Editorial: Peddlers of hate
India is known all over the world for its centuries-old syncretic culture and ethos of assimilation. They define the essence of the idea of India. However, the recent string of incendiary outbursts by Hindutva proponents, targeting minorities, comes as an affront to these core values. The case that has triggered nationwide outrage pertains to the hate speeches made during the Dharam Sansad held in Haridwar in December last year, particularly the call for violence against Muslims given by Yati Narsinghanand, head priest of a temple in Ghaziabad. Though belated, it is heartening that the Supreme Court has taken a serious note of the hate speech and directed the Uttarakhand government to file a status report on the progress made in the investigation. Narsinghanand was arrested but later released on bail while the Uttarakhand government registered four FIRs in the hate speech case. The damage that such hate peddlers can cause to the country’s image is enormous. They must be given exemplary punishment. The perception that anti-Muslim, anti-Christian campaigns and vigilantism have the sanction of the powerful needs to be removed. Those in power and those who hold high office must speak out strongly and assure the nation that stringent action will be taken against those who call for violence against the minorities. A red line needs to be drawn and enforced by the BJP’s top political leadership that it will not stand for the demonisation of the minority. If it fails to do so, then the much-touted ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ slogan will be meaningless.
The growing tendency of peddling a Hindu sense of siege and dubbing other communities as tormentors can no longer be dismissed as the fringe. Already, the NDA government is presiding over an increasingly corrosive climate of fear and insecurity. The manufactured sense of fear about the future of Hindus and Hinduism in India has been the hallmark of right-wing politics. It would be a grave mistake to let these purveyors of hate off the hook and keep projecting them as fringe elements. Stringent action must be taken against all those who spewed venom against the Muslim community, calling for ‘genocide’. It must be pointed out that every person has the right to practise and preach his or her faith freely in the country. All those who have faith in the Constitution must speak out strongly against the attempts to ridicule other religions and create dissensions in society. The Haridwar ‘Dharam Sansad’ came against the backdrop of a series of incidents targeting minorities and their places of worship across the country. Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism, known to sages for centuries, are being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva by all standards, a political version similar to the jihadist Islam.
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