India has a very shameful history of communal riots. Fanning communal passions is a very easy task in India. Be it the Hindus or Muslims or any other community for that matter, each community has a host of radical and trouble-making elements.
The recent riots in Malda are a very manifestation of this. What Azam Khan allegedly said about RSS members was wrong, and what Kamlesh Tiwari allegedly said about Prophet Mohammad was also wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right. Plus, religious sentiments remain a very sensitive issue in India even today. The riots in Malda and the arson, violence and intolerance there is certainly condemnable. It is an example of how the law and order situation has failed in West Bengal and the state govt. is incapable of handling it.
Many of the protestors condemning Kamlesh Tiwari are demanding death penalty for him. This demand may sound fantastic when we get sentimental, but is it warranted? Do our laws have a provision to give death to a person, if he is convicted of hate speech? I do not think so. Plus, a nation like India cannot have archaic apostasy laws which will hang people.
Also, we had many petitions and opinions against death penalty when Yaqoob Memon was hanged. It was claimed by many that death penalty should not be meted out now as capital punishment is archaic in nature. So, does the same argument hold true for Kamlesh Tiwari now?
Another aspect of this Malda riots is how the Hindutva rightwing are using this riot to prove that the media is “anti-Hindu”. They question why the media is “silent” and “less reactive” over Malda, and a direct parallel is sought to be drawn with Dadri. They also question the “deafening silence of the intellectuals” over this. Only the media and the intellectuals can give a reply to their allegations.
I agree fully that the Malda incident was a bad happening, and I do condemn it as an example of intolerance.
