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The colour of India getting grimmer

Hypocrisy to the power infinity: The picture of India is increasingly turning grim as far as the communal environment is concerned.

ByKajal Chatterjee

Updated 8 Feb 2022, 10:15 am

(Representational Image: Unsplash)
(Representational Image: Unsplash)

 
Despite assassination attempt upon Asaduddin Owaisi in Uttar Pradesh, an organ of the State "justifies" it by shamelessly suggesting that the accused were "hurt" by the Hyderabad leader's certain comments against a particular religion. Would the very same unit of the State invoke  "assault on sentiments" theory if there had been a similar attempt to kill any Hindutva leader or "sadhu" by followers of a particular religion on getting "hurt" due to their relentless Islamophobia!
 
Again in Karnataka, it seems that "obstinate" Muslim girls are responsible for the education mess when the fact remains that one and only the college authorities are playing the negative role by preventing the girls from entering the campus for their absolute harmless act of sporting hijab!
 
No problem when saffron-clad "monks" make their presence felt in Treasury benches of Parliament or Chief Ministerial chairs! No problem if one of the topmost Cabinet ministers performs "sastra puja"(worship of arms) while procuring defence equipment!
 
Breaking of coconuts and performing other Hindu rituals are common in inauguration ceremonies in Government premises and even before the launch of satellites!
 
It seems that Indian secularism and governance fall apart only when Muslims dare to display their typical identities even if it does not infringe upon the rights and sentiments of others! Hypocrisy to the power infinity!
 
However, Hindu/Indian society has always indulged in such double standards when it comes to Muslims.
 
Muslims prefer to live in ghettos! Is it! Then would the "proud" Hindus -- self-declared epitome of being Indian -- kindly clarify why fellow Indians of Islamic vintage are often prevented from purchasing flats in predominantly Hindu locality or even taken as tenants!
 
This proves that it is the Hindus who prefer to remain in ghettos "unpolluted" by Islamic "stigma"!

Muslims vote according to the "dictat of  their supreme religious leader"! In that case all Muslims should vote/have voted in favour of Congress/Left/RJD/Samajwadi party/BSP/TMC! But does it indeed happen! Rather most often it gets witnessed how Hindus of various castes or sub-castes collectively vote in favour of the candidate affiliated to their own casteist camp in the concerned constituency! And not to forget how a particular "national party" is reaping rich electoral harvest repeatedly by sowing the seeds of rabid Hindutva which proves a large section of Hindus are indeed voting blindly in favour of it just because of the outfit's professed Hindutva credentials who can "keep the Muslims in check" or "show their entitled place" in the country!

Muslims "pollute" the environment through rendition of Azaan! But when crackers of Diwali continue to shatter the midnight air and pollute the environment and torment the senior citizens, babies, sick, animals and all vulnerable souls; we should maintain pin-drop silence! Not to speak of regular chants from temple microphones throughout the year with the worst reserved for the days of festivals when cacophony in the name of hakti attains the crescendo!

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First wave of the pandemic happened "only due to the Islamic congregation in Nizamuddin" (numbering few thousands when neither Covid protocol nor lockdown was at place); but when more than 30 lakhs of Hindus congregate for the Kumbh by making a mockery of all norms of  Covid protocols and physical distancing, that too when the second wave has started to display its deadly fangs -- not a single finger should get directed towards the pilgrims and Sadhus and the authorities who permitted it!

In such a hypocrite pathetic communal environment, it is natural that one and only "Muslims would be seen not wearing the mask", only "Muslims can be terrorists", thereby not only giving a clean chit to the irresponsible wayward Hindus committing the same offence; but also enabling the merchants of communal hatred laughing all the way to the political bank by bizarrely declaring that "criminals can be identified through their dress"!

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 Yet, these very folks religiously swear by the Constitution and judge the "nationalism" of Indians through the yardstick of chanting or not chanting  Bharat Mata Ki Jai cleverly forgetting the ultimate fact that Muslims also form full fledged citizens of India as guaranteed by none other but the much revered Indian Constitution with their right upon the country not an iota lesser than even any "Hindu Hriday Samrat" as well!

With the Who's Who of the country themselves taking the lead in fomenting Islamophobia by flexing muscle of rabid Hindutva and most of the prominent Opposition parties subtly playing the game of "soft Hindutva"; the picture of India is increasingly turning grim as far as the communal environment is concerned.
 
(The views expressed is the writer's own)
 

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Tags:

religionmuslimshindutvacommunal environment

Kajal Chatterjee

Kajal Chatterjee

Special Contributor, KOLKATA, West Bengal

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