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Religious violence: Where silence is sanction

prasad1

Active member

The situation is not unique to India.

The situation is not unique to a particular government.

Throughout history, across the globe, there have been eras of hooliganism, sanctioned by the state and carried out by the masses. The one thing that is a constant is religion.


From the Crusades to Sabarimala, religion has been at the centre of a battle which appears to be motivated by popular sentiment, but is really about power.

The Centre is headed by a party whose one-time strongman was given the dubious distinction of having brought down a piece of history through the hands of his followers.

L K Advani’s famous march to Ram Janmabhoomi culminated in the Babri Masjid being disintegrated by handheld tools. At the time, the Congress was in power both at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.

Less than a decade before this, when the Congress was in power and its leader and the country’s then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, had been assassinated by her bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots swept through Delhi. Eyewitnesses have gone on record stating that leaders from the party actively encouraged the mobs. But most have escaped punishment.

Violence is not necessarily sanctioned by words. It can often be sanctioned by silence, by tacit approval. And for a man who is so fond of talking, the prime minister has maintained a remarkable silence on critical issues.

A case in point is the Supreme Court’s verdict on the entry of women into Sabarimala.


Read more at: http://www.sify.com/news/religious-...e-is-sanction-news-columns-sk3lqFeibijcb.html
 
No religion can boast of gatekeepers who have ever welcomed a progressive stance, and most religions are manned by gatekeepers who are happy to perpetrate all manner of cruelty and horror in the name of religious mandate.

There was a time when sati was the norm, and opposition to it was considered sacrilegious.

There was a time when caste determined entry to a temple, and opposition to it was believed to be blasphemous.

There can be opinions. But when opinions are expressed through violence, the state is duty-bound to intervene.

The leaders’ silence is as good as sanction.


Read more at: http://www.sify.com/news/religious-...e-is-sanction-news-columns-sk3lqFeibijcb.html
 

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