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Journalism of Courage
Cynics may regard the statement the Prime Minister made in Rome, that the Centre was resolved to deal firmly with attacks on the Christian community back home, as an attempt to do as the Romans while in Rome. Indeed, Atal Behari Vajpayee seemed to have taken a unconscionably long while to recognise, chastise and warn those who had made it their business to attack the community. The nation, in the meanwhile, was confronted by a string of ugly incidents, ranging from the desecration of graves and bomb blasts in churches to the murder of a priest and, subsequently, the elimination of a witness to that murder. The forces behind these attacks remained, mysteriously, untraceable, leading to speculation that certain external forces, like the ISI, were deliberately undermining the peace and stability of the country.
Ironically, it was at this stage that Bajrang Dal activists, rushed to lay claim to being an anti-Christian force, a stance that provoked the National Human Rights Commission to demand that the Uttar Pradesh government inquire into the matter and get back with a comprehensive report on the activities of the Dal. There is no getting away from the fact that such developments are acutely embarrassing for the NDA regime that sees itself as secular and committed to the rule of law. As Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee put it, such elements should rightly be “locked up” for their scurrilous statements. It was a similar sentiment that was manifest in the Prime Minister’s Rome statement, which promised “exemplary punishment” to those found guilty of perpetrating violence. But the challenge really is in identifying the culprits and bringing them to justice. Because what we have here are floating manifestations of violence, surfacing in variegated regions of the country. Addressing the problem would also meanaddressing the tirade of anti-Christian rhetoric that certain individuals in responsible positions are indulging in.
What is at stake is the libertarian ethos that this nation has been internationally recognised for. That democracy has thrived in a nation of numerous tongues and communities is what makes that idea called India. Attacks, like the bomb blast in a mosque in Guntur on Monday or the desecration of graves in Hyderabad, both in Andhra Pradesh, undermine not just India, but the idea of India. For the Prime Minister to have to explain to an Italian newspaper that there is no ethnic war being waged in the country between Hindus and Christians demonstrates the extent to which that idea of India has been sullied by misguided merchants of hate. A high-level meeting to review the country’s internal security scenario is to take place in New Delhi today. While every arrangement in terms of law and order needs to be in place to ensure that peace and stability reign in every corner of the country, the issue goes beyond mere law and order. It concerns the rights and freedoms of every citizen, regardless of the religion he orshe professes. And it concerns the protection of those rights and freedoms.
