A few weeks ago, I had two hours to kill between flights at Singapore’s Changi airport. I was on a mission. Two, in fact. The first one was easily accomplished in under five minutes (locating a hard-to-get Japanese malt whisky ordered by my husband). The second became an adventure by default. Several friends had requested me to get packaged sweet and sour beef and spicy pork, from a particular store which is situated right across the massive whisky outlet. I rechecked the list. Yup. Beef and pork. Fatty, rich, delicious, irresistible. Plus, easy to carry. I carefully ordered both, separated the packets, and stopped for a coffee before walking to the distant departure gate for the flight back home.
It was during my third sip that I woke up, as it were! Ooops! What was I thinking? I realised with a start I was risking instant arrest at Mumbai airport for trying to bring in a banned item — beef! I abandoned the coffee and trudged back to the stall to return the beef. Of course, that wasn’t possible, the sales staff informed me firmly. “You can exchange it,” said the girls, “but no can return, la”. And that’s what I did. Ooof! More pork. And a few slices of honey chicken, too. The girls were amused by my nervousness and asked what was wrong. I mentioned the beef ban back home and they smiled consolingly. That was a close call.
My story is absurd. But I shared it only to highlight the far deeper tragedy of what’s going on. Had I not remembered the ban and foolishly arrived in Mumbai with the contraband, I would have faced criminal charges and gone to jail. I joked about it at the time. But after the murder of Mohammad Ikhlaq in Dadri, the sinister politics of the beef ban can no longer be ignored or joked about. A 50-year-old man was beaten to death by villagers (friendly neighbours, at that) who suspected he was hiding beef in his house. Suspected! Two days after his death, nobody knows for sure if there was any truth to that charge.
Beef or mutton? Not that it matters. Opportunistic leaders were at it with a vengeance, going so far as to suggest it wasn’t the beating that killed Iqlakh, but the shock of hearing a false rumour that his young son had died. Justifications for the crime were instantly found, by pointing out “hurt sentiments” of the Thakurs, who reacted out of “excitement”. It was all the fault of the victim’s family, said an unrepentant Shrichand Sharma, vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s western Uttar Pradesh unit, adding that an FIR should have been registered against Iqlakh’s family for the alleged cow slaughter.
An unknown outfit calling itself the Samadhan Sena has sprung up in the area since June and is rapidly spreading hatred and fear in surrounding villages. Children are being forced to turn against children. Young Muslims trying to eke out a living are being chased away by goons claiming the land they are on is exclusively for Hindus. Something monumentally ugly is taking place right under our noses. And as of now, it is a win-win situation for bullies like Mr Sharma, who was brazen enough to state, “The Hindu community worships cows. Whose blood won’t boil if they see cow slaughter?” The question is: Was it a cow in the first place? Or just an excuse to murder? Intolerance on all fronts seems to just grow and grow and grow.
The latest to take a hit in Mumbai is a play titled, Agnes of God (based on an original play by John Pielmeier). According to a spokesperson, a certain Father Nigel has supported a ban on the staging of the play, saying there is “no spiritual learning for the community”, in the production, which has been dubbed “anti-Catholic”. When the same play had been staged 30 years ago, it had enjoyed a good run. So... what has changed? Umm — everything! Like the Samadhan Sena in Dadri, headed by some Govind Chaudhary, another group calling itself the “Catholic Secular Forum” is agitating against the play, forcing the producer-director Kaizaad Kotwal to cancel the premiere show on October 4. Will this issue take off and receive not just media attention but widespread public support? Chances are, it will be a lonely battle fought by Mr Kotwal and a handful of well-wishers.
These are not isolated incidents — the lynching of Iqlakh and the banning of Agnes. The pattern is abundantly clear. Inch by inch, freedoms of all kinds and on multiple levels are being snatched away by divisive, dangerous forces which enjoy state patronage and protection. It’s easy to say, “Oh well... you have a problem? Go to the courts!” Really? How many courts? How many problems? Is this what citizens are supposed to do on a daily basis? Why?
Meanwhile, our Prime Minister embraces assorted world leaders, weeps in public, clinches a few deals, and occasionally visits the country that voted for him and his party to take India to the next level — to help the average citizen to realise a dream or two. What use is the huge mandate if India slips further and further into an abyss of hate and intolerance? All we ask for is one word, Sir — just one, from you. Please condemn Iqlakh’s lynching, and see what a difference it makes! Mr Narendra Modi — you owe voters that much.
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