More People In Authority Must Speak Out Against Hatemongers
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-01-05 07:54:35
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
When high profile MPs and other leaders of the BJP, leaders of related organizations and seers and gangs on social media indulge in hate speech and even call for genocide of minorities and there is no one in upper echelons of power who reprimands them and asks them to stop, observers and the public cannot be faulted for thinking that such behavior has the sanction of those is power.
The way BJP leaders, especially the high-profile MP from Bangalore Tejasvi Surya, are spewing venom against the Muslims and the way a so-called dharma sansad calls for genocide of minorities, it is clear that the Hindutva apparatus is gearing up to find ways to establish the RSS-'ordained' Hindu Rashtra in India. Inciting people against the minorities and pushing the government to take away their rights is the way they seem to have adopted.
Hence it is that Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's stern reminder to these elements that "every person has the right to practise and preach his or her faith in the country" is most welcome. The vice president also said that "hate speech and writings are against the culture, heritage, tradition and constitutional rights and ethos" of India. That he is the first person in authority to speak out against these speaks volumes about the way those in power are bent on usurping the sanctity of the Constitution.
It is not that the civil society and the media are not speaking out. There were many renowned persons, including retired officers of the combined forces, the police force, lawyers and intellectuals who wrote a letter to the president, the prime minister and the chief justice, drawing their attention to the hate speeches in the dharma sansad. Some lawyers even wrote to the CJI to take suo motu action against those who spewed venom against the minorities and tried to cause enmity between communities. All this is falling on deaf ears.
But the best, most spirited and boldest response against these elements came from a couple of women in Karnataka who gave a piece of their mind to miscreants (vigilantes) who barged in their home and accused them of singing Christian songs. The video of the altercation has gone viral. The women showed they were not afraid of these goons and told them to mind their own business in no uncertain terms. This is the way these elements need to be countered. The common man and woman is the first line of attack against this divisive thinking. One is sure that like-minded people will come forward to support those who show gumption and bravery to take on these miscreants.
