Najib Anwar
Don’t ask questions. You must accept what the authority tells you. But isn’t blind acceptance signals something sinister?
Yes, to put it bluntly, it signals authoritarianism, it signals fascism.
In this era of hyper nationalism or should I say aggressive nationalism, you will be under scanner if you raise question on the recent surgical strike, you will be jeered if you raise question on the draping of national flag on someone who is accused in the Dadri lynching case. Indeed, it marks an obscene low in the contemporary Indian polity. Mohammed Akhlaq (52) was beaten to death on the night of September 29, 2015 for allegedly keeping beef in his refrigerator, a charge that was proven to be utterly false. His 22 year old son, Mohammad Danish was also severely beaten by the mob. The aftermath took many vicissitudes and was farcical to the core.
But in contemporary India, these are common features. Ever since the BJP government ascended to power in New Delhi, ‘cow’ has become a much talked about topic. Banning consumption of beef as well as slaughtering of cow is in their top political plank. And here lies the irony. India remains the top beef exporter beating Brazil. In the last financial year, it has exported nearly 2.5 million tonnes of beef and veal. Brazil exports 2 million tonnes followed by Australia 1.5 million. Altogether, these three countries export 58.7 per cent of the world consumption. India shares almost 25 per cent of it.
In Maharashtra and Haryana, no sooner the BJP came to power they enforced strict laws on cow slaughter. Even possession of beef was banned. The frenzies the government had shown seeped into the psyche of the hoi polloi pretty quickly: vigilante groups came up pronto in many places and witch hunting started in an alarming rate. Rumours spread like wildfire and in any pretext, howsoever minuscule; people are beaten up, justice done. There is no point of proving the allegation. Akhlaq was that unfortunate victim, killed mercilessly.
Sangeet Som, the BJP MLA, who was accused of in the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 and was booked under the National Security Act, left no stone unturned to ensure that Akhlaq’s family doesn’t get justice. The irony is somewhere else. Som, who swears by being a vegetarian and does not eat eggs, has been personally associated with two meat processing and export companies. He has admitted he was a director of Al-Dua Food Processing Private Ltd, a leading producer and exporter of halal meat from India. Also there is Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma who is hell bent to describe this killing as ‘accident’ and maintains that this should not be given communal colour.
In December, the meat sample collected was declared by police as goat meat but now in June, it was again described as beef. What did the villagers of Dadri demanded? They demanded prosecution of Akhlaq’s widow and his mother. Local court too ordered an FIR to be filed against these hapless women.
Ravi Sisodia, the accused, died of chikungunya. The villagers are accusing that he was tortured and killed. They draped the body in the national flag, which is given to someone died for the country only. This person accused of killing a man, is given martyrdom. The jailer was transferred. The family of the deceased has demanded Rs 1 crore compensation and the arrest of Akhlaq’s family. Local police is maintaining a pin drop silence ignoring the abuse of the national flag.
What about Akhlaq’s family? The saga continues. Mohammad Siraj, his eldest son is in the Indian Air Force. Siraj lost his father and is now worrying about the possible arrest of his mother and grandmother. To rub salt to the injury, a man accused of killing his father, was draped with national flag. Siraj knows very well the significance of the national flag, himself being an Air Force man. Killer gets heroic treatment while his family suffers untold misery.
Such is India now. You ask question on the ‘so called’ surgical strike and you are branded as anti national. BJP is hell bent to use this in the coming election in Uttar Pradesh whipping up jingoism. The BJP top brass tell us not to belittle the army and not to fall into the propaganda trap of Pakistan.
You ask question on the atrocity perpetrated by the army in Kashmir, you are branded anti national. You ask question on the validity of AFPSA in the civil areas of Kashmir, you become anti national. Cow vigilantism and ultra-nationalism are the order of the day. Whether in a channel studio or a chai adda, you become more and more jingoist. The satrap in New Delhi smiles silently. They know they can serve two purposes with one weapon. They can turn public glare from Kashmir and also win the upcoming elections in the country.
Dissension is dangerous. It is a dirty word. Don’t you dare to become one?