Modi And His Mess: Basic Rights And Freedom In India At Stake
By Shamim Zakaria
21 October, 2015
Countercurrents.org
He might have been stinging along with the movers and shakers of Silicon Valley; his never ending voyage meeting world powers and his selfies with the top leaders might throng national and world media. Attired in a 10 lakh INR worth suit with the name- Narendra Damodardas Modi monogramed in it, he may chant slogans of ‘achche din’ (good days), ‘digital India’, ‘make in India’ and ‘vikas’(development). However, back in India the fabric of diversity, secularism, tolerance and most importantly the basic rights are apparently getting unstitched!
The recent horrendous saga of a man-Mohammad Akhlaq, 50 lynched by a mob on suspicion of allegedly eating beef in Dadari- a village at merely 42kms away from Delhi has been making headlines globally. But, what has come as repercussions are sending more shock ripples.Sangeet Som-one of the legislators from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the Dadari incident not only went to the village in brazen defiance of administration’s prohibitory orders but also spoke of befitting reply if innocents are framed for Akhlaq’s murder. Interestingly the gruesome riots of Muzaffarnaagr, India dating back to 2013 that left 63 dead and over 50,000 homeless; Sangeet Som is one of the accused in it.
While the emotions are still running high over Akhlaq’s brutal murder, this week another man was lynched to death by a mob in the presence of police in Sarahan, in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, India allegedly for smuggling cow. The startling aspect in both the gory incidents is the involvement of right wing saffron fringe. In Akhlaq’s case apart from spurious speech by Modi’s partyman,one of the arrested is alleged to be a son of a local BJP leader. While in the second brutal murder involvement of Bajrang Dal activists are doing rounds. Bajrang Dal and its umbrella organization Viswa Hindu Parishad both are country’s radical right wing organization with close ties with BJP. These organizations bearing a history of involvement in bloodshed, mob instigations and abetting communal clashes are often said to be sister organizations of BJP.
Not only people are stripped off their basic rights and freedom, but the freedom of press is also being curbed by and large. Few weeks ago, in protest against the heinous Dadari killing and alleged involvement of the BJP men in it, a few youths from Delhi organized a ‘beef picnic’ in the city. The organizers mobilized the event through social media urging the participants to arrive with beef and eat it near the vicinity of BJP headquarter. Mayank Jain a journalist working with one of the prominent news sites, who went to cover the protest was not only roughhoused and unlawfully detained, but warned by police of dire consequences if he met the organisers or covered the protest. Later while relaying his nightmare in a first person account for his news outlet, he writes-
‘I was stopped right outside the metro station since the policemen refused to believe that my press card was genuine. The fact that I wasn’t carrying containers full of beef failed to convince them otherwise.After I was frisked, a burly policemen grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side. From the Delhi police website, I would later learn that he was Dinesh Kumar, the Station House Officer at the Parliament Street Police Station’.
Mayank further wrote how the SHO threatened him stating, ‘don’t join them. I will cut you into pieces and throw them away.’
Speaking exclusively Mayank said: “The country is going through rough weather when it comes to the right to dissent and an attack on personal freedom of the people. What Delhi Police did that day in the garb of preventing trouble was create a bad example for the police departments to follow. As a journalist found near the protest site, I was automatically detained. The organiser of the protest was detained simply for carrying beef with him and everyone coming out of the metro station had to show their lunch boxes. It'd be funny if it weren't so tragic that the police departments are now checking what people consume rather than focusing on putting criminals behind bars. An incident such as this is unlikely to make them repent anything. They would in fact be more emboldened with the media attention that police station has received to detain more students and general people to get praise from the top offices”.
He also mentioned about inhuman treatment at the police station. “I was not allowed to phone my family or a lawyer.I pleaded to be allowed to drink some water and use the washroom. It was half an hour before I was allowed to. I wasn’t allowed to eat, or use my phone. We had to get up from our seats or sit down when we were ordered to,” said Mayank.
While he was released after seven long hours, his press card was tampered and damaged by the police officers.
The incidents apparently put bright light on dark patches that the country is presently going through. India which fought relentless battles for upholding the virtue of secularism and unity in diversity, the values are certainly losing it hue under the black shadow of saffron fringe. With hopes of ‘make in India’ and dream of being an entrant in global powerhouse Prime Minister Modi may keep making rounds of the globe. However, when his partymen are cognizant about the language of communalism, polarisation and bloodshed, the dream will be far from reality.
(Shamim Zakaria is an Indian journalist and political writer presently based in England, pursuing a master’s program in International Journalism from University of Sussex. He hails from the northeastern state of Assam’s Guwahati and reports on the socio-political setup. His works can be viewed on www.shamimzakaria.com)