Editorial: Punish peddlers of hate
India is known all over the world for its centuries-old syncretic culture, religious diversity and ethos of assimilation. They define the essence of the idea of India. However, the recent incendiary outbursts by two BJP spokespersons against Prophet Muhammad and the Muslim community come as an affront to these core values. Ironically, the self-proclaimed guardians […]
India is known all over the world for its centuries-old syncretic culture, religious diversity and ethos of assimilation. They define the essence of the idea of India. However, the recent incendiary outbursts by two BJP spokespersons against Prophet Muhammad and the Muslim community come as an affront to these core values. Ironically, the self-proclaimed guardians of Indian culture are causing damage to the country’s image with their derogatory comments. Though the BJP central leadership and the government denounced the remarks of the ruling party’s national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal and took disciplinary action against them, the damage is already done. Understandably, there is widespread outrage across the Arab world. The calls for boycotting Indian products are sweeping the social media platforms in the Gulf countries while Qatar, Kuwait and Iran have summoned India’s ambassadors to their countries. Qatar went a step further and demanded an apology from the Indian government over the issue. In a damage-control exercise, the BJP suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled Jindal from the party and issued a categorical statement saying it respects all religions and strongly denounces insults of any religious personality. By the same token, the saffron party should also take disciplinary action against its Telangana unit president Bandi Sanjay for calling for digging up all the mosques in the State and imposing a ban on Urdu. There is no place for peddlers of hate in a secular India. It must be pointed out that every person has the right to practise and preach his or her faith freely in the country.
Apart from diplomatic outrage, the BJP also had to deal with communal violence that broke out in Kanpur following the objectionable remarks of its spokespersons. 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 damage that such hate peddlers can cause to the country’s image is enormous. The NDA government must bear in mind that domestic political rhetoric can have damaging international ramifications and tarnish India’s image. The BJP spokespersons’ comments threatened to harm relationships that India strengthened with a number of Arab countries and cause problems for the millions-strong diaspora. 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 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 fringe.
