Cow vigilantism is a criminal aberration

The ‘beef eating’ controversy is the new media frenzy being orchestrated by vested interests .

When the apocalypse that you prophesised with supreme confidence does not arrive, when the doomsday scenario that you presaged proves to be a fantastic illusion and when the prognostication of an imploding nation racked with communal discord falters, what do you do? How do you restore your sagging credibility and salvage your bruised and battered ego?

Simple. Pick up the currently prevailing criminal aberrations of society, give them an ideological spin, blow them out of proportion by flooding newspapers simultaneously to imply that the country is descending into unimaginable and widespread pandemonium, to stoke public concerns. This is precisely the modus operandi being adopted by the detractors of the current government who find themselves becoming increasingly irrelevant in a country that has seen through their deceptive shenanigans and has little patience for their endless skulduggery.

The “beef eating” controversy is the new media frenzy that is being orches- trated by vested interests to wrongly implicate the BJP government and is reminiscent of the false anti-Christian acts highlighted by the media when the BJP first came to power in 1996: subsequent scrutiny revealed that anti-Christian vandalism was a deliberate fabrication to malign the BJP.

Reading the op- eds and editorials in recent days would lead one to believe that India has overnight morphed into a vicious cauldron of religious hatred with bloodthirsty cow vigilantes running amok in every town and village in the country, hacking people to death. A veteran columnist of a major newspaper declares: “Violence is the mood of the new India and the armed men who wander our highways in search of Muslims to kill are today’s heroes.”

Do a few isolated incidents occurring in four to five remote towns in a country of 1.3 billion, spread out over 7,935 urban units (cities and towns) and 640,867 villages define “the mood” of an entire nation? This statement is a classic example of unadulterated hyperbole.

In another article provocatively titled, “Why the BJP has no incentive to stop the lynching of Muslims in India” another columnist pontificates: “There is no doubt that a form of medieval madness has taken over India in the shape of Islamophobia and regular lynching of Muslims...The lynchings have become so common that we do not know which one to respond to. Should we weep for Mohammad Naeem in Jharkhand or Hafiz Junaid in Haryana? How many remember the details of Pehlu Khan’s murder in Rajast- han? Mohammad Akhlaq is now just another milestone in this steady journey of wanton death.”

But is India truly in the grip of rampant Islamophobia and are “regular lynching of Muslims” a reality?

Let us objectively examine the four incidents mentioned above. The first “beef ” related incident occurred on 28 September 2015 in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh in which Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched. One and a half years later (1 April 2017), Pehlu Khan, an alleged cattle smuggler, was killed on the Delhi-Alwar highway. On 18 May, Mohammed Naeem became the victim of an irate mob in Jharkhand and Hafeez Junaid was killed on a train on 22 June.

Can all these incidents be classified as iron clad instances of Islamophobia? Mohammed Naeem was killed not because of “beef eating”, nor because he was a Muslim. He was one of seven individuals, including three Hindus, killed in Jharkhand by tribals on charges of child abduction. The Hafeez Junaid incident was primarily a case of seat altercation that deteriorated into a fatal communal fracas. In at least two of the four incidents, the charge of Islamophobia appears to be a fluid one; a far- fetched extrapolation that does not hold water. When we disregard the last two cases, even the assertion of “regular lynching of Muslims” becomes questionable.

While I do agree that even one lynching cannot be condoned in a civilised democracy, we need to appreciate that we live in an imperfect world, not a utopia; we need to view things in the right perspective sans sensationalism, rumour mongering and alarmism, and without the baggage of ideological wrangling and petty politicking.

Such self- serving attitudes take away from our efforts to tackle the menace of mob violence, which is the bane of our society and not exclusive to one community or the other. Vivek Gumaste is a US based academic and political commentator. The terrorist attack on the Amarnath yatris near Anantnag has made the position of the Jammu and Kashmir government extremely vulnerable. It is unlikely that the coalition arrangement between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP would continue for too long, and prominent leaders including Dr Karan Singh, the erstwhile maharaja of the striferidden state, have already made a push for the imposition of President’s Rule. Within the Sangh Parivar, there is an all round despondency and thus pressure is mounting on the BJP to quit the government before things hurtle to further ruin.

Beyond any doubt, the attack on the home-bound devotees after paying obeisance and veneration at the holy shrine, has demonstrated that there was an unpardonable security lapse on part of the state machinery. As on expected lines, intelligence agencies are trying to wash their hands of the tragedy by stating that they had alerted the government regarding the possibility of an assault on pilgrims by terrorists, yet sufficient follow-up measures were obviously not taken.

However, intelligence information in such matters, unless it is precise and to the point, is of a general genre and is communicated very often to absolve the agencies of any failing in the eventuality of a strike by militants. Hopefully, this time around this is not the case, a matter which would be established once the entire inquiry and investigations get completed.

What is baffling is that even before the probe into the killings started, some officials reached the definitive inference that a certain commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba was responsible for the dastardly attack. In normal course, the police organisations identify the criminal after obtaining some leads pertaining to his specific involvement, to decisively point out towards the complicity and implication of those responsible for the horrific act. None of the terror outfits, which are always hungry for publicity, have claimed responsibility, but the official view has already been formulated.

There is little doubt that Pakistani sponsored groups have been operating in various parts of the state, particularly the Valley and have in the past struck at several places, taking our security forces by complete surprise. Here, it is significant to note that in most instances when attacks have been planned, our valiant solders have either made pre-emptive strikes or have successfully repulsed them. Therefore, it is paramount to identify the group behind the Anantnag massacre in order to reach out and neutralise this particular terror module. If not so, knowing how diabolic minds work in the Valley, in due course a canard would be spread, insinuating that the incident was the handiwork of the Indian state. Such misinformation has gained currency in the past and to ensure that no such thing now happens, the government must either convincingly apprehend or eliminate the terrorists.

Kashmir, for as long as one can recall, has been a hotbed of intrigue and double-dealing. Deplorably, Pakistan and its agents have to a great degree complicated matters, so much so, that many times it becomes difficult to distinguish between falsities and the truth. Islamabad’s designs are as sinister as its actions. Lamentably, there are many who seem to have been swayed by the propaganda and are persistently employing the political idiom, which is contrary to what the Indian state has stood for. Such people need to be brought back into the mainstream by actions on the ground, rather than allowing things to escalate into further deterioration.

The state government is being administered by two parties that are unconditionally incompatible with each other, and thus could shortly head for an ugly divorce. The BJP has forever gloated over its nationalist credentials, and Kashmir is of foremost historic significance, as the party has been insisting on the abrogation of Article 370 ever since the inception of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the “martyrdom” of its founder, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The PDP was founded with the support of separatists, the majority of whom are now openly championing the cause of Pakistan. In New Delhi, it is a mystery and puzzle for many regarding how in the first place this unholy alliance was forged, even if the mandate was heavily in favour of the BJP in the Jammu region and towards the PDP in Kashmir. Two contradicting and conflicting agendas can never deliver towards the welfare of the state and thereby prove its allegiance to the Indian nation.

The ground situation has been singularly unnerving. Intelligence agencies continue to harp on the growing presence of the ISIS in the Valley, which is more alarmist in nature than in actuality. Pakistani flags are hoisted when there are demonstrations or when bodies of terrorists or militants have to be buried. The black ISIS flags are rarely visible. The government as well as the political class will have to contribute in finding a political solution to the problem, which has been like a festering wound for the Indian state.

If extreme steps need to be taken, the Centre must not shun away from doing so. There is a twin challenge before us. On the one hand, Kashmiris have to comprehend that there is no way they can exclude themselves from being an integral part of India. On the other, Pakistanis have to be rapped hard on the knuckles to apprise them that interference in our internal affairs would no longer be tolerated. Between us.

Do a few isolated incidents occurring in four to five remote towns in a country of 1.3 Billion define ‘the mood’ of An entire nation?