Mann Ki Baat: Lynchings yet to find way in PM Modi’s ‘Mann’

NEW DELHI: Addressing the nation through his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat‘ on Sunday, PM Modi hailed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as “probably the worlds biggest tax reform”. However, he did not condemned the fresh spate of mob lynching in the name of cow slaughter and beef.

In the 45th episode of his long radio broadcast, the PM invoked Kabir Das and Guru Nanak Dev to urge people to follow the path of “peace and non-violence, renunciation and sacrifice” as “violence and cruelty can never solve any problem”.

He took up various issues — from congratulating the India and Afghanistan cricket teams, Yoga Day, Doctors’ Day, Heritage, Prakash Parv, Jallianwala Bagh, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherje to beneficiaries of different schemes of government to list a few.

But the brutal lynching in the name of cow or beef was remained untouched in his speech even though he was speaking just days after the incident.

Both the Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in which four people were killed in the name faith has BJP governments and is going to Assembly polls next year.

On Monday 18 June, cattle trader two Muslims were brutally assaulted by a Hindutva goons in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur, one of them Qasim died while anther, 65-year-old farmer Mohammed Samiuddin was critically injured and is in hospital.

The one minute eight second video purportedly shows how the members of the mob, mostly teenagers, forcing the bleeding Samiuddin and at times even pulling his beard to confess to having slaughtered a cow.

In less than 24 hours i.e; Tuesday 19 June, another Muslim named Tauhid Ansari died in mysterious circumstances when he was reportedly carrying beef on bike in Ramgarh of Jharkhand. Later, his half-burnt body with brutal cut was found nearby railway track.

On 13 June, two Muslims in early thirties were lynched by villagers in Jharkhand’s Godda district on suspicion of cattle theft.

Several times in his speech, Modi invoked Kabir.

“Sant Kabir Das ji, through his verses ‘Saakhis’ and ‘Dohas’ stressed upon the virtues of social equality, peace and brotherhood. These were his ideals. We can feel the essence of these ideals in his compositions. They are relevant; inspiring even in modern times,” he said.

Quoting a doha of Kabir PM Modi said: “The true saint is the one who recognizes understands the sufferings of others. Those who do not feel the pain of others are insensitive, uncompassionate.”

— With inputs from IANS