Sunday 10 January 2016

Malda riots: Isn’t it time for true intellectuals to raise their voice?



What does an intellectual mean? In general terms they are the people who always raise their voice against injustice without fearing any backlash from the government of the day, influential groups or any powerful body. Their rebellious tone remains innovative, peaceful and full of logic.

When the award wapsi drama was enacted by a self proclaimed intellectual group against brutal murder of some writers in general and Dadri lynching incident in particular, I had raised questions on their real intentions. The brutal killing of any human or suppression of any group by any means naturally constitutes injustice and definitely requires voice to be raised. However intellectuals never were selective.

Next, let's see the paradox in the thought process of those intellectuals. When M.F. Hussein had painted Hindu Goddesses naked, same intellectuals called it artistic freedom and accused the reactionary Hindu groups as extremists and intolerant. But when Taslima Nasreen wrote her mind and got deadly Fatwa from hardcore Muslim clerics, these intellectuals remained mum for unconvincing reason. These are the so called intellectuals, who in fact became backbone of 'Indian Secular Industry' which in the name of secularism is in fact doing petty politics indulging in religion centric provocations. Action-reaction, tolerance-intolerance are the terms innovated by them used by politicians for vote bank politics.

The condemnable Dadri lynching is termed as intolerance of the majority, the present government and RSS follower. I always believed that such manufactured rebellion is in fact true intolerance to the rise of Narendra Modi. Let's take the barbaric incident of Malda town in West Bengal. Some two hundred thousand people from Muslim community came to the street against a comment by Hindu Mahasabha member, Kamalesh Tiwari's on Prophet Muhammad.

The protesters ransacked the town torching lots of vehicles including a BSF's, burnt down Police station and many shops. The vandalism as evident from the various pictures aired by news channels was so severe that it raises acute fear. Neither Mamata Banerjee-led government took any action against offenders nor did main stream media take any note of it. Why? Is it because they are very tolerant of offences by minority community of the country?

When Yakub Memon was hanged, many intellectual-cum-terror apologists argued thatMumbaiblast was a reaction to Babri demolition. Why this logic was not extended to post Godhra riots? Should we consider that the Muslim genocide inGujaratin 2002 was a reaction to train burning at Godhra where 59 Hindus were burnt alive? Should we also justify the 1984 Sikh massacre as reaction to brutal killing of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi? Logic can't be used selectively. Logic is always universal and applicable to all situations. Thus the arguers of action-reaction analogy must also come clear on this.

What has the Hindu Mahasabha member said? He said even Prophet Muhammad might be a homosexual. This he said in reaction to Azam Khan who said that all RSS members are homo sexual. I can understand the hurt sentiments of Muslims for obnoxious reference to their prophet. But at the same time I can also realise the hurt sentiments of RSS followers, a sizable population in the country. The Hindu Mahasabha member is in jail since a month for passing such condemnable comment. But why Azam Khan is free till date? Why Owaisi brothers are also free, who in public had passed condemnable remarks against Hindu God Ram and his mother apart from asking ten minutes free hand to finish the entire Hindu followers?

Point is, there can't be two sets of rule for two communities. In the Hindu Mahasabha case, the guilty is already in jail. Despite this people came out on the streets demanding his hanging? Are they demanding Shariat justice, if yes on what right?

The troubling development is acute double standard of self claimed secular politicians. Let's see JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi's response on this issue. "I condemn the comments of Hindu Mahasabha leader on Prophet Muhammad; also I feel what happened in Malda is not correct".
You can read this line twice how Tyagi's comment is full of duplicity. He condemns remark by Hindu person and said what Muslims did is incorrect.

He is not the only politician, rather a range of politicians mostly from anti-BJP parties have the same mindset. Every one visited Dadri in their political tourism but ignored the Malda and similar events. So is also the award wapsi club and self claimed secular media. That means it's clear that their intellect, activism and politics is based on religion centric and inclined entirely towards one religion.

For short term political gains, it may be very beneficial. The minority community has acquired the skill to be a firm and committed vote bank to which political parties had to surrender. That's why Mamata Banerjee gave a blind eye to Bangladeshi infiltration into Bengal which made Malda, Murshidabad and one more district to face drastic changes in demography. It resulted into resulting majority Hindu community becoming minority in these districts. The time may not be very far away when Hindus in these districts might have to flee in the same manner Kashmiri Pundits had to flee from J & K during nineties.

What would be the long term consequences? Well that would be definitely dangerous. Hindus in general are known as a very tolerant community. But the tolerance has a limit. But if this limit reaches the point when things can't be controlled, the backlash would be imminent. The vote bank political game will finally make two communities come to face to face violently which will be great human crisis apart from soiling the nation's image.

It's time for true intellectuals (true intellectuals are not bounded by religion, caste, race or creed) to raise their voice and expose the dangerous political game of these political traders and self claimed intellectuals.Indiais home to a diverse population commonly known as Indians. The religion always comes next. Too much tolerance to one community in fact is intolerance to other community.

Thus in the interest of the nation's pride I request all true intellectuals to come out in open and raise voice against such dirty game of anti-nationals. (I consider all those playing game of vote bank politics that might result into a violent friction between communities as anti-national).

PICTURE SOURCE - GOOGLE IMAGES

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