Is this because of the excessive consumption of violence dished out on TV or the killing and hate being celebrated on whatsapp? I am afraid this could be a possibility. Let this celebration of violence and killing be stopped as it will destroy us all, completely. Nothing will be left if we don’t ponder over this. Now. The dangers of children being used as a tool for spreading political propaganda, hatred and poison in the name of caste and religion.
The incidents of lynching, killing and abusing the ‘enemy’, particularly Muslims, in India, have become a norm. The vast majority in the country appear to be either satisfied with justifying such acts or calling them ‘aberrations’. Every time such incidents happen, some of us shed tears, visit the families. Some of us conduct fact findings, other go and share their agony. But things remain unchanged. The thugs responsible for this hate-mongering in politics justified as ‘anger’ are actually gloating. They feel, such killings suit their political interest.
You make a million effort to ensure that the people, and the polity debate the issue of the ongoing economic crisis that we are facing, but end of the day, they bring Hindus, Muslims, Pakistan, Gaay, Ganga, Ram Mandir, anti Hindu and so on to the forefront. This agenda is being set from Nagpur and the agent-provocateurs are visible playing their ‘victim card’ notion in television studios.
India is fast plunging into the dark ages where violence and hatred become a norm. Right now, it does not affect all others, but I can bet that it will haunt those who have initiated the process, soon, too. There are various reasons behind these things including the economic one which places the most vulnerable communities at war with each other, make them enjoy being hateful to each other, while those who are the real perpetrators ‘enjoy’ the fallout.
The killing of an eight year old boy, Mohammad Azeem, who was a Madarasa student in Malviya Nagar in South Delhi is today at the centre of discussions. Some claim it was lynching while others say it was a ‘fight among children’. Young boys beat Azeem to death. Whatever be the case, it is a killing. Is it a hate crime or not? This is the question that needs to be fore grounded.
The Madarasa is located near the Valmiki camp. There have been complaints by the Maulvi that anti social elements create problems, forcibly enter into the campus, drink alcohol and pass slanderous remarks. It is not that Mohammad Azeem was suddenly killed. We feel these are pre-determined, created conditions, there is a build-up, and certainly there are forces that instigate people into such targeted violence. Clearly, the Valmikis here have become a tool to the poison being spread against Muslims.
Today India’s diversity is not a matter of celebration but a matter of concern. This is the ideology of the Sangh. We are told that all the problems that India faces is because of the Muslims and Christian who live here. This is the ‘mainstreamed’, Sangh public discourse. The internal Brahmanical (rigid and authoritarian) discourse of the Sangh parivar is more about the assertive Ambedkarites who are building up parallel narratives and questioning this Brahmanical hegemony which the religious minorities could not do as their own leadership has had biases towards the marginalised. The issue is not about the Valmikis who have suddenly turn anti Muslims, the problem is, to avoid any discussion, agitation or resolution of the discrimination Valmikis face, these hate-mongers have actually diverted their angst — through various stories and narratives –into resertment and venom against Muslims.
This will continue. Muslims are easy targets as they provide the perfect opportunity to the Sangh parivar to unleash its Manuwadi agenda. By targeting Muslims, the Hindutva propagandists actually create a new breed of followers who have been denied justice and dignity in the Brahmanical system; they are made to convert their cry for justice (against caste indignities and injustice) into a war against Muslims. That the Valmiki Basti and the Muslim Madarasa is at loggerheads for such a long period and that we, as a society, as activists, failed to intervene to resolve it, reflects, also, the growing nature of alienation of the communities and the big trust deficit among them. This has happened in the past too. It is our failure as a society to bring people together and build up counter narratives of joint struggles. The enemies of humanity are building up propaganda through their whatsapp universities and we are still busy debating whether Azeem’s death should be called a lynching or a murder or a killing due to rivalries.
The issue is not simple, it is much larger. Will we allow such incidents to just happen ? The time has now come for us to be proactive, bring communities together, work on their inclusion and fight the politics of hatred through our common cultural heritage. These matters are political but ‘secular’ politics has failed.
The RSS has successfully ‘brahmanised’ the Indian polity so ‘brahmanical narratives’ have become part of the propaganda tool of political parties. For many, such brute killings are not major issues or concerns because of their ‘electoral worry’ of a loss of the Hindus or savarnas support. They maintain a silence in the face of such brute cruelty in the interest of their political survival. Parties like the Congress have no different set of narratives for mobilisation, they continue to flirt with soft Hindutva. Rather than a secular heritage, we are now being sandwiched between the liberal versus traditional Brahmins. The time has come to venture out of such dangerous narratives and build up a truly secular inclusive narrative.
I have always mentioned that all this is happening because the Sangh Parivar and Hindutva forces are finding it deeply difficult to maintain control over the levers of power. With the growing assertion of the Bahujan Samaj, it is now difficult for them to keep their hegemony intact and hence they are weaving new theories every day. They have are hundreds of paid theoreticians who are working overtime to find ways and means to keep their hegemony intact.
The Brahmanical system that divides people on the basis of their birth has not worked towards the radicalisation and democratisation of our society. Rather, it has tamely defended and hailed a culture which has not treated human being equal.
With the legacy of the body of work of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and others, India’s Bahujan masses have become politically powerful even when they do not have powerful political parties but we all know the fact that these Bahujan masses will dictate politics more powerfully over the coming days. The more Bahujan assertion questions and creates problems for Brahmanical hegemony, the more the instances of violence and attacks on minorities.
We must all be worried about these trends, however. Why are these forces of hatred still succeeding ? Because somewhere we have failed in our proactive approach ?
Our ideologies and writings are dictated by the political masters who have surrendered to caste hegemonists. Where are the vulnerable in this discourse? Why are we not working and speaking against all forms of repression and violence? Why do we speak according to expediency and convenience? While politics is important, in India it we have reached a dangerous point because today’s polity is depoliticising people. Don’t raise the issue. Don’t take it to its logical conclusion. Don’t bring forward an alternative.
We have seen cases of mob lynching and violence of Dalits. These are hate crimes. There is a need to build a campaign against hatred and look into the politics of social exclusion and its conversion into the hate crime. We must be worried about how our children are being used for political propaganda. The children who should be enjoying their childhood, which includes the occasional brawl, are becoming so violent that they don’t feel hurt even in the act of killing.
Is this because of the excessive consumption of violence dished out on TV or the killing and hate being celebrated on whatsapp? I am afraid this could be a possibility. Let this celebration of violence and killing be stopped as it will destroy us all, completely. Nothing will be left if we don’t ponder over this. Now. The dangers of children being used as a tool for spreading political propaganda, hatred and poison in the name of caste and religion.
India needs a people’s movement against hatred. Do not expect too much from your political masters as they won’t do anything. It is time for a massive movement of social inclusion and celebration of diversity. Let our children and their parents know that normalisation of hate and violence will ultimately kill them too. Hate is not constructive. It is destructive and will only bring disaster for all and not to a particular community.
Let us stand up against hatred and reclaim India as per the dreams of our constitutional forefathers. Defeat the hate-mongers by creating better versions of inclusion and social cohesion. Celebrate Diversity.
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