After a longtime Prime Minister Narendra Modi has broken his silence on cow vigilantes and has made it clear that killing people in the name of "gau bhakti" is unacceptable. The cow vigilantes have unleashed terror across India and have been lynching and killing people at one or other pretext. The people being targeted and killed belong to a particular community and they are facing the ire of the cow vigilantes due to their faith and religion.
Gau rakshaks targeting members of a particular community in PM Modi’s India has emerged as a big challenge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA government. The PM Modi who talks about “sab ka vikas, sab key saath” has not succeeded in reining the “gau rakshaks” who are emerging as the new face of terror across India. The growing attacks on minorities have sent everyone into tizzy and liberals are wondering whether this is the real face of “secular India”? Was founder of Pakistan Qaidi Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, right when he said, “Muslims who are opposing Pakistan will spend rest of their lives proving loyalty to India.” Despite people of a particular community being lynched there has been no strong reaction from the so-called “nationalist” people across India. They are tightlipped over the issue. It seems they don’t want to lower the morale of the cow vigilantes by condemning their acts.
If the BJP led NDA government fails to act against these “gau rakshaks” there is every possibility about the members of the minority community revolting against the system to save their lives and honour. It’s strange that Indian Muslims, who have been a part of the growing India since 1947, are finding themselves cornered and hounded by the elements, who seem to be hell bent upon turning inclusive India into a “Hindu Rashtra” wherein the minorities cannot co-exist. The emerging picture of “new India” looks gloomy as the only colour which the hardliners want to fill in this picture seems to be saffron. They seem to have made up their mind that green and white color have lost their significance and saffron is the best choice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to balance the things by issuing a stern warning to cow vigilantes but the point is would this warning serve any purpose? Just a few days before four Muslim boys were attacked in a moving train for spotting a beard wearing a cap and Kurta Pyjama. A teenage boy, Junaid, was lynched to death for just one reason that he belonged to a particular community and the members of that community are beef eaters. The growing intolerance across India is making minorities believe that their future is bleak and their lives are insecure. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have broken the ice by saying, "As a society, there is no place for violence. Killing people in the name of 'gau bhakti' (cow worship) is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve." The PM Modi underlined that no one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. "Yes, it should be done," he said. But "we are a land of non-violence. We are a land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that? Today I want to say a few words and express sadness on some of the things going on," PM Modi added, in clear reference to the increasing cases of murderous attacks on people in the name of cow protection. The PM Modi’s message is clear that members of a particular community cannot be killed and murdered in the name of cow protection and violence cannot be justified. The Prime Minister breaking his silence over the issue and condemning the “selective killings” should serve as an eye opener for such elements who support the cow vigilantes and approve their acts by remaining silent or by defending them. They should realize that by approving such acts they are promoting mob mentality and with a passage of time they too could be lynched by the same people whom they are defending today. If Prime Minister Modi wants to create the India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams, then he has to sideline the hardliners and encourage the liberal people, who can accommodate everyone and are not biased. If PM Modi is unable to change the mentality of the people around him then one can easily say that mobs with perverted minds and hardliners would dictate terms in “new India” and minorities would have to pack their bags and move towards the places where they can save their lives and honor.
(Javaid Malik is Senior Editor Greater Kashmir)
http://m.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/the-cow-jihad/253486.html
Gau rakshaks targeting members of a particular community in PM Modi’s India has emerged as a big challenge for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA government. The PM Modi who talks about “sab ka vikas, sab key saath” has not succeeded in reining the “gau rakshaks” who are emerging as the new face of terror across India. The growing attacks on minorities have sent everyone into tizzy and liberals are wondering whether this is the real face of “secular India”? Was founder of Pakistan Qaidi Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, right when he said, “Muslims who are opposing Pakistan will spend rest of their lives proving loyalty to India.” Despite people of a particular community being lynched there has been no strong reaction from the so-called “nationalist” people across India. They are tightlipped over the issue. It seems they don’t want to lower the morale of the cow vigilantes by condemning their acts.
If the BJP led NDA government fails to act against these “gau rakshaks” there is every possibility about the members of the minority community revolting against the system to save their lives and honour. It’s strange that Indian Muslims, who have been a part of the growing India since 1947, are finding themselves cornered and hounded by the elements, who seem to be hell bent upon turning inclusive India into a “Hindu Rashtra” wherein the minorities cannot co-exist. The emerging picture of “new India” looks gloomy as the only colour which the hardliners want to fill in this picture seems to be saffron. They seem to have made up their mind that green and white color have lost their significance and saffron is the best choice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to balance the things by issuing a stern warning to cow vigilantes but the point is would this warning serve any purpose? Just a few days before four Muslim boys were attacked in a moving train for spotting a beard wearing a cap and Kurta Pyjama. A teenage boy, Junaid, was lynched to death for just one reason that he belonged to a particular community and the members of that community are beef eaters. The growing intolerance across India is making minorities believe that their future is bleak and their lives are insecure. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have broken the ice by saying, "As a society, there is no place for violence. Killing people in the name of 'gau bhakti' (cow worship) is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve." The PM Modi underlined that no one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. "Yes, it should be done," he said. But "we are a land of non-violence. We are a land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that? Today I want to say a few words and express sadness on some of the things going on," PM Modi added, in clear reference to the increasing cases of murderous attacks on people in the name of cow protection. The PM Modi’s message is clear that members of a particular community cannot be killed and murdered in the name of cow protection and violence cannot be justified. The Prime Minister breaking his silence over the issue and condemning the “selective killings” should serve as an eye opener for such elements who support the cow vigilantes and approve their acts by remaining silent or by defending them. They should realize that by approving such acts they are promoting mob mentality and with a passage of time they too could be lynched by the same people whom they are defending today. If Prime Minister Modi wants to create the India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams, then he has to sideline the hardliners and encourage the liberal people, who can accommodate everyone and are not biased. If PM Modi is unable to change the mentality of the people around him then one can easily say that mobs with perverted minds and hardliners would dictate terms in “new India” and minorities would have to pack their bags and move towards the places where they can save their lives and honor.
(Javaid Malik is Senior Editor Greater Kashmir)
http://m.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/the-cow-jihad/253486.html
