Kasganj riots

• A blot on Indian nationalism

India celebrated its 69^th Republic Day on 26 January 2018 to honour its constitution by commemorating the date on which it came into effect. Its celebration demands not only patriotism but also utmost degree of reverence. While patriotism can be manifested through ceremonious parades and singing of national songs, display of reverence is only possible if one holds deep respect for the country in one’s heart. Though the meaning of the two concepts is too intriguingly entwined to detangle, the difference between them was demarcated on the aforementioned date in Kasganj in an incident that is being held as a blot on Indian nationalism.

Kasganj is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and is home to a little more than 0.1 million people. The city with moderate winters seemed to have lost its entire cool when a petty argument turned into a violent clash and claimed one life. In order to understand what led to Kasganj’s first communal violence in living memory, we must know about the causative reason. The clashes were between Hindus and Muslims, yet this time it is the Hindus that have borne the brunt of communal divide. As Union Minister Giriraj Singh puts it, “Had the deceased been Mohammad Ismaayil instead of Chandan Gupta, media would have chosen a different line. We have to change this mindset”.

Yes, the Tiranga bike rally organised by activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All Indian Student Council) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad student organisations backed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation was unauthorised and was set out in a Muslim-majority area but it surely did not give anyone any right or reason to elevate it into a lamentable situation. Something as small as a group of men waving the Indian Tiranga and saffron flags in a motorbike rally that entered a Muslim-dominated locality in the town and resulted in disruption of a local Republic Day function was transformed into as big a deal as killing a 22-year-old commerce student named Chandan Gupta. One argument reportedly led to another with the ultimate demand of chanting “Vande Matram” if Muslims wish to live in India was put forth by the rallyists; this is what differentiates patriotism from reverence. Soon after the youth got killed and stones were pelted on the rally, at least three shops owned by Muslims, two buses and a car were torched.

The degree of barbarous atrocities to which the Kashmiri population is subjected cannot surely be turned a blind eye to, but the need of the hour is to realise that Muslims in India are as safe (or unsafe) as those in Pakistan

While most of us here in Pakistan do not even know about this incident and hardly any news channel on this side of the border reported this violent clash, a member of parliament in the lower house from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vinay Katiyar released a statement that those who “support Pakistan” were behind this violence. “Earlier, there were no communal clashes in Kasganj district as all lived in harmony. But it has come to light that there are some miscreants who support Pakistan and will go to any extent to defy the tricolour. They need to be dealt with strictly.” Thus he and many others from various quarters, including the UP government and public, hold pro-Pakistani agitators responsible for Gupta’s death. “Nothing like this had happened in the state under Yogi Adityanath’s government, this is a first such incident which has taken place,” he asserted while expressing his resolve to take strict action against the culprits.

Why it is important to mention Yogi’s administration, in particular, and Modi’s policy, in broader perspective, is to address the opinion Pakistanis generally have regarding both. Our media prefixes Indian premier’s name with the title of ‘Butcher of Gujarat’ owing to his involvement in mass killings of Muslims in Gujarat during his term as chief minister and the alleged spread of communal divide since his becoming the Prime Minister of India.

But how many of us know that the BJP government has passed the Triple Talaq Bill (The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, 2017) in the Lok Sabha whereby instant triple talaq in any form – spoken, written or through electronic means – will stand illegal and void with three-year imprisonment for the husband? How many of us need a reiteration of the above-mentioned facts to digest that the BJP, a right-wing party with close ideological links to the RSS, has formulated a bill that protects the rights of Muslim women of India?

How many of us know that Gorakhpur Janata Durbar, of which Yogi is the sole custodian after the death of his spiritual and political guru Mahant Avaidyanath, receives several visitors, including Muslims, whose problems are indiscriminately solved by him? How many of us know that his victory in elections last year and his becoming the chief minister of UP was rejoiced even by the state’s Muslim population?

How many of us are aware of the Hajj reforms of 2018 in India which have allowed women past the age of 45 to travel without a male guardian? How many of us, the citizens of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, are cognisant of the reality that PM Modi is “happy to note that this time about 1,300 Muslim women have applied to perform without a mahram” and has suggested to exclude single women pilgrims from the conventional lottery system? This all is happening nowhere else but in India, the very country we deem to be the biggest enemy of its Muslim population.

Sitting in Pakistan, we pity the Muslims living in India because we cannot keep ourselves from looking beyond the border only through the lens of Kashmir. The degree of barbarous atrocities to which the Kashmiri population is subjected cannot surely be turned a blind eye to, but the need of the hour is to realise that Muslims in India are as safe (or unsafe) as those in Pakistan. Elimination of a particular sect’s population is a common observation in Pakistan since forever, thus the notion that Pakistan is an emblem of Muslim population’s safety in the region does not stand. Similarly, Indian politicians should become conscious of the fact that if local Muslim population chants the slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad”, it is only to incite the officials with no involvement of Pakistan’s government and people whatsoever.

Partition is a reality. It cannot be undone. But what can be done is to embrace our nationalism and take pride in identities as portrayed by “Pakistan Zindabad” on this land and “Vande Matram” on the other side of the border.