The seminal novel titled Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly in 1818 is the story of a scientist who wants to create life. With an unorthodox experiment, he manages to bring forth a monster that later goes out of his control and terrorizes the human race. Two hundred years after the novel was published, an eerily similar and horrifying scenario is unfolding before our eyes throughout India now.
The monster of religious hatred which was mothered by various groups operating under the saffron umbrella, has grown to full adulthood now. Seldom does a day pass when we do not read about atrocities committed upon minority communities. Frequently persons belonging to the BJP and its allies make provocative statements calling for rough and ready methods against minorities. Such statements can be easily categorised as hate speech but they are always overlooked by a pliant administration.
The Prime Minister who is often vociferous when it comes to pointing out faults of the opposition, remains mute when the matter concerns hate speech by his own party men. What can be inferred from this? He is a personality who is widely revered by his followers. One word from him can quell their aggressive intentions.
Whenever the limits are crossed by a particularly heinous deed, there is an attempt by the government as well as its collaborative media to label it as the action of fringe elements. The case where a security guard on a train shot dead his supervisor and also Muslim passengers, was immediately classified as the deed of a mentally unstable person.
If that was really the case, should he have been given permission to carry a weapon? Those who allowed him to stay on duty with a lethal weapon in his hands are equally guilty for the loss of lives. Action should be taken against his superiors too. And why did he utter the words upholding Modi and Yogi Adityanath before going on a killing spree?
It would be closer to the truth to admit that his actions were driven by virulent communal hatred. But that fact may never come out. Without a doubt, there will be attempts to suppress the truth and obfuscate the facts behind the dastardly deed.
In the northeast of India, Manipur has been on fire for too long. No firm step has been taken to quell the hysterical brutality and bloodshed that the state is witnessing. India’s star athletes from Manipur have made an impassioned appeal to the Prime Minister to stop the violence but in vain.
Why hasn’t the army been sent in to quell the rabid mobs? It is well known that when things go beyond the control of the local police forces, the army is utilised to restore peace. But Manipur is being allowed to burn.
In Haryana, peace has been shattered. Local residents were surprised by the sudden outbreak of communal violence. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is claiming that it was the result of a conspiracy. If so, what was the government’s intelligence-gathering mechanism doing? Was the so-called conspiracy hatched in a few seconds so that nobody was aware of it?
On the other hand, the BJP loses no opportunity to point out that it is a party that is providing a strong and stable administration under an able leader. If the present situation can be defined as stable, then one shudders to think what in their minds constitutes instability. Random murders by cow vigilantes, shooting of hapless passengers by a train security guard, and ongoing ferocity in Manipur and Haryana – are these signs of stability and able leadership?
In 2017, IndiaSpend reported that 84 percent of the victims of cow vigilante violence between 2010 and 2017 were Muslims. About 97 percent of these attacks were reported after May 2014. Many social scientists feel that many of the stated acts of violence are institutionally supported, particularly by political organizations.
The government turns a blind eye to all these alarming trends. Often it is the Supreme Court that comes to the rescue of the oppressed sections. In the past communal violence has rocked many states. Ranging from West Bengal and Assam in the east to Gujarat in the west, Uttar Pradesh in the north to the erstwhile AP in the south, no state has been free of suffering.
The events witnessed at Nellie, Bhagalpur, Hashimpura, Godhra, Muzaffarnagar, and many other places have left deep scars on the face of Indian society. Like a human body remains scarred forever by fire, the flames of communal violence have left indelible and ugly marks on the fabric of Indian society. It will take generations of peaceful coexistence to heal the wounds.
India’s present situation reminds us of the story related in Bhisham Sahni’s award-winning novel Tamas which was later turned into a TV serial. The narration depicts the suffering of the common people who are used as puppets by hate-filled politicians who are looking for personal benefits from communal carnage. India is a land that has suffered throughout its history. We may have overthrown the foreign yoke but now our own leaders are trading and bartering our lives by cynically dividing us and making hay while the sun shines.
| Posted by Mansoor Hameed | 
