“We must take notice of this incident as our nation is on the brink. We have now reached a point where we are using religion to justify mob violence and street justice, flagrantly violating the Constitution, the law and the state.”
This statement is not from an Indian minister or leader, even though there is a dire need for such statements in India. Pakistan’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal Chowdhury, said this during a debate on the budget in the national assembly of Pakistan. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party leader said that the assembly would have to take a firm stand on this issue as Pakistan was under scrutiny.
Iqbal was reacting to the mob lynching of 40-year-old Mohammad Ismail, a resident of Sialkot. Ismail had gone to Swat, where he was accused of burning some pages of the Quran. The police took him into custody but the mob dragged him out and shot him. It did not stop there. Ismail was set on fire and hanged from a pillar at the crossroads.
Noting that the lynching was not an isolated incident, the minister recalled similar killings in Sialkot, Jaranwala and Sargodha.
Iqbal’s angst is sincere and its expression is courageous. Desecration of the Quran and insulting the Prophet are very sensitive issues in Pakistan. Anyone can be killed on the charge of blasphemy. Criticising mob justice in blasphemy matters can also have terrible consequences. The assassination of Pakistani politician Salman Taseer cannot be forgotten. He had expressed his support for Asia Begum’s plea for pardon after she was convicted of blasphemy. ‘Angered’ by Taseer’s stand, his bodyguard Malik Mumtaz Qadri shot him 27 times.
Iqbal himself has survived attacks by such elements. But he spoke out. And he is not alone. There are thousands of people expressing frustration and anger over the incident on social media fora. Pakistan’s largest newspaper Dawn wrote editorially:
“The lynch mob has claimed another victim. This time the brutal incident occurred in Swat’s Madyan area on Thursday when a man accused of desecration was burnt alive. Even the fact that the victim was in police custody did not deter the mob from delivering ‘justice’ themselves…. “This sort of ghastly behaviour has become the norm in Pakistan, as such incidents are occurring with frightening frequency. In most cases, individuals are lynched over accusations of blasphemy, while in others, suspected criminals are beaten to death or shot by mobs. Both varieties of ‘mob justice’ reflect the receding writ of the state.”
What is the solution? According to Dawn:
“While immediate measures need to be taken in the form of prosecuting those involved in murdering and attacking individuals based on flimsy allegations, the bad news is that a wider, society-wide counter-extremism project may take years, if not decades, to succeed. The rot is deep and there are no quick fixes. Some steps seem obvious, such as reining in the powerful hate-mongers that have been unleashed upon society. This is the state’s primary challenge, should it have any intentions of taking it up. Other measures can include lessons on co-existence and tolerance in schools and seminaries, along with disseminating similar messages from the pulpit.”
This is Pakistan. But what about its neighbour, India?
In the past 15 days, there have been more than a dozen incidents of Hindu mob attacks on Muslims in the country. Either they were beaten to death, their shops attacked, or they were forced to flee their place of residence. Such incidents have been reported from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana.
The excuse for this violence is ‘legitimate Hindu anger’ over beef eating or cow slaughter. It has been accepted that Hindus have a right to be offended by such reports, assault or kill Muslims, and loot or destroy their property. What makes matters worse is that the state too joins the mob and demolishes the houses of the Muslim victims.
There has been a surge in such incidents after the results of the recent Lok Sabha elections. Another reason is cited: a section of Hindus objects to the sacrifice by Muslims on Bakrid. This section claims to be votaries of non-violence yet gets so incensed over the blood of animals being spilt that it feels compelled to shed the blood of Muslims.
Despite this, the leaders of opposition parties – who are called pro-Muslim – have not opened their mouths. Muslims are accused of voting for these parties. But the parties which gained more numbers in parliament on the strength of their vote are silent when there is violence against them.
Why did Muslims vote for these parties? They voted against the anti-Muslim policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But what is the opposition’s response to the mandate? To turn their faces away from the incidents of violence against Muslims.
Some friends say that these parties are busy cornering the government on the question of corruption in the NTA exams. They are getting massive support on this. If they speak out against violence against Muslims, a crack may develop in this mass. They are silent for fear of this support-base getting fractured.
Even if we accept this strategy for a minute, which is unethical and cowardly, how do we perceive the silence of newspapers and media? Why do they not feel the need to react? And shouldn’t there have been any protests?
This widespread and suffocating silence on violence against Muslims means that the social senses of Indian and Hindu society have been numbed. We have assumed that spreading hatred against Muslims, killing them, or bulldozing their houses is not shocking. The opposition expresses its concern about the rise of Hindutva without uttering a word about violence against Muslims. Unfortunately, Hindutva is essentially violence against Muslims and Christians. It is not an abstraction.
It is also necessary to remember that this violence has a direct relationship with the hatred that Modi and the BJP incited against Muslims during the election campaign. Modi cannot escape responsibility for this violence.
Muslims are being punished for weakening the BJP politically and strengthening the opposition. But sadly, it is not even a question for those who have become more powerful today because of the support from the community.
What kind of a society are we and what kind of polity is this? If the results of June 4 do not produce even a bit of secular courage in the opposition, then their increased strength is pointless. Time is fast running out for the opposition to prove themselves worthy of the results.
Apoorvanand teaches Hindi at Delhi University.
