New Delhi: Arfa Khanum Sherwani, the senior editor of ‘The Wire’, while reiterating her earlier statement comparing the violence across the country on the occasion of Ram Navami with the 9/11, appealed to the majority community to stand up against the politics of communal hatred.
“The way Muslims condemned the perpetrators of 9/11 for using religion to commit violence, it is the duty of the Hindu community now to condemn those who are committing atrocities against the minorities in the name of Hinduism,” Sherwani said.
During an interview with ‘Inquilab’, Sherwani compared the current hatred towards the Muslim community in the country with the hatred generated in the wake of 9/11. “Muslims alone cannot fight the communal forces and it is the responsibility of the majority community to raise their voice against communalism. They must distance themselves from the narrative of hatred being peddled by the communal forces in the name of Hinduism,” she said.
Agreeing with the statement made by Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Apoorvanand, a Hindi professor, University of Delhi, a columnist and political analyst told ‘Inquilab’ that there cannot be any further deterioration in the communal harmony, if it does, then it will not be less than a mass killing which should never take place in this country. The Hindu majority must distance itself from this communal hatred by casting their vote in the ballot box against the communal forces.”
“There are some people in the Hindu community who are helping the communal polarization by their stoic silence,” he said.
Apoorvanand termed the latest bulldozer politics as inflicting collective punishment on the minority community. He also expressed his disillusionment with the majority of the Hindu religious leaders for being completely silent.
“In order to fight the communal forces, the people must oppose these forces on every level even when somebody is expressing hatred in the confines of their drawing room, we must stop them,” Apoorvanand said.
Commenting on the current hatred against the minorities and the politics of bulldozer, Atul Kumar Anjaan, a senior CPI leader and national secretary of CPI and General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, told the Urdu daily that there is a widespread economic and social disquiet in the country. “The BJP is trying to win a majority in the Upper house of the Parliament in view of the President and Vice president elections in the next few months. The party is overlooking the pressing issues of poverty and unemployment to rake up the issues of the common Civil Code. They are also talking about amending the Indian Constitution,” Anjan said.
“The communal forces are increasing their footprint across the country. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP government bulldozed the homes of some Muslims who were found to be in jail for a long terming them as stone pelters. This is a murder of constitution and law,” the CPI leader said.
“The secular forces must confront the communal forces with wisdom and understanding. We must be alert against the evil of majority or minority communalism and all the secular, democratic, political and social parties must unite to work against the politics of communal hatred,” Anjan said.
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