THE Pahalgam terrorist attack left a deep imprint on the people of India. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi indulged in bravado of words, the Godi media (outlets perceived as excessively supportive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) followed suit and claimed that India had intruded into Pakistan territory. That country, in turn, claimed to have bombed many Indian sites.
US President Donald Trump was the first one to claim that he had brokered a ceasefire. Strangely though, Prime Minister Modi took credit for the same and the army spokesperson elaborated that there was a request from Pakistan authorities for cessation of hostilities and India responded in the affirmative to bring a halt to the potential bloodbath of more army personnel and civilians on both sides. The Modi government decided to tell the Indian side of the story by sending various delegations abroad. Many MPs from opposition parties were included. One such was the delegation to the US headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. What type of brief these delegations were given becomes clear from Tharoor’s statements in America.
“While the intent behind the Pahalgam terror attack was to divide people, it brought people together in India, irrespective of their religion or any other divide…There was an extraordinary amount of togetherness across religious and other divides that people have tried to provoke. The message is very clear that there was a malignant intent…”, one of his statements said.
Have all the delegations been given a brief like this? This narrative has lots of truth in it as all Indians, Hindus and Muslims, both came together to condemn the dastardly act in Pahalgam. Still lurking under this is the continued hate being spread against Muslims. Even before the Pahalgam tragedy, the hate directed against Muslims has been rising, and after this tragedy, this hate, manufactured against Muslims, has been peaking further. In my May 19 article, “Pahalgam: War and Hate Must End for Peace and Prosperity,” I did give a partial list of hate actions against this hapless community. These hate events have been chronicled by the Mumbai-based Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism. Another article comments that “Even as India mourned lives lost in the terrorist attack, a coordinated campaign unfolded, offline and online, with one message: that Muslims were a threat to Hindus, that a similar fate awaited all Hindus, and that Muslims needed to be punished through violence and boycotts.”
Most disturbing of the post-Pahalgam events was the arrest of Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who heads the Political Science department of the Sonipat-based Ashoka University. In a very pertinent post he stated, “I am very happy to see so many right-wing commentators applauding Colonel Sofiya Qureshi”. Further, he said, “they should also demand that the victims of mob lynching, arbitrary demolitions [of houses], others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens. Several rights groups have pointed out that there has been a rise in violence and hate speech against Muslims in India in the past decade.”
Following this, there were complaints against him by the Haryana State Women’s Commission. It said: “Mr Mahmudabad’s social media posts had ‘disparaged’ the two women defence officers and ‘undermined their role’ in the armed forces.” It is beyond one’s comprehension as to how this post disparaged the women defence officers or undermined their role in the Indian army.
The other complaint was filed by a worker of the BJP’s youth wing. Prof Mahmudabad was arrested based on these complaints, and he approached the Supreme Court, which granted him provisional bail. The court also forbade him from writing on this matter and asked him to surrender his passport. The judgment stated that Ali Khan’s post is a “dog whistle” and that it may transmit contentious messages subtly. We know “dog-whistling” is the most used label for coded speech that carries contentious meaning indirectly. The judges cast aspersions on the timing and motivation behind the posts, though the bail was very gratifying.
Even Vijay Shah, a BJP leader and a minister in Madhya Pradesh, who commented that Colonel Sofiya Qureshi is the sister of terrorists, was heavily reprimanded by the court. The remark by a BJP leader was the most hateful comment possible against an outstanding army officer. As such, this was a clear dog whistle by Vijay Shah. While the court rejected his apology, his arrest was put on hold.
What is a dog whistle? Prof Mahmudabad’s post is not a dog whistle, to be sure. It is an expression of the anguish of the minority community. On the contrary, it is Vijay Shah whose dog whistle is bordering on open articulation of hate. Prof Mahmudabad, in a very sensitive manner, has shown us the mirror as to how the nation is treating its minorities. Vijay Shah has shown openly how every occasion is used to sow hatred towards minorities. An academic from the minority community should not be taken to task for talking about bulldozers and lynching, which have become part of our ‘new normal’ and despite the court’s disapproval of bulldozers, the state governments have been using them with impunity.
Also, two satirists, Neha Singh Rathore and Madri Kakoti, known as Dr Medusa online, were booked for their social media posts critical of the Modi government in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
In a way, what Vijay Shah has done is largely condoned by his party: no suspension, no expulsion and no arrest. The open hate against minorities from the top BJP leadership down below is not only quietly accepted, but it also acts as a stepping stone for their political career. Just to recall in the prelude to 2019 Delhi violence, those calling for peace and harmony – Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Shagufta Athar, and others – are rotting in the jails for over five years, while a minister of state Anurag Thakur got promoted to full Cabinet rank after he made the people shout ‘Goli Maro’ slogans.
The norms of our civility and Constitution are being slowly eroded by the politics that wear the clothes of religion. What democracy needs is the likes of Prof Mahmudabad, Umar Khalid, Neha Singh Rathore and Himanshi Narwal, who truthfully are calling for peace and also showing us a mirror of our society.
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Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and a former professor at IIT Mumbai. The views expressed here are personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them.
