By Gauhar Raza
Yes, they knew everything. Who will believe that all-powerful governments at the Center and in Manipur, with omnipresent surveillance agencies, did not know what was happening. I believe that they also know what continues to happen there. The prime minister, home minister, the chief minister were fully aware of how the houses were being set on fire, arms and ammunition was being looted, and people — old and frail, women and children — were being killed. They knew that women were being paraded naked. They also knew who was spreading hate, who enlarged the divide between communities, and who finally ignited the fuse. After all, some of them were trained and tempered in the ‘Prayogshala of Gujarat’.
It is dangerous to assume that they did not know, but suppose some one says, “They were not aware of what was happening in Manipur.” Then, the nation must demand their immediate resignation in as many words: “Mr prime minister, Mr home minister, and Mr chief minister, If you did not know, you are equally insensitive, inhuman and incompetent.”
But they knew everything. The question that the ghastly, inhuman and barbaric incident of parading two women naked, which shook the entire nation’s conscience, has raised is, why did they not speak for such a long time?
The answer is, the two drivers of ‘double-engine sarkaar’ were confident that they had shut down all modes of communication and the media was under full control. The video clips from Manipur were not supposed to come out, so soon. They were confident that before the reality of Manipur was revealed, with active support of ‘Godi Media’, they would be able to build a narrative based on ‘desh ki asmita par hamla’ or dub it as a conspiracy by jihadi elements. In the past, this tactic worked for them. After all, their personality, ideology, and politics were shaped and moulded at ‘RSS prayogshala in Gujarat’.
Humanity and shame do not penetrate the stealth and thick skin of hate that it is made of.
They knew that they would be able to blame the human rights activists and Opposition party members for raising their voices. Instead of punishing the rapists and arsonists, they would be able to slap cases against those who stood by the victims. They have done it successfully in case of Teesta Setalvad, and in many other cases. Who knows, they might even have plans to garland and honour the perpetrators. Therefore, nothing ever happened in Manipur. It was just a propaganda by ‘anti-national secularists’.
Their ‘double-engine sarkaar’ took no time in preventing Rahul Gandhi from visiting or filing FIR against a women delegation. In fact, draconian laws were invoked against the visiting human rights activists with lightening efficiency. Who will believe that you did not know what was happening there? Was the entire structure taken by surprise, paralyzed and incapacitated? No, as the news trickles down, evidently, it was aiding and abating the violence and therefore no perpetrators involved in this case were arrested for more than 70 days. The state of immunity would have continued and PM would have kept silent had the video not become viral.
The second most important question is why did Modi, after keeping silent for such a long time, spoke just before the parliament session began. Some people have suggested that he wanted to divert the attention from real issues. I don’t think so. In my opinion he was scared, the video had gone viral and things were going out of hand. He was pained not because of what is happening in Manipur, but because the real issue of safety, security, and respect for women was out there in public arena. He was pained because the false narrative of ‘strong man’, which has been built by spending crores of rupees was getting demolished. He was pained because the truth came out in open. The entire nation, especially the women, was outraged. In fact, the outrage crossed the national boundaries within a few hours.
There is a news that social media platforms are being instructed by the government to block circulation of this infamous video clip. Yes, ban it! Our children and their children should never be subjected to watch it. I, who came across it accidentally, have no courage to watch it ever again. But history cannot and should not be erased. The younger generations must be told that we had a PM and home minister under whose leadership not only a state called Manipur was burnt, but the humanity was also reduced to ashes. However, it should also be told to them that the nation was outraged and said in one voice that ‘such heinous crimes are not acceptable’.
Zalim ko jo na roke wo shamil hai zulm mein
Qatil ko jo toke wo qatil ke saath hai
I don’t want to be counted among those who kept shut when women were being paraded nude. Mr Modi, I will do everything I can to defeat you and your party in the next election. I refuse to be a silent spectator.
The author is a former CSIR chief scientist and a poet.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by authors in the opinions section are not supported or endorsed by the organisation. No warranties from our side will be given for the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information.
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