Danger signals

Only those who are deliberately blind will fail to see the makings of a communal riot in the current situation in south Gujarat. All the essential ingredients are in place. There is evidence that the communally inclined have been spoiling for a fight for some months. Vicious propaganda by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal and scattered incidents of abuse and violence against minorities escalated into organised attacks against Christian establishments in Surat and Dangs last week. Through it all, the government displays the classic signs of paralysis that have been seen in all build-ups to major outbreaks of communal violence. Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel8217;s assurances of protection to non-Hindus have led neither to a cessation of propaganda nor carried down to district-level officials. When the administration shows no intention of intervening, the aggressors step up their activity and the victims8217; sense of insecurity intensifies, it is a formula for disaster.

Preventive action is urgent. Themessage must come clearly and loudly from the top that the government will not tolerate any more mischief from the VHP, Bajrang Dal and outfits spawned by them like the misnamed Hindu Dharma Jagran Manch. A greater travesty of Hindu belief cannot be found than a body whose sole purpose is to spread hatred and spearhead attacks on members of other religions. Without clear instructions from Gandhinagar, the administration can be expected to look the other way while the rampage goes on. Where officials themselves are not communalised, fear of offending their political masters is all pervasive. Nothing else explains why the police and the district magistrate in Ahwa, Dangs district headquarters, failed to carry out their normal law and order responsibilities. What were local officials thinking of when the Hindutva brigade distributed incendiary pamphlets, declared a dharmayug against Christians and held a rally in the town? They surely did not imagine that these activities timed with the Christmas week wouldactually further communal peace.

Keshubhai Patel appears to be dangerously out of touch with reality in his state. For weeks as the law and order situation has visibly deteriorated, he has yielded to political pressure to go soft on the VHP and done little but pay lip service to communal harmony. The events of last week should convince him and the BJP8217;s national leadership that they cannot afford any longer to ignore the efforts to turn Gujarat and other parts of the country into a communal tinderbox. They also need to distance themselves publicly from Ashok Singhal8217;s bizarre ideas. His notion of a Christian conspiracy embracing everyone from Amartya Sen and Mother Teresa to multinationals will be good for laughs for many months. Indeed, if he carries on this way he will turn Hindutva into a refuge for eccentrics and the totally paranoid.

Unfortunately, not everyone will be amused by the VHP8217;s list of enemies of the state. It is exactly such stupidities that Singhal8217;s stormtroopers have been using tospread hatred and fan mob violence. Failure to act against communal propagandists always leads to terrible consequences.