A nation falling for the lure of majoritarianism

The riots in Murshidabad have made the lives of Hindus, who are a minority there, miserable. Hriday Das, a tea-stall owner, and his daughter-in-law Sucharita Sarkar from Jafrabad were shaking with fear as they narrated their ordeal to Hindustan’s correspondent who met them at Rajmahal on the Jharkhand-West Bengal border. They said, on 12 April, an armed group attacked people in their locality where about 170 Dalit families resided. The group stoned houses they found locked. Das was home when the attacks began. He said stones kept raining on his terrace, and he could hear people getting beaten up outside. His brother Hargobind and nephew Chandan were caught by the group that beat them up. Das also learnt later that his shop had been vandalized.

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The rioters left the place after issuing a warning that anyone who returned would be wiped out. “We’ll see who in the administration has the guts to come and save you," they said.

Sucharita said she would never return to Murshidabad. Stories such as Sucharita’s litter Murshidabad, 24 Parganas and adjoining districts. The victims are asking a simple question: Why didn’t the administration come forward to save them?

It’s a legitimate question, but those entrusted with providing them security are busy politicking. The chief minister of West Bengal, “Iron lady" Mamata Banerjee after attending a function on Monday told the media that no one had the right to take law into their own hands. She’s right, but how does she propose to deal with the miscreants who have already violated the rule of law in her state? She knows it’s not an easy task.

The truth is that the scourge of communalism has been festering in parts of West Bengal for years now. Now the schism is out in the open. It isn’t clear whether the rioters in Murshidabad were locals or come from outside, but it’s clear they know the value of their vote and want to extract an extreme price for it. State BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, once a key lieutenant of Mamata, claims the state government is unable to deal with lawlessness in the state and, so, should be dismissed. The Trinamool Congress leader counters him by saying Murshidabad violence is the handiwork of central agencies in cahoots with some political parties.

It’s sad that in this age-old game of violence, only the faces of the perpetrators and the victims have changed, while the statements of the leaders remain the same.

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Violent incidents over the past 50 years evidence this. Between 1970 and 1980, the Hindi-speaking people in Assam had faced similar atrocities, which led to a large-scale exodus. At the same time, many Hindus had to leave Punjab owing to heightened terror activities in the state. The riots that followed the death of Indira Gandhi also wreaked havoc on the Sikh community. Maliana in Uttar Pradesh and Bhagalpur in Bihar were particularly tough for the Muslims. The silk weavers who left Bhagalpur after the riots never returned. The atrocities committed in 1990s against Kashmiri Pandits led them to flee Kashmir Valley. The list of such unfortunate occurrences is very long.

The first two decades of the 21st century came as a whiff of fresh air when the situation improved a little; But Manipur violence, which led to the members of the Christian community, a majority of the region last year reopened old wounds.

These violent and complex incidents have affected Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians alike. In some incidents, they were perpetrators and in others, victims. The exodus had more to do with majoritarianism rather than religion. Faith was a convenient tool to rouse rioters.

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Over the past few years, social media’s invasive power has become evident in our lives; it has aided in complicating an already deteriorating situation and acted as a force multiplier for the separatists, rumourmongers and malevolent elements. Our politicians, too, are ever-eager to exploit these incendiary situations. Along with religion, regional and linguistic divisions are being used to foment division. Once the people who were ready to lay down their lives for the country are fighting each other on such issues. One wonders, how many countries do we want to create within India?

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.