There is something scary about the whole Dadri killing episode and it’s not just because a mob of angry Hindus lynched a Muslim man, Mohammed Akhlaq, and beat him to death based on rumours that he killed a calf and ate beef. Monstrous and horrific though the whole episode was, the administration’s reaction to it is equally unnerving.
A mob had gathered outside a family home, scaled its walls, murdered one man, critically injured another over the issue of beef. And the first thing which the local police did when they arrived at the scene was to send the meat to a lab for examination to verify whether it is beef or not.
“The test results will be disclosed within a week,” said a Dadri circle officer to the Indian Express, like that’s the most important thing on the agenda. The raids and arrests happened gradually over the next couple of days.
But the point to be noted here is that the family did not break any kind of law by having meat at home. Despite having a Cow Protection Act, Uttar Pradesh has not criminalised possession of meat of any type. So even if the family actually had beef at home (which they are denying), it is still against the law to beat them to death. So what exactly are the police trying to prove by examination of the meat? If the meat turned out to be beef, will that be considered as a justification for the lynching?
The police, it would seem, do not want to be seen ignoring the sentiment of the mob.
Next came the political circus.
The Union Minister for Culture and BJP MP for Noida, Mahesh Sharma, whose constituency the village is under, stepped in to say that the Dadri lynching was an accident. “All those who love the cow rush (to the spot). It (the murder) took place as a reaction to that incident (cow slaughter),” he told the Sunday Express.
The evidence he furnished to support this theory was the fact that Akhlaq’s 17-year-old daughter remained untouched, unmolested *slow clap here please *. He further went on to add as a qualified doctor himself, he could make out that the nature of the injuries itself were not intentional. “It’s all momentary,” he said. “When it comes to beef, our soul starts shaking.”
Very… err…scientific explanation there.
Whether his rather crude defense of the lynch mob had to do with the fact that the village falls under his own constituency or the fact that at least 7 of the 10 accused in the case are related to a local BJP leader Sanjay Rana, is anybody’s guess.
And that’s not all.
BJP MLA Sangeet Som stirred the political cauldron further, protesting that the Samajwadi Party was appeasing the minority community and innocent people were being framed for lynching of Akhlaq.
The Prime Minister’s usual silence on communal matters can once again be an indication that he wishes to physically distance himself from these issues – not be seen commenting on it. But the passion over beef – soul shaking as the Culture Minister called it – could be seen even in Delhi.
A group of students from Delhi posted a notice on Facebook announcing a demonstration outside the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters to protest against the ruling party’s refusal to condemn the Dadri lynching. Participants were urged to to BYOB – bring your own beef – and eat it at a “Beefy Picnic” on Ashoka Road.
That was enough to get the police started. On Sunday afternoon, Delhi saw hordes of police officers on high alert outside the city’s metro stations. They were checking bags – not for bombs but for beef. Several of the participants of the protest, including a reporter for Scroll.in who had come to cover the event were detained, without any formal complaint all day. The scroll reporter, whose surname was Jain was chided by a policeman who refused to believe that he was a journalist. “Today’s kids are throwing Hinduism into a gutter,” he said. “Is this what your parents teach you? That you go out and eat beef?”
Now the Delhi Police are under the control of the Central Government, not the Delhi Government. So at whose door do we lay this blame? Despite many BJP leaders reiterating that the Dadri lynching was not communal, it’s hard to believe that this was not part of their polarising movement. The police, it seems, have already been saffronised. Who’s next?
Image Courtesy: Reuters
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