Assaults on minorities

Politicians in Madhya Pradesh are not helping anyone by making wild accusations about the shocking rapes and burglary at a Catholic missi...

Politicians in Madhya Pradesh are not helping anyone by making wild accusations about the shocking rapes and burglary at a Catholic mission in Jhabua district last week. At this stage in police investigations it is unclear whether they were essentially criminal incidents or a combination of criminal and political.

Both possibilities need to be examined carefully by the DIG, Indore, who is confident of being able to round up all the members of the gang responsible for the incident very shortly. In the light of two other criminal attacks on Christian missionary establishments which occurred soon after one in Jamali, also in Jhabua district, and another in Baghpat, UP many will be inclined to see a pattern in these incidents and to link them with Vishwa Hindu Parishad-inspired assaults on members of the Christian community in Gujarat. Bible-burning and the terrorising of Muslim villagers in Gujarat have left the minorities there feeling insecure and have compelled the Human Rights Commission to write toChief Minister Keshubhai Patel urging firm and appropriate action to restore communal harmony.

However, in the absence of more evidence it is unwise to jump to the conclusion that the Gujarat disease has spread to other states. At the same time, given the fact of the VHP8217;s virulent propaganda against Christian missionaries in several states, due diligence demands that the police look at all the possibilities, including political motives or instigation or copy-cat action, in the latest crimes. Until all the facts have been obtained, it is sensible to reserve judgment and neither blow the incidents out of all proportion nor play them down. Unfortunately, in the supercharged atmosphere of election campaigns in three northern states, politicians are making it very difficult for the police to carry out their jobs impartially. Some Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders are saying the VHP is behind the atrocities and BJP leaders blame the Congress government of Digvijay Singh for the rise in crimes against women. In theinterests of justice the leaders of both parties should desist from attempts to influence the inquiry and allow the police to conduct it thoroughly and fairly. The victims of the crime, on whose behalf ostensibly these political noises are being made, will be best served by bringing out the whole truth.

The Union Home Ministry cannot but be concerned at the number of reports of assaults on minorities. Several steps should be taken in the interests of communal harmony and internal security. Firstly, it would be logical to try and establish whether in fact crimes against minorities are on the rise in various states. Second, coordinated police inquiries will be necessary to establish a general pattern or to eliminate it. Third, if it turns out that the actual number of atrocities is not above the average but is being reported more frequently than hitherto, something still needs to be done about the perception of minorities that they are being targeted in a calculated fashion. All these measures are importantto build confidence among the people.