India Today Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie on sectarian violence and the beginnings of a toxic communal cloud across the country that's dominating public

[prasad1]

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Several decades ago, I would frequently be asked at many international conferences what India’s future was. Of course, the country has had its ups and downs, but my answer always was that the future is bright regardless of governments because it has a momentum of its own. With one condition. Secta rian violence could upset this upward trajectory. Sadly, my foreboding may be coming true. I see the beginnings of a toxic communal cloud across the country dominating public discourse. We should be debating issues that impact our 1.38 billion population the most—prices, jobs, governance and development, the prospect of another wave of Covid-19, the new education policy, and the right growth model. Instead, witness the sheer explosion of violence or near-violence on Ramnavami/ Hanuman Jayanti on our map. At last count, there were incidents in at least eight states—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and, finally, Delhi. The only source of relief is that the death toll is low—one in Khargone, MP, another in Lohardaga, Jharkhand. Earlier, violence broke out in Karnataka over whether halal meat should be permitted to be sold during sacred festival seasons. In the same state, a local battle over banning Muslim women from wearing hijabs in classrooms in a pre-university college blew into a national storm that saw the Supreme Court being dragged in.

India has been in a state of permanent low-grade communal fever over recent months. Controversies over a host of issues have been orchestrated— whether the hijab, halal meat, the muezzin’s azaan, The Kashmir Files or genocidal calls from saffron-clad sants at sundry dharam sansads and from maulvis issuing equally dire threats. Extremist groups from both sides are guilty of pushing their hardline agenda and goading their flocks into confrontation, with many state governments sadly becoming complacent bystanders rather than enforcing the law. Communal clashes are not new to India. They have been taking place since Partition with varying frequency and for different reasons. The BJP has often used them to polarise the electorate for political gain and others to pander to the minority vote bank. No party is innocent of weaponising religion to attain power. The change is that there has been an increased radicalisation of the general population even when elections are not on the horizon. It is a low-intensity violence embedded at the ground level. Competitive fundamentalism is being driven by extreme elements on both sides.

From the Editor-in-Chief

India Today Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie on sectarian violence and the beginnings of a toxic communal cloud across the country that's dominating public discourse

www.indiatoday.in

 

[Mohan Parasuram]

Several decades ago, I would frequently be asked at many international conferences what India’s future was. Of course, the country has had its ups and downs, but my answer always was that the future is bright regardless of governments because it has a momentum of its own. With one condition. Secta rian violence could upset this upward trajectory. Sadly, my foreboding may be coming true. I see the beginnings of a toxic communal cloud across the country dominating public discourse. We should be debating issues that impact our 1.38 billion population the most—prices, jobs, governance and development, the prospect of another wave of Covid-19, the new education policy, and the right growth model. Instead, witness the sheer explosion of violence or near-violence on Ramnavami/ Hanuman Jayanti on our map. At last count, there were incidents in at least eight states—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and, finally, Delhi. The only source of relief is that the death toll is low—one in Khargone, MP, another in Lohardaga, Jharkhand. Earlier, violence broke out in Karnataka over whether halal meat should be permitted to be sold during sacred festival seasons. In the same state, a local battle over banning Muslim women from wearing hijabs in classrooms in a pre-university college blew into a national storm that saw the Supreme Court being dragged in.

India has been in a state of permanent low-grade communal fever over recent months. Controversies over a host of issues have been orchestrated— whether the hijab, halal meat, the muezzin’s azaan, The Kashmir Files or genocidal calls from saffron-clad sants at sundry dharam sansads and from maulvis issuing equally dire threats. Extremist groups from both sides are guilty of pushing their hardline agenda and goading their flocks into confrontation, with many state governments sadly becoming complacent bystanders rather than enforcing the law. Communal clashes are not new to India. They have been taking place since Partition with varying frequency and for different reasons. The BJP has often used them to polarise the electorate for political gain and others to pander to the minority vote bank. No party is innocent of weaponising religion to attain power. The change is that there has been an increased radicalisation of the general population even when elections are not on the horizon. It is a low-intensity violence embedded at the ground level. Competitive fundamentalism is being driven by extreme elements on both sides.

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/...ontent=footerstrip-2&t_psl=False[/URtone and

What is the track records of india... ignore all this and be proud of this country

 

[prasad1]

What is the track records of india... ignore all this and be proud of this country

You can be proud and honest at the same time. Proud of your achievements, but tempered with honesty.
If there is room for improvement you must work to improve it.
MY child gets an A in all subjects and I am proud of her, but at the same time, I hire expert tutors to improve her score.
Yes India has achieved remarkable success we are proud of that but religious violence and violence against women and minorities have gone up. We must work to control that and make India safe for all.

It is a blot on the country when a foreign country has to issue a warning.

India Travel Advisory

travel.state.gov

 

[prasad1]

When the Editor asks, ‘Is the Divide Deepening?’, I do not find myself thinking immediately of the depressingly familiar tragedies that must have prompted his question—the communal rioting, mob lynchings and cow vigilantism that have scarred our society—nor even the manufactured controversies over hijab, halal meat and azaan on loudspeakers that have recently served to marginalise our country’s Muslim minority. Instead, I find myself thinking of three seemingly trivial anecdotes that came to my attention in recent weeks, which illustrated the divide more directly, if less starkly, for me.

Episode One: In Jaipur recently, I met a blonde Lebanese lady who had been coming to India for 15 years to deal in handicrafts and jewellery. Visibly foreign, she had been warmly welcomed in the past; when she introduced herself as Nour, people would say, “Oh, what a lovely name! We have the same name in India! We know it means ‘light’!” Today, she says, things have changed. When she says her name is Nour, the reaction she gets is immediate: “Oh, you are Muslim?” The question, and the tone of the query, says it all. She is less sure now that she will be coming back as often.

Episode Two: A former Indian ambassador, who had enjoyed something of a reputation during his MEA career as a hawk on Pakistan and on Islamist terrorism, told me of a friend of his, an eminent surgeon in Kabul. The surgeon, alarmed by the rising influence of the Taliban in his country, decided, at this ambassador’s prompting, to send his wife and children to India (not Pakistan!) to live and study, free from resurgent Islamic fundamentalism. They rented a flat in Gurgaon, enrolled in a good school. But within a year they realised this was no longer the India the surgeon had remembered when he took his decision. The most painful blow came when the children’s playmates in their apartment building announced to them, “Our parents told us not to play with you because you are Muslim.” My ambassador friend, in shock and despair, said he advised the surgeon, “Take your children to Dubai or London. I am ashamed that I encouraged you to bring them up in my country.”

Episode Three: An Indian at the United Nations, an experienced peace negotiator who had served in many trouble spots across the Middle East, found himself in an Arab country in a tense meeting with an Islamic militant, complete with beard, turban and Kalashnikov. The ice broke: even though it was Ramadan, the militant lit up, offered the UN man a cigarette, laughed and joked expansively as they discussed a thorny issue. Then he asked, almost casually: “And where are you from?” When the UN official said “India”, the mood changed instantly. “India? I have heard how you are treating Muslims there. Get out, UN man, or I will not be responsible for what happens to you.” The UN official tried to remonstrate that the militant was misinformed, as did the European UN official accompanying him, but the militant would not be mollified. His sources, he said, were multiple: he might be a militant, but he read and watched the world media. The meeting was over. The Indian got out by the skin of his teeth.

Yes, I am aware of the limitations of analysis by anecdote. But these three unrelated and disconnected incidents, all of which came to my notice in a span of two or three weeks, reveal the extent to which the communal divide has deepened in our society. The toxin that has been injected into our body politic, in pursuit of the petty political goal of communal polarisation, has inevitably had repercussions that go far beyond the specific electoral gains that might accrue to the forces spreading the poison. It has envenomed our society, turning India into something it never was.

The toxin of hate | By Shashi Tharoor - Cover Story News - Finnoexpert

When the Editor asks, ‘Is the Divide Deepening?’, I do not find myself thinking immediately of the depressingly familiar tragedies that must have prompted

finnoexpert.com

 

[Mohan Parasuram]

You can be proud and honest at the same time. Proud of your achievements, but tempered with honesty.
If there is room for improvement you must work to improve it.
MY child gets an A in all subjects and I am proud of her, but at the same time, I hire expert tutors to improve her score.
Yes India has achieved remarkable success we are proud of that but religious violence and violence against women and minorities have gone up. We must work to control that and make India safe for all.

It is a blot on the country when a foreign country has to issue a warning.

India Travel Advisory

travel.state.gov

Was there no violence in the usa and western world. Is there warning issued by anybody. Why point out india alone. There are worse kind of human right violation else where in the world and why no finger is raised. It is high time india point this out to the same countries who point their finger towards this country. It is also high time this country says this is not acceptable

 

[prasad1]

Was there no violence in the usa and western world. Is there warning issued by anybody. Why point out india alone. There are worse kind of human right violation else where in the world and why no finger is raised. It is high time india point this out to the same countries who point their finger towards this country. It is also high time this country says this is not acceptable

When you are speeding at 50MPh on a road with a 25MPH speed limit and the police catch you, does it help to tell the police that others were doing 70MPH?

When you are wrong you are wrong, there are no two ways about it.

 

[Mohan Parasuram]

When you are speeding at 50MPh on a road with a 25MPH speed limit and the police catch you, does it help to tell the police that others were doing 70MPH?

When you are wrong you are wrong, there are no two ways about it.

Then why the same yard stick is allied to the western world

 

[prasad1]

Then why the same yard stick is allied to the western world

Ok, my bad you did not get the simile. It is not worth repeating.

 

[kaydora]

You can be proud and honest at the same time. Proud of your achievements, but tempered with honesty.
If there is room for improvement you must work to improve it.
MY child gets an A in all subjects and I am proud of her, but at the same time, I hire expert tutors to improve her score.
Yes India has achieved remarkable success we are proud of that but religious violence and violence against women and minorities have gone up. We must work to control that and make India safe for all.

It is a blot on the country when a foreign country has to issue a warning.

India Travel Advisory

travel.state.gov

No foreign country has a right to issue a warning. Every country needs to look at their own backyard and then make these warnings. There are plenty of warnings to go around if we are all honest in our judgements

 

[kaydora]

When the Editor asks, ‘Is the Divide Deepening?’, I do not find myself thinking immediately of the depressingly familiar tragedies that must have prompted his question—the communal rioting, mob lynchings and cow vigilantism that have scarred our society—nor even the manufactured controversies over hijab, halal meat and azaan on loudspeakers that have recently served to marginalise our country’s Muslim minority. Instead, I find myself thinking of three seemingly trivial anecdotes that came to my attention in recent weeks, which illustrated the divide more directly, if less starkly, for me.

Episode One: In Jaipur recently, I met a blonde Lebanese lady who had been coming to India for 15 years to deal in handicrafts and jewellery. Visibly foreign, she had been warmly welcomed in the past; when she introduced herself as Nour, people would say, “Oh, what a lovely name! We have the same name in India! We know it means ‘light’!” Today, she says, things have changed. When she says her name is Nour, the reaction she gets is immediate: “Oh, you are Muslim?” The question, and the tone of the query, says it all. She is less sure now that she will be coming back as often.

Episode Two: A former Indian ambassador, who had enjoyed something of a reputation during his MEA career as a hawk on Pakistan and on Islamist terrorism, told me of a friend of his, an eminent surgeon in Kabul. The surgeon, alarmed by the rising influence of the Taliban in his country, decided, at this ambassador’s prompting, to send his wife and children to India (not Pakistan!) to live and study, free from resurgent Islamic fundamentalism. They rented a flat in Gurgaon, enrolled in a good school. But within a year they realised this was no longer the India the surgeon had remembered when he took his decision. The most painful blow came when the children’s playmates in their apartment building announced to them, “Our parents told us not to play with you because you are Muslim.” My ambassador friend, in shock and despair, said he advised the surgeon, “Take your children to Dubai or London. I am ashamed that I encouraged you to bring them up in my country.”

Episode Three: An Indian at the United Nations, an experienced peace negotiator who had served in many trouble spots across the Middle East, found himself in an Arab country in a tense meeting with an Islamic militant, complete with beard, turban and Kalashnikov. The ice broke: even though it was Ramadan, the militant lit up, offered the UN man a cigarette, laughed and joked expansively as they discussed a thorny issue. Then he asked, almost casually: “And where are you from?” When the UN official said “India”, the mood changed instantly. “India? I have heard how you are treating Muslims there. Get out, UN man, or I will not be responsible for what happens to you.” The UN official tried to remonstrate that the militant was misinformed, as did the European UN official accompanying him, but the militant would not be mollified. His sources, he said, were multiple: he might be a militant, but he read and watched the world media. The meeting was over. The Indian got out by the skin of his teeth.

Yes, I am aware of the limitations of analysis by anecdote. But these three unrelated and disconnected incidents, all of which came to my notice in a span of two or three weeks, reveal the extent to which the communal divide has deepened in our society. The toxin that has been injected into our body politic, in pursuit of the petty political goal of communal polarisation, has inevitably had repercussions that go far beyond the specific electoral gains that might accrue to the forces spreading the poison. It has envenomed our society, turning India into something it never was.

The toxin of hate | By Shashi Tharoor - Cover Story News - Finnoexpert

When the Editor asks, ‘Is the Divide Deepening?’, I do not find myself thinking immediately of the depressingly familiar tragedies that must have prompted

finnoexpert.com

You seem to be prejudiced against one side of the equation. In order to balance an equation, both sides have to play an equal role. Every action has an equal and -------- you know the rest

 

[prasad1]

No foreign country has a right to issue a warning. Every country needs to look at their own backyard and then make these warnings. There are plenty of warnings to go around if we are all honest in our judgements

Are you kidding? Every country, (and an individual) has a right to protect itself and its citizen.
Do you not ask your children to keep away from dangerous places?
So Warning its citizen is the duty of the country.

 

[prasad1]

You seem to be prejudiced against one side of the equation. In order to balance an equation, both sides have to play an equal role. Every action has an equal and -------- you know the rest

Every opinion is biased.
In your opinion what is the other side?

 

[prasad1]

Are you kidding? Every country, (and an individual) has a right to protect itself and its citizen.
Do you not ask your children to keep away from dangerous places?
So Warning its citizen is the duty of the country.

At a time when intense explosions can be heard in various Ukrainian cities, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has issued a warning, asking people travelling towards the capital city to return to their cities, especially towards safer western bordering countries.

India issues travel advisory for Ukraine; Air India flight to Ukraine returns mid-way

Ukraine Crisis: As Russia begins its attacks on Ukraine, the airspace in the region has shut down. An Air India flight bound for Kyiv had to return half way in the early hours of February 24, after Ukraine shuts down its airspace amidst the ongoing conflict.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India warns and rightly so.

 

[kaydora]

Every opinion is biased.
In your opinion what is the other side?

They called India the rape capital of the world. Turns out, we have some of the lowest rates in the world. Similarly, they are talking about violence in India. I live in the US and I can tell you that the violence and rape here are as bad as any country if not worse. Gun violence is one of the worst in the world, because guns are easily available. Hence I say no country has a right to say the are "monitoring" the situation, it would be better if they tried to do better for their own citizens instead of policing the world.
As far as communal violence is concerned, for far too long has one community taken advantage of the goodness of those who follow Sanatana Dharma and are taught to be non violent by nature. The pendulum was bound to swing to the other side.