R K SINHA
There were series of protest demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and in many other places in the country including Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangluru against lynching of Junaid, a juvenile at Ballabhgarh Station in Harayana on eve of Eid. It was timely and justified. The protestors read out couplets of Kabir and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. It was good. I am tempted to raise a questions.
Where were these protestors when Dr Pankaj Narang was brutally murdered in Janakpuri area of Delhi. Why this difference in incidents of murder and in complexion of killers. It was said that murder of Dr Narang did not have nay communal overtone. This reminder was by the same class of so called secular forces who are shedding tears over murder of Junaid. A man who saved life of others is killed in public view and the so called intellectuals maintained silence. This class was silent even when a serving Police officer in Srinagar Md Ayub Pandith was lynched to death by Mob at the Mosque on a Friday prayer. The murderous mob beat him up, tore his clothes and lynched him to death.
Note the Shameless Augment
The so called intellectuals then after Dr Narang was killed last year were telling that it was a different case and cannot be compared with the lynching of Akklaq in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. They are not bothered how the widow, seven year old son and his aged mother were living after the death of Dr Narang in West Delhi. Dr Narang only fault was that he had tried to stop some unruly youths driving motor cycles on road dangerously and with reckless speed. The youths , Bangladeshi Muslims were so enraged that they attacked Dr Narang and his brother in law resulting in the death of Narang. Someone known to me who had gone to attend the prayer meeting of Dr Narang had pointed out how a large section of media beat chest over any incident of killing of a person belonging to minority community. But the large same media hardly mentions or give adequate converage when a person of majority community is killed by Muslims. Such incidents are dubbed as “road rage” by the media. Those who had gathered at the mourning of Dr Narang had voiced this double standard of media and the society.
The murders of Junaid must be arrested and given severe punishment. At the same time, those Hindu youths also were killed their killers should also be arrested and punished. Where is two opinions on this. It is hurts when in case of murder people start interpreting the incident on communal line.
Those seen demonstrating at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and at Gateway of India in Mumbai is the same class of people who were seen supporting Umar Khaled and Kanhaya Kumar of JNU who were alleging our Army of raping women, who were looking Afzal Guru as a martyr and were appealing to the people not to give a communal colour to murder of Dr Narang. Then Jt CP of Delhi Police Deependra Pathak had admitted that the murder of Dr Narang was not a case of road rage. It was a clear case of premeditated murder. He was done to death in presence of his seen year old son. Just imagine, under what trauma that young child would have suffered then. It should be seen as falling human values in society and not only as a case of murder.
They were Silent then
How come the so called intellectuals were not disturbed by the heinous murder of Kashmir DSP Ayub Pandith by the mob led by separatists and pro Pakistani elements in Srinagar. This class has nothing to do with this ‘murder’. This class is apprehensive of India becoming a Hindu Rashtra. Remember the case of Akhlaq in Dadri. This class did not say a word against the state government of Uttar Pradesh headed by Akhilesh Yadav of Samajvadi Party. Mind it, law and order is a state subject. But no finger was raised at the U P Government then.
The manner in which this class was active in case of murder of Junaid did not care to do anything in case of murder of Dr Narang or lynching of Kashmir Police officer Ayub Pandith. This so called intellctural class will have to answer these questions. This class is also indifferent to killings of Sangh workers in Kerala by the CPM activists. They are also silent on killing of Hindi speaking people in the North East. Earlier, this class was seen standing and opposing the death sentence of yakub Menon in the Mumbai serial blast of 1993. They are exploiting the murder of Ayub purely for political reasons.
It is time now that these so called intellcturals should find out when the country is in danger threatened with its secular fabrics and when it is safe as a secular entity. But the people have seen their real face. The mask of secularism is off. The country knows their real face. People and the nation has to be cautious against these disruptive forces.
(The writer is a Member of Rajya Sabha)