Members of the far-right Hindu activist groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal burn an effigy representing Islamic terrorism in Gurugram, outside India’s capital city of Delhi, to protest the murder of a Hindu tailor, in a June 29, 2022
by Nilofar Suhrawardy 3 August 2023
Sadly, “communal frenzy” appears to gain momentum ahead of elections, parliamentary or state. Often, it is difficult not to view it as desperate politicking- barely linked with the religious beliefs of people at the grassroots. There is no denying “attempts” are made to label this as “religious” and create images of communities being at war for religious reasons. Perhaps, more attention needs to be given to what is labelled as religious, which in essence, should be viewed as criminal. Elementarily speaking, where is the religious factor of those responsible for raping women, burning cars, shops, places of worship, pelting people with stones, lynching persons, shooting individuals, and so forth? But when such activities occur in the name of “religious” reasons, irrespective of which community the victim belongs to, justification of those targeting them as a part of their “religious” pursuit is not just questionable but totally unacceptable. Accepting their justification as religious, when their actions can be regarded as only criminal may be viewed as equivalent to according a negative image of whichever “religion,” even socio-religious or politico-religious group they claim to represent.
Unfortunately, at present in Gurugram (Haryana), attempts are being made to incite communal frenzy in the name of Hindu-Muslim tension. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal do not represent the entire Hindu community in India or in the world. India is home to roughly 110 crores (1.1 billion) Hindus. VHP has around 16 lakh (1.6 million) members worldwide. Limited support for this organization was apparently displayed by nature of rallies held by it at various sites in the capital city this Wednesday (August 2). At a few places, they briefly blocked the traffic at around noon, shouting religious slogans and moved away after a little while. Certainly, Delhi is on alert because of Haryana gripping with tension. But what certain headlines project as “Hindu mob” needs be corrected. VHP does not represent all Hindus in India or any part of world.
Similarly, reports of a mob having attacked the VHP procession held this Monday (July 31) in Nuh district (Haryana) leading to “communal” tension in the state demand attention. Just ahead of the procession, a post on social media apparently spread rumors that the self-acclaimed “cow vigilante” Monu Manesar would be participating in the procession. Manesar- linked with Bajrang Dal- is allegedly responsible for murder of two Muslim boys, earlier this year. Irrespective of when, why and how the issue of alleged murders is solved, that apparently self-acclaimed cow vigilantes allegedly take such steps has not yet been tackled. There are also speculations of reports about Manesar being a part of VHP-procession having been deliberately posted on social media to provoke “Muslims” in Nuh. Whether they were provoked or not and if they indulged in attacking the VHP-procession, from no angle can this be labelled as a religious activity. Just as those resorting to criminal activities in the name of being “cow-vigilantes” do not have the authority and/or right to take law in their own hands, the same can be said about those attacking them in reaction. Nor can such criminal activities be accorded any religious label.
There is no denying, history is witness to there being no reluctance in instantly according a religious label to any dispute if rival parties belong to different religions. Little importance is accorded to whether their differences have anything to do with religious issues or not. And if they do, a few dozen, even a few hundred, thousand or more Hindus and Muslims, cannot be held as representative of all members of their respective religious communities. So even if they deliberately project their disputes as “religious,” objectively why should these be accepted as such and described as Hindu-Muslim communal riot/violence and likewise?
Besides, the possibility of the individuals trying to provoke communal violence, in the name of religion, may actually be paid to indulge in such behavior for probably political reasons. They may not be but who knows may be. The manner in which oft and on “religious” identity of certain groups is tapped upon and they are targeted by a few individuals does suggest this. The purpose probably is to spread propaganda about “religious” tension between two communities spread across the country. This may also be viewed as “communal” propaganda being manufactured and spread perhaps to actually spread tension in the name of religion across the country. Possibility of such moves bearing any success in the present age may be dismissed. This has been proved by communal tension in the name of religion having affected only certain parts of Haryana and not having crossed its borders though attempts were made to spread chaos in neighboring Delhi, India’s capital city, also.
Manohar Lal Khattar of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is at present Chief Minister of Haryana. The state’s assembly elections are scheduled to be held in the coming year by October. One is compelled to deliberate on where has his government erred in ensuring peace and communal harmony in this state despite it being headed by same government which holds command at the center? Or rather than pay attention to hype raised about religious factors, note needs to be taken of some kind of politicking having incited the same? Maybe.
Notwithstanding all the claims made by VHP and even BJP-stalwarts, the political reality of BJP having received less than 40% votes in 2014 and in 2019 parliamentary elections cannot be ignored. Nor can the political fact of its key rivals being parties headed and dominated by Hindus. Equally significant is the fact that Muslims do not have any political party spread all over India, rather are members/supporters of other parties viewed as secular by most of them. Not surprisingly, desperate attempts made to provoke religious passion from beyond Haryana have hardly had any impact. Yes, they have earned ample media coverage for protestors and also diverted attention from Manipur-crisis. But not for long. It is time, those resorting to such desperate politicking ahead of elections abandoned their style of “communal” campaigns. Media-coverage doesn’t guarantee votes!