‘‘Enough is Enough’’

The cow is more important     than human beings. So, human beings can be killed at will on the mere suspicion of carrying or eating cows. This is the motto of the champions of Hindutva. Merely a week ago, an innocent boy named Junaid Khan was killed in a local train in North India because he was a Muslim and hence a suspected cow-eater, although Narendra Modi has been travelling all over the globe; visiting many countries and embracing many people who are regular eaters of cow meat. The latest event is the lynching of a man named Asgar Ali alias Alimuddin (42) in Ramgarh in Jharkhand on 29 June. As per the report of a leading English daily, the vehicle in which Asgar Ali was carrying meat was waylaid by a group of hooligans, euphemistically called mob, and he was stopped , drawn out and mercilessly beaten; he succumed, to his injuries half an hour later. It is a pre-planned murder, and the killers have no doubt been certain in their mind that they would get away with impunity, because Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister and Jharkhand is a BJP-ruled state. Whatever the boastful talks of the police, it is certain that they will try to save the accused.

These self-proclaimed cow vigilantes, the professed champions of Hindutva, have no knowledge of the history of the country nor do they know anything about the possible economic and political repercussions of the dangerous game they are playing. Of course, their mentors know that India's billionaires and the media in general have clung to Narendra Modi's suit and so, they think they have Enough opportunity to lynch religious minorities and dalits, and get away with the help of a corrupt police force and collusive judiciary.

There is, of course, a silver lining, despite the relative indifference of the opposition. At least one important newspaper group has come out in protest against such lynchings. The silent protests in all the major towns, particularly in Delhi, by one section of citizens have shown that a large number of non-Muslim and non-dalit people do not approve of the actions of these killers. The collective madness of the German people who backed the consolidation of Nazi power in Germany is not going to be replicated in the case of the neo-Nazis of India, although some time may elapse and some more people may be killed before the neo-Nazis get isolated. The protests by the non-partisan citizens was not as intense as expected, however, because the major opposition parties are too busy with other considerations related with the gadi. But there is little doubt that such protests will grow in intensity and the champions of so-called Hindutva will taste the bitter fruit of their own making, just as the Nazi-supporters of Germany did during 1943-45. One is reminded of Jayprakash Narain's words when he was being arrested by Indira Gandhi's police immediately after the declaration of the Emergency 42 years ago, "Binas Kale Biparit Buddhi". (When one's destruction is near, one’s mind loses its balance).

Frontier
Vol. 50, No.1, Jul 9 - 15, 2017