Hatred and Hate Speeches: Achilles Heel of India in 2019
Hatred
and Hate Speeches: Achilles Heel of India in 2019
Irfan
Engineer, Neha Dabhade, Suraj Nair
(Secular
Perspective January 16-31, 2020)
Centre
for Study of Society and Secularism annually brings out a report on communal
violence in India. This report on communal violence in 2019 is divided in three
parts. The last article discussed the first part on structural violence which
manifests itself in state policy. As discussed in the previous part, communal
violence must be understood in a broader framework. Though communal riots are
more easily discernable as a part of communal violence, communal violence
constitutes structural, attitudinal and physical violence. This article will
explore attitudinal violence in 2019. Structural violence as dealt with
previously and attitudinal violence have been prominent and with far reaching
effects. Thus a detailed analysis of attitudinal violence gains significance.
Attitudinal
violence can be understood as attitudes a person or collective may have about
another primordial social group, including, one based on religion, language,
caste, ethnicity, race or gender, and attributing inferior status or behavioral
traits which leads to discrimination against them and prevents the targeted
group from realizing its full potential. Thus the key to understand attitudinal
violence in the context of communal violence is that a community is perceived as
inferior based on its religious identity and this leads to discriminatory
behavior towards the targeted community. Attitudinal violence can take different
forms like hate speeches, hate crimes or any other behavior which is
discriminatory. Attitudinal violence is used as a justification to subject even
innocent members of the community to physical violence like communal riots or
mob lynching. Hate crimes, including hate speeches falls within the gambit of
attitudinal violence. Though there are different definitions of hate speeches
and hate crimes internationally, in the Indian context, article 153A of the
Indian Penal Code offers a comprehensive range of actions that can be termed as
attitudinal violence.
153A.
Promoting enmity between different groups
on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and
doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.—
(1) Whoever—
(a) by
words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or
otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place
of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground
whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between
different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or
communities, or
(b) commits
any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different
religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and
which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity,
(c)
organizes any exercise, movement, drill or other similar activity intending that
the participants in such activity shall use or be trained to use criminal force
or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity
will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, or participates in
such activity intending to use or be trained to use criminal force or violence
or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use
or be trained to use criminal force or violence, against any religious, racial,
language or regional group or caste or community and such activity for any
reason whatsoever causes or is likely to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of
insecurity amongst members of such religious, racial, language or regional group
or caste or community,…”
Instrumental
Use of Hate Speeches:
There
are rampant hate speeches in India which targets particular communities. 37
percent of hate speeches and disinformation on Facebook India is linked to
Islamophobia, according to the report by the US-based Equality Labs titled
‘Facebook India: Towards The Tipping Point of Violence Caste and Religious
Hate Speech’ (Nair & Mehrotra, 2019) . The
incidences of hate speeches are on rise in India due to a number of factors.
Hate speeches in politically
conducive environment coupled with impunity is often used as a tool to prove
one’s outspokenness, or even one’s courage and prowess and helps rising up the
political ladder. However, hate speech at times may even emanate from one’s
misinformed or lazy opinion of the targeted community. Hate speeches are used to
create fear of the ‘other’ and the hate monger seeks stronger bonds with members
of one’s own community. Sort of construct or strengthen boundaries between
communities.
State
officials wield political power and constitutional authority; therefore their
vilification legitimizes opinions attributing inferior status to the targeted
community and often provokes violence against them. Such hate speeches normalize
hatred and encourages others to fearlessly and openly indulge in further
spreading hatred with impunity. In 2019, there were denigrating hate speeches by
state officials including high ranking ministers. These speeches were aimed at
strengthening discriminating and derogatory narratives against the Muslim and
Christian community. Apart from the very violent vocabulary that is used by
these officials to vilify those who don’t subscribe to their ideology
(tukde-tukde gang, urban naxals, pressitudes etc), the speeches build their
vitriol around the stereotypes that Muslims are anti-national, disloyal to
India, Islam is threatening and Christians are on a mission in India to convert
people by fraud, inducement or force.
Below
we have reproduced some of the hate speeches and hate crimes from our monitoring
of the Mumbai edition of three newspapers, The Hindu, The Indian Express and
Times of India. There may be more than the ones cited but here we reproduce a
few of them.
Hate
Speeches building on religious practices:
Giriraj
Singh, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy had said:
“Jo
Vande Mataram nahin keh sakta, jo Bharat ki matrabhumi ko naman nahin kar sakta,
arre Giriraj ke to baap-dada Simaria ghat me Ganga ke kinare hi mare, usi bhoomi
par kabr bhi nahin banaya, tumhe toh teen haath ka jagah bhi chahiye, agar tum
nahin kar paoge to desh kabhi maaf nahin
karegi.”
Muslims express their love for their motherland in a
different language and ways. Some of them believe that chanting Vande Mataram
goes against their faith as it amounts to worship of motherland which is not
permitted in Islam. He clearly insinuated that Muslims are dependent on the
mercy of the Hindus to observe their basic rituals like burial. Also the
identification of a Union Minister with one particular religion and othering the
Muslims gives legitimacy to this “othering”. In another speech, Singh was heard
favoring Navratri, a Hindu festival over Iftaar, associated with Ramadaan
observed by Muslims. He not only favors Navratri but also urges others to follow
“our” duties, making Muslim festivals as “others”. He said, “Kitni
khubsurat tasveer hoti jab itni hi chahat se navratri pe phalahar ka aayojan
karte aur sundar sundar photo aate? Apne karma dharma mein hum pichhad kyon
jaate hain aur dikhawa mein aage rehte hain?
Polarization
on the basis of religious festivals and deities
Polarization on the basis of religious festivals and
deities is an alarming trend in Indian politics. Certain deities associated with
Hindu religion are used to give the impression that the ruling party privileges
and identifies itself with one religion alone. This is especially stark when
this deity is juxtaposed against another in the public discourse. Yogi
Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh made no qualms about which deity he
holds supreme and thus will be favored by the state. He said, “Tumhe
agar Ali par vishwas hai to hamey Bajrang Bali par vishwas
hai (If you have faith in Ali, we have faith in Bajrang Bali).”
He urged the voters of UP to “completely destroy this green virus from
western UP” (Sharma, 2019) . He also feels very
strongly that conversions should not be allowed. In Odisha where there is a
sizeable number of Christians and Adivasis, he said that if BJP was in power in
Odisha, it wouldn’t allow conversions, terming them as “anti-national activity”
hinting that the Christian missionaries carry out conversions by force or
inducement. This understanding of the Chief Minister on conversions is
notwithstanding that the Constitution mentions freedom of religion to every
citizen. Similarly, before the verdict of the Babri Masjid case, BJP leader
Gajraj Rana asked Hindus to buy swords to be prepared for the Ayodhya verdict.
“People have kept Lord Ram in their hearts and everyone in the country wants
the construction of a grand Ram temple. On the upcoming Dhanteras, I want to
suggest to my Hindu friends especially to not buy silver utensils, but iron
swords. This will help in maintaining safety, he said
(The Indian Express,
2019) ”. He incites the citizens to ensure the construction of the
temple through violence and also intimidates the targeted community.
Muslims as terrorists and should go to
Pakistan:
In the dominant discourse encouraged by the right,
Muslims have always been termed as “anti-nationals”, “terrorists” and often the
refrain “go to Pakistan” is used
against then. While every citizen of India irrespective of his/her religion has
a right to stay with dignity and equality, there are officials who have time and
again repeated that Muslims are secondary citizens in India who deserve no
rights and are in fact a threat to India, therefore making a case for their
exclusion from the country. For instance, BJP Minister, Mangal Prabhat Lodha
during an election rally in Mumbai, claimed that bullets and bombs for riots and
terror attacks in the past were made in lanes within 5 kilometers of the place
of the meeting which was located in an area of sizeable Muslim population. He
wanted to suggest that Muslims have been the perpetrators of riots and terror
attacks than victims (Modak, 2019) . Ironically its well
known that Muslims are the worst sufferers in communal riots in terms of number
of deaths, displacement and other loss.
BJP MLA from Khatauli, UP, Vikram Saini called the famous
seminary, Darul Uloom Deoband a “terror making factory” that needs to be closed
down (Dilshad,
2019) . This is the narrative that the right has carefully
constructed over the years and still exploiting to demonize the Muslims in the
country. This narrative has created an impression that Muslims have no place in
India. Prasanta Phukan, the MLA representing Dibrugah, made the comments
while talking about the voting pattern among Muslims in the Lok Sabha polls. He
likened Muslims who according to him don’t vote for Muslims to cows who don’t
give milk, arguing that they shouldn’t be looked after as equal citizens. He
said, “Ninety per cent Hindus voted for the BJP, and 90 per cent people from
the Muslim community did not vote for us. If a cow is not giving milk, what is
the point of feeding it fodder? (Saha, 2019) ”.
These derogatory attitudes have translated into
discrimination and similar hate speeches by police as well common citizens.
During a protest in Meerut in UP against the Citizenship Amendment Act, SP of
police told the protestors to go to Pakistan. The state and its organs which are
entrusted to protect all its citizens equally, discriminate against a community
based on their religious identity and in a way de-citizenize them. Meerut
Superintendent of Police, Akhilesh Narayan Singh said, “Tell the protesters
who have tied black and yellow bands to go to Pakistan. You will eat here but
praise some other place,” Mr. Singh said. He also told them that he would
remember the lane and could even “reach their grandmothers”
(Rashid,
2019) .
Hate Crimes by common citizens:
It’s no surprise then in Mumbai, youth assaulted an
autorickshaw driver who was sporting a beard and skull cap and asked him to go
to Pakistan. The youth said to Azhruddin Qureshi ‘tum Pakistani idhar nahin rehneka, Pakistan jao’ and ‘Kashmir hamne le liya hain’
(Mohamad, 2019) . Muslims
are often targets of attacks under the pretext that they are involved in
terrorism and are against India’s interests and integrity. In Yavatmal District
of Maharashtra after the Pulwama attacks, Umar Rashid and Majid Owaisi, both
Kashmiri students were assaulted by a mob in their college which demanded that
they say ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai. One of the accused
identified was district Yuva Sena vice president Ajinkya Motke. The duo was
repeatedly slapped. You kill our soldiers
there, don’t you? How many of your relatives there are terrorists? And what’s
that thing you call as jihad, ah,” Motke kept asking even as he continued to
assault the two students. “You shouldn’t
be seen here again. Your relatives kill our soldiers. You get jannat by killing
them, ah?” Motke said. (Deshpande, 2019) . In the aftermath of the abrogation of the
article 370 in Kashmir, there were attacks on Kashmiris in some part of the
country to signify their inferior position in the country and also in
demonstration of brute domination and power of the state and its outlook towards
Kashmir.
The process of “othering” results into exclusion, further
widening fault lines especially where the economic ecosystem has been
instrumental in keeping the communities together despite communal identities.
Prachi Thakur urged economic exclusion of the Muslims when she asked Hindus to
boycott kanwar made by Muslims. She said, “Around 99 per cent of kanwars you people
use… are prepared by Muslims. My advice to you is to boycott the kanwars made by
them, and encourage your Hindu brothers to make the same so that they can earn
their livelihood during the holy month of Shravan,” she said. Prachi’s
remarks came days after Samajwadi Party leader and Kairana MLA Nahid
Hasan urged Muslims to not purchase items sold by shops owned
by BJP supporters (The Indian Express, 2019) . Such
remarks have emboldened similar unconstitutional actions on the ground level. In
Ramgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, following communal tensions, some of the
residents of the villages in the district have warned that there should be a ban
on the Muslim vendors in the villages or their safety will be affected
(Ghatwai,
2019) .
Such incidents calling for economic ban on Muslims not
only adversely affect the communal harmony and peaceful co-existence of the
communities but are also a vicious attempt to disempower the Muslim community by
denying them equal opportunity in livelihood. By impoverishing the community, it
is pushed further towards second class citizen status. Such incidents are
increasingly coming to fore. For instance, a man in Hyderabad declined his food
offer on the food app, swiggy since the delivery boy was Muslim
(The Indian Express,
2019) . Similarly, another client cancelled his food order on
Zomato app because the delivery rider was a Muslim
(The Indian Express,
2019) . Akshay Lahoti, one the staff at HDFC wrote on facebook
that “Brexit style referendum to decide if India should remain a secular
country and Muslims should be allowed to stay in India, especially when Pakistan
was created for Muslim (Ajmal, 2019) . In another unfortunate
incident, Feroze Khan, a Professor of Sanskrit who was appointed to teach
Sanskrit in Sanskrit
Vidya Dharma Vigyan Department at BHU, was forced to resign after the ABVP
students protested arguing that only a Hindu can teach Sanskrit at the
University (New
Indian Express, 2019) . This is an affront to the composite
culture in India and right to equality enshrined in the
Constitution.
Conclusion:
As seen above the discriminatory attitudes of the
powerful state actors reflect deep seated hatred against the Muslim and
Christian community. It appears that one religion is given legitimacy and
projected as “national” religion while other religions are not national. The
followers of other religions have to be assimilated using any means including
discrimination and violence. These attitudes in themselves are violent but
become more so violent when they embolden common citizens of the country to
actively discriminate against individuals and particular community on the basis
of religion. The deepening of existing fault lines in such a brazen manner makes
one really anxious about the diversity and secular democracy in India. The
visceral hatred and exclusion against the Muslims and other groups is a betrayal
of the Indian Constitution and the idea of India itself which inspired so many
around the world with its promise of equality and dignity. This attitudinal
violence and structural violence contributes immensely to physical violence in
the forms of communal riots and mob lynching.
----------------------------------------------------
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
Mumbai.
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