Murder most foul
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Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot (file image)
News that came on Tuesday from Udaipur, Rajasthan is sure to shock and pain every human being. A tailor named Kanhaiya Lal was murdered at his work place by two persons who came there pretending to be customers. Not only did slit his throat with a cleaver, but also filmed the gruesome crime in their camera and shared it in social media. The circulated video also says that their act was in revenge against Kanhaiya Lal's open support to the now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma who made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed. The culprits were identified as Ghous Muhammad and Riyaz Attari.
There will not be two opinions that what happened in Udaipur is a crime to be roundly condemned. It is surprising that such a crime was committed in a background when the BJP and the Central government have been on the defence and drawing big flak due to the blasphemous comments about Prophet by their leaders. When serious attacks have been taking place against Muslim community under the leadership of the Hindutva parivar outfits and the BJP governments at the Centre and in various states to such an extent as to make normal life impossible, this incident is feared to be used to further isolate the victim community and to marginalise them. For that very reaon, this is not a mere murder, but an evil deed that may lead to the endangering of a people and a country in toto. What is needed now is a due punishment of criminals with no mercy.
The steps taken by Rajasthan government and the police following the incident, going by the situation so far, are laudable. In spite of the sensitive nature of the happening, they have so far been able to keep the situation under control without letting further trouble erupt. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot's moves by intervening directly are acts expected of a seasoned administrator. And the aproach adopted by the Muslim community and its leadership in the matter also deserves praise. Community organisations and leaders denounced the incident in an undiluted condemnation and have asked for strict punishment of the culprits. No quarters have made any mention in any manner justifying the persons responsible. Ours is a country where there are moves to praise the assassin of Gandhiji, Nathuram Godse and to build temples dedicated to him. And the country is ruled by a party which fielded and got elected Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in major terrorist attacks. And it was in Rajsamand in Rajasthan itself, the state where the murder took place, that a migrant labourer named Afrazul Khan was slain with an axe, his body burned and all of it recorded in a video. That mean act was on the allegation of love jihad. Following that, many came forward in praise of the murderer Shambhulal Regar. We also saw a Hindutva outfit entering the scene with an offer to him that it would give party ticket in the Lok Sabha election that followed soon. It is in this background that the approach adopted by Muslim community leadership and organisations towards the murderer of Kanhaiya Lal shines brighter.
Our country is traversing alongside a highly hazardous precipice. The key role in creating this situation was played by the current ruling party. The situation is such that a small ember can conflagrate into a major fire. In suh a context, we can handle the situation only with extreme serious seriousness and vigilance. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated, the Sikh community had to suffer the tragedy resulting from turning the weapon of hatred against a community and the entire country at large suffered too. That was the ugly result of pitting an entire people in the dock instead of blaming the assassins pointedly. Today, in the name of the murder in Rajasthan, there are attempts to denigrate the Muslim community and to demonise their struggle for survival being mobilised in the country. This trend will serve only to further aggravate Muslim marginalisation. All those responsible should ponder how a country can march to progress by isolating a people numbering 20 crore from the national mainstream. It is easy for the fire to spread. But what is important is to extinguish it before it engulfs us all.
