One of the primary weapons that a leftist in India arms himself with is the definition of whataboutery. The said section when presented with concrete facts resorts to shoot and scoot. But hypocrisy stinks, it does not have to be out in open for people to feel its presence. In the last four years of the Modi government, one of the major changes that has impacted the media discourse is the practice of scanning every possible instance of violence through the prism of rising intolerance in the country.
Lynching is horrific, a bane to humanity and has no place in a country that prides itself as one of the most pluralistic ones on the planet. However, to blame just one community for all that is wrong because the government in power is perceived as the representative of just the majority speaks volumes about the narrow-mindedness of the left-leaning intellectuals.
Akhlaq’s lynching created a lot of furore because he belonged to a certain community. Media trial of the government directly blamed the PM for not having the done the micromanagement of every crime case in the country. When a boy named Hafiz Junaid was killed over arguments for a seat in a train, no time was wasted in giving the story a communal angle to project Hinduism as the real threat to the harmony of the country.
Later when the investigations brought the real story out in public, the #NotInMyName brigade once again ensconced under the parapet of whataboutery.
A couple of days ago, one of the staffers of Sealdah Rajdhani Express was thrashed near Gaya by two members of the Muslim community after a little argument. The poor man who was trying to do his duty was beaten so mercilessly that he is battling for his life. There was no emphasis on the name of the perpetrators of the Rajdhani Express thrashing. No analysis, no prime debates on as to what all does this crime signal to. No trending Hashtags either!
We being a responsible platform, don’t believe in fanning anything that is remotely communal in nature. But some of the big fish of the media industry, a lot many scholars and intellectuals do not think for a moment before giving communal angle to such street fights, questioning the intent and morality of the government elected democratically.
If the emphasis is not on the name and religion of the attackers in the Rajdhani Express thrashing case, why does it become different when the attacker is from the majority community?
Often during arguments, I blatantly say that India is secular because Hinduism is in majority here. For long now, through media, academia and every possible tool the motive has been to paint it as an intolerant religion. It is no rocket science to look around, read a bit of history and learn that if there is one religious practice that has promoted harmony and mutual existence, it is Hinduism. In their bid to corner the Modi government, unfortunately, the anti-establishment parties have attacked Hinduism and got away without any accountability. For how long though?
As for the Rajdhani Express thrashing incident, the silence of the media is deafening.