Hijab row continues in Karnataka

 

Hijab row continues in Karnataka

All those political families who have been accused of using the colour of one’s religion, caste or gender to influence the electoral fortunes of others, are once again facing allegations and counter allegations in various state assemblies across the country. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India has issued a sealed complaint against prominent opposition leaders Kanimozhi Murali (Congress), Vishwa Murale (Congress-M), Aparita Priyadarshini (Congress), Usha Rangaraju (Karnataka) and Anand Sharma (Karnataka). This was filed after the Congress, former party leader Ajit Kumaraswamy on 10 February. According to sources, it is learnt that some senior Congressmen had tried getting her arrested through false cases.

The recent news about two persons being killed by police in Belagavi, with Hindu fundamentalists taking over the case, has raised many questions on the religious aspect of these attacks. As part of this, the CBI has also taken up a probe into the deaths. The last time such a news story came up, in 1997, when Durgamala Ghat massacre took place in Delhi during which Sikh militants were killed after they attacked mosques. Even, several days before this incident, there was an anti-national law suit filed in the US by Justice Rohinton Thomas for the killings of 9/11 mastermind Bin Laden, which his family later lost. In today’s times when terrorism is growing, the situation in the Muslim community has not changed at all. While communalism and hate crimes continue to be committed against them, religious discrimination is increasing too. More than 1,000 interfaith crimes have been registered in 2016-17, according to data available with the Union government. If you ask someone about their views on the issue, most the people will tell you that it is “normal business.” But the number is still rising. Several states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and some in north-eastern states, do not recognise any religion as a protected religion. They claim that religious beliefs must be respected and one should respect all religions and that their use of such beliefs should never be questioned or challenged.

BJP spokesperson Suresh Raina had recently said that every day Muslims and Hindus are killing each other in different parts of the country. However, he was not referring to particular incidents. Recently, a person was shot dead in Bengaluru and eight persons injured in another incident in Chandrapur too. That’s where I am going. There are no religion differences between BJP workers and non-BJP supporters. So, why can’t both groups support each other? There is no caste difference between BJP supporters and non-BJP supporters. Why does the community feel so divided when caste is used for electoral advantage? There is no reason to make such an assumption that only Hindu and Christian communities exist in our society.

These incidents do not mean that the BJP supporters are now making political decisions because of religion. You can disagree in politics, but that doesn’t mean you should start targeting your opponents with caste, ethnic or religious bias. It could just mean that some people in the party don’t support your ideas. Or, if you make such an allegation, try and find evidence to back it up. These things happen, and we need to accept it and move forward without thinking how these things turn out. These cases are not confined to politics. Many religious organisations like Hindu Mahasangha have come under scrutiny for supporting right-wing parties in elections. What happens in parliament? Do MPs stand by the minority parties in parliament, and do the right to challenge the vote for each group? Can you name any politician from any religion who has done wrong in the past? How many instances have they been caught for violating norms on moral values. Does there exist a law? Are you ready to pay fines and get away with it. When a politician does bad stuff, I say do not judge them by caste, age, religion and so on. Judges should not take sides. If we continue to think like this, our democracy will be destroyed soon. We have seen a lot of changes in the judiciary in the coming years. One of the reasons for this is that judges now think more about justice and fairness. For example, in 2015 and 2016, a very serious criminal case was heard in the Supreme Court. On the same month, four justices, comprising of three women, were sworn in, while 50 civil rights activists signed affidavits to argue their cases before courts and make sure they got a fair trial.

But why am I bringing a topic regarding religion here? Well, there is always a threat of discrimination against any faith, caste or region, even at any level of social hierarchy. And as politicians have said repeatedly for ages, they are not interested in discriminating against anyone. So, then what was the intention to suggest that religion plays a role in this. Besides, people have raised issues regarding Islamophobia among Muslims, mainly due to the extremist religious activities of the ISIS group. Despite this being in their minds, some Muslim leaders are opposing this on religious basis, saying they want freedom of worship and freedom of speech. This raises fears, fears and fears. It’s a concern that many people believe these are just general attacks with religious colour.