party government led-by Chief Minister Akhlesh Singh Yadav should also be held accountable for what is happening in the state which has miserably failed to check communal and radical elements and groups. It is more perplexing that the CM still did not deem it fit to visit the village. However, he met Akhlaq’s grieving family in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, the condemnation of this outrage has been continued across the world.
US-based the Indian American Muslim Council has strongly condemned the latest episode of anti-minority violence in India, in the form of a mob lynching of a Muslim man and his son in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, over mere suspicion of having eaten beef. Although the incident was made to appear like a spontaneous act of violence by an unruly crowd, there are strong indications that this was a planned act, intended to terrorize the Muslim population of the district and suppress dissent across India over the beef ban implemented in some states.
News reports indicate the son of a local politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instigated the mob of over 200 people, to attack Mohammad Akhlaq and his son. They beat Akhlaq to death, while his 22 year-old son Danish was injured and is in critical condition.
Beyond the mob’s inhuman behavior, it is alarming to note that the police have sent the meat from the victim’s refrigerator to a forensic lab to be tested, out of apparent respect for the mob’s feelings. This effectively turns the victim into the accused, despite the fact that even if the family were in possession of beef; they were not in violation of the Uttar Pradesh Cow Protection Act.
Besides the law enforcement machinery, even the regional Hindi media has joined hands in labeling the victim, Mohammed Akhlaq as a cow-killer. Journalists from major media outlets attempting to visit the village in order to cover the story have been attacked by locals.
In a brazen act of state complicity with the killers, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate has threatened the family of the victim with “dire consequences” if they speak out. The fact that the local BJP leader Srichand Sharma announced a “mahapanchayat” (grand village gathering) to protest the arrests made in the case, is an indication of how Hindu nationalist forces are rallying behind the killers.
BJP and other Sangh-affiliated organizations have sought to make beef a deeply contentious issue across India. Although cow slaughter has traditionally been restricted, some BJP ruled states have banned the sale of all beef. India ranks 5th in the world in beef production, 7th in domestic consumption, and 1st in exporting. In 2014 India surpassed Brazil as the world’s top beef exporter. In the run-up to the last Parliamentary elections Mr. Modi had decried the “pink revolution,” lamenting India’s position as a major exporter of meat, although the industry is a source of livelihood for millions of Indians.
“Both the BJP, as well as Prime Minister Modi bear responsibility for the poison being spread through a twisted form of cultural nationalism,” said Mr. Umar Malick, President of IAMC. “It involves the PM wooing global audiences over promises of development, while giving a free hand to Hindu militias to terrorize and uproot hapless minorities,” added Mr. Malick.
IAMC has also urged world leaders and technology titans that PM Modi has been courting since he came to office, to condemn Hindu nationalist fanaticism and diminishing.