Barbaric: The Lynching At Singhu Border
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-10-16 08:11:09
About the Author
The gruesome incident at the Singhu border needs to be condemned in the strongest manner and the culprits should be arrested and punished forthwith. To pick on a man at the protest site, for whatever reason, chop off his hand, break his leg and then tie him to a police barricade and celebrate reeks of demonic culture. Reports suggest that the mob, allegedly led by Nihangs, was incited due an alleged desecration of the Sikh holy book but then other reports suggest other things. But whatever the reason, taking the law in their hands was bad, especially at a site which is always on the boiling point. The farmers are already agitated over various issues. If such an incident happens and things go out of hand, it would snowball into a major crisis. Mercifully things were brought under control, but the incident exposed how things can turn explosive in an instant at such protest sites.
The gory videos that have emerged show the assaulters questioning the man even as he lay there in a pool of blood from the inflicted wounds. He was assaulted for allegedly desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib at a gurudwara at Singhu border. But the presence of Nihangs shows that there is a cocktail of religion and identities that have merged in the protest, giving it a dangerous dimension. The police were initially not handed the body. They have said that the charge of desecration is being probed. Meanwhile they have arrested a Nihang for his role in the lynching.
The government will do well to stop the waiting game and resume negotiations with the farm unions once again. The stalemate over the farm laws needs to be broken and the issue needs to be resolved. The farm unions must also climb down from their inflexible stand and agree to a clause-by-cause discussion. Letting the issue linger is not in the interests of the nation.
