Over the last one month, Shaheen Bagh has become the epicentre of anti-CAA protests. The protesters have blocked the busy stretch causing severe hardships to the daily commuters, including emergency vehicles and school-going children.
On Friday, the protests took a further ugly turn when a mob of protesters attacked Deepak Chaurasia who had gone to Shaheen Bagh for protests. The journalist posted a video on Twitter depicting the deadly mob attack.
https://twitter.com/DChaurasia2312/status/1220706690158350338?s=20
He stated, “I have heard that the Constitution is in danger. I have heard that they are fighting to protect democracy. When I reached Shaheen Bagh to show their fight to the nation, I got nothing short of mob lynching.”
The condemnable mob attack reveals the reality of the Shaheen Bagh protests. The protesters claim that they are trying to protect the Constitution of India. But when encountered with a journalist whom they feel doesn’t align with their agenda, they simply mobbed him in an utterly deplorable manner.
Meanwhile, the left-liberal brigade and the free speech warriors have taken it upon themselves to downplay the ugly incident. Zainab Sikander from The Print took to Twitter and almost hailed the Shaheen Bagh protesters for the ugly incident. She tweeted, “Shaheen bagh was rather polite to you Chaurasia.”
Shaheen bagh was rather polite to you Chaurasia https://t.co/CRanb77q6X
— Zainab Sikander (@zainabsikander) January 24, 2020
NDTV journalist, Nidhi Razdan, a self-proclaimed free speech defender, too wasn’t worried about how Freedom of Speech and Expression was stifled at Shaheen Bagh, rather she was worried about how it would hurt the PR of the protests.
She tweeted, “This attack on a journalist who was there to do his job is simply unacceptable. This only hurts the genuine protests at Shaheen Bagh.”
This attack on a journalist who was there to do his job is simply unacceptable. This only hurts the genuine protests at Shaheen Bagh. https://t.co/RRY3w6S7fA
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) January 24, 2020
Out of all such mainstream journalists who tried to downplay the mob attack on Deepak Chaurasia, Rohini Singh has been the most brazen.
Defending the clear act of violence and bashing the victim instead, she tweeted, “Let’s be honest here about a section of Indian media. Muslim women were protesting. You go there to delegitimise their voice. You behave like a goon. Your intention wasn’t to report. Your intention was to demonise Muslims. Again.”
Let’s be honest here about a section of Indian media. Muslim women were protesting. You go there to delegitimise their voice. You behave like a goon. Your intention wasn’t to report. Your intention was to demonise Muslims. Again.
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) January 24, 2020
Replying to Marya Shakil’s tweet condemning the attack on Chaurasia, Singh even replied, “Also the onus of appropriate behaviour is always on citizens who have consistently been dehumanised, demonised and abused by the same media.” She has therefore given a clear clean chit to the protesters for the ugly incident.
Also the onus of appropriate behaviour is always on citizens who have consistently been dehumanised, demonised and abused by the same media.
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) January 24, 2020
Ever since Shaheen Bagh protests came under criticism for causing hardship to the ordinary citizens, the mainstream media has been trying to paint a very humanist picture of the protests with the entire PR exercise about the langars at Shaheen Bagh protests, reports of the protesters of “allowing” an ambulance.
But the attack on Chaurasia has demolished their entire propaganda exercise. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that instead of criticising the ugly incident, the free speech warriors have simply downplayed the violent manhandling of Deepak Chaurasia.
