Page 47 - English Tehelka Issue 6 - March 31, 2018

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When democracy rides a sadistic pleasure in their actions.
“Beside members from the minor-
on mobocracy, it fizzles ity community, the marginalised
sections like transgenders, migrant
workers and Dalits are easy preys
to mob attacks. The mobs target the
weaker sections as they don’t have
The government, opposition and the general public must join hands to curb the the inherent strength to resist the
The Way anarchy from spreading and deepening its tentacles. Else, the thin line that attacks,” he pointed out.
demarcates mob justice and a just system may get blurred in the near future
Political philosopher Plato, in
ForWard his book VIII of The Republic, had
long back explained several stages
Abdul WAsey n February 22, a mob ing deaths have been reported in the of government that are intolerable,
lynched Madhu Chindaki national and international media since yet unavoidable. He had warned that
at Attapadi in Palakkad dis- September 28, 2015, when Mohammed democracy may lead to nations be-
trict of Kerala. His alleged Akhlaq was brutally murdered by a ing governed by bullies and brutes.
O crime, for which he was group of people in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. He had also cautioned of a society
beaten to death, was that he stole a small Rising incidents of mob violence with an enormous socio-economic
amount of rice and other food items. against women in the country is gap, where the poor remain poor
It was the sixth mob attack reported another area of concern. As per the and the rich become richer off the
in the southern Indian state within statistics tabled in the Madhya Pradesh blood and sweat of others. It seems
30 days. But then, Kerala is not alone. Assembly during the current budget that his predictions and analysis
Such incidents involving mob justice session, as many as 62 women were al- • Bust Prasad Mookerjee and BR Ambed- With the passage of time, stag- are gradually coming true in most
have become rife across the country. legedly gang-raped, 43 were murdered violence kar’s statues were defaced in Kolkata ing of spontaneous popular anger democracies around the world,
Violence, in general, now seems to be and at least 10 women burnt alive in just The wave of and Meerut, the vandals attacked a has become one of the key political including India.
accepted as a part of everyday life of four months since November 2017. The dismantling sculpture of Gandhi in the southern techniques in contemporary India. Earlier this year, the Supreme
every individual. latest National Crime Record Bureau busts has state of Kerala, breaking its wire- Many mainstream politicians legiti- Court had warned that mob-rule
A 25-year-old migrant worker from (NCRB) data point out that a total of 191 refused to rimmed eyeglasses. mise indiscriminate violence. They is threatening to overtake Consti-
Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, who gang-rapes were reported in Haryana die down The wave of dismantling busts, somehow try to make the public tutional “basics”. The government,
was lynched by a mob in Rajasthan’s alone in 2016, or one in every two days. completely which is seen by many as drive to believe that it offers a solution to opposition and the general public
capital Jaipur early last month on In the same year. Punjab recorded 840 symbolically attack the legacy of the history’s wrongs. All these develop- need to join hands to curb the an-
suspicion of being a child lifter, died at rapes, of which 30 were gang rapes and respective ideological icons, has so ments have made mob culture so archy from spreading and deepen-
a hospital after few days. On February 2, Himachal Pradesh witnessed 258 rapes far refused to die down completely rampant that such violent incidents ing its tentacles. Mobocracy needs
Mohammad Faisal Siddique was taking took place, of which four were gang despite Prime Minister Narendra now seem to be normal, routine and to be replaced at the earliest with
his friend Aslam Ansari’s two-year- rapes. Modi’s disapproval of such incidents expected. democracy, which assures rule of
old daughter to the market to buy her The hullabaloo that surrounded the and the government’s advisories to Social networking apps and web- law, equality, effectiveness, freedom
chocolates. release or delayed release of the conten- act strongly against the perpetrators. sites are adding fuel to the fire. The of expression, and protection for
Some people reportedly suspected tious film Padmaavat early this year was The concept of mob violence is troublemakers work under a very minorities.
that he had kidnapped the child. The yet another example of the rising mob- not new to the country. It, in fact, had deeply rooted framework, because Controversial statements by
Mob violence mob of about 50 people tied up Siddique ocracy. A section of the Rajput commu- never been an illegitimate form of it is not easy to mobilise crowds in renowned personalities such as Sri
Sri Ravi Shankar, who recently said if
nity, represented by two caste organisa-
to an electric pole and thrashed him
politics in India’s increasingly non-
a short span of time that too to kill
and staging of mercilessly. Police rescued and rushed tions — the Shri Rajput Karni Sena and liberal democracy. Religious monu- a person. Among others, Twitter, the decision in the Ayodhya conflict
spontaneous him to a hospital with severe head Bharat Kshatriya Samaj — charged the ments, for example, have always WhatsApp and Facebook are heavily is “not in favour of Hindus, then we
misused as propaganda vehicles. If
filmmaker with distorting history and
been in the eye of vendetta politics.
injuries. After battling for life for 16 days,
will have a Syria-like situation in
popular anger Siddique succumbed to his injuries. portraying Rani Padmini in distaste. Each of India’s multi-religious com- this anarchy is allowed to flourish, the country”, could not only weaken
In a separate incident, a teenaged
have become key Dalit boy was allegedly beaten to death The mob did everything to disrupt the munities has at one time or the other it may turn every individual into a the social bonds of the community
potential killer.
but also have the potential to pro-
experienced some kind of attack
screening of the film in various states
political techniques while playing Holi in Bhiwadi village of despite the Supreme Court’s clearance. against its places of worship. Inciting People who indulge in group mote mobocracy. Each institution
Intolerance to others’ ideologies is
in contemporary Rajasthan’s Alwar district. According to also on the surge. From West Bengal and displaying anger, destroying violence basically try to become and individual needs to act more
superheroes, most of whom get
police, the deceased, identified as Neeraj
responsibly, else it will take years to
public property, ransacking offices
India’s increasingly Jatav and aged around 16, was playing to Tamil Nadu to Uttar Pradesh, the of rivals and media outlets, thrash- influenced by the cinema. «This is end anarchic attitude of the general
ing opponents have been standard
Holi with others when the attack took
country has been witnessing a rash of
public and restore peace, amity and,
the reason why they post the video
non-liberal place on March 2. These are just a few attacks on statues, apparently prompted techniques of popular politics in the clips of the attacks on social media,» more particularly democracy.
democracy latest incidents of lynching in the recent by the toppling of Vladimir Lenin’s bust country and are rarely prosecuted or psychiatrist Dr CJ John said, adding
past. Around 100 cases of mob lynch- in Tripura on March 5. While Syama even treated as crimes. that the assailants are also finding letters@tehelka.com
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