The incident outside Jamia Millia Islamia University on Thursday has raised many questions on social harmony and policing. A young individual was motivated to fire at a peaceful mass gathering that was protesting against a legislation. The communal hatred embedded in the psyche of such a person needs to be condemned and also understood. Incidentally, this happened on the death anniversary of our Father of the Nation, who gave us freedom using non-violence as a tool. Police personnel, perhaps wearing anti-riot gear and bulletproof jackets, remained mute spectators as the shooter made a show of his murderous intent. It is not only the gunman who is to blame. Elected representatives who have made hate speeches in the past few days, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaigner Anurag Thakur even encouraging supporters to shoot those he considered “traitors”, should also be held accountable.
Sahishnu Narayan Panigrahi,
Bhubaneswar
The sudden appearance of a gun-wielding man at Jamia Millia Islamia and his shooting at one of the students protesting against the CAA and injuring him in the presence of a large contingent of cops could be a corollary of the chant of desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro sa*** ko at a BJP rally. It cannot be delinked from Anurag Thakur’s incitement to violence. It was an inspired attack to intimidate the protesters to call off the protests. Few buy the argument that that the attacker was ‘planted’ or put up by the Opposition.
The assailant was heard shouting yeh lo azaadi and Delhi police zindabad as he was moving backwards in grand style with the pistol held high towards a clutch of cops. The TV channels had a field day with the incident. The extensive coverage brought out the gravity of the attack with a firearm. For all the senseless violence he was capable of committing, he had the sense of humour to say that he was ‘giving azaadi’. The police did not swing to action with alacrity to disarm the man, thereby bringing ignominy on themselves. More culpable than the actual attacker (it is immaterial by what name he goes) are those who have created a climate in which he could feel emboldened to brandish a country-made pistol and fire at a compatriot.
One TV channel whose chief anchor was recently heckled on board a flight by a comedian blamed the incident on Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and the anti-CAA protesters and made a case for winding up the sit-ins as Shaheen Bagh and other places. The maxim, “Facts are scared, but comments are free” is nowadays followed more in the breach. The DCP South East Delhi condoned the delay in nabbing the attacker, saying he emerged from the protesting crowd.
With Delhi election just a week away, tension in the city is reaching flashpoint. The BJP should not say or do anything to precipitate the capital into incidents of the kind at Jamia. There is no place for violence in a democracy; it has to be repudiated and replaced with non-violence. Religious hatred is calamitous and must be anathema to us. The Jamia shooting should be a wake-up call for the BJP and the Modi government to ensure that things don’t go out of control and Indian democracy does not get sullied.
G. David Milton
Maruthancode, Kanyakumari-Dt
