Ganapathi Bhat
There wasn’t any need for the BJP to make a mountain out of a molehill of outgoing Vice-president Hamid Ansari’s remarks on lynching and vigilantism. Hamid Ansari would not have spoken without reason during the course of an interview. Hamid Ansari’s views on lynching, and the resultant insecurity and unease, were general remarks to pointed queries. India has embraced all religions on an equal footing. The plural character of our society has been tested, preserved and protected through ages. Therefore, aberration rather than the rule is bound to make heads turn.
All religions have scrupulously adhered to “Indianness”– an exclusively cherished value and inclusiveness is India’s gift to the world. When there is a looming threat to the high standards of tolerance set by our forefathers, right thinking citizens are compelled to sit down and take note. The outgoing V-P spoke only about “some minorities”. Ansari isn’t a career politician; he is a scholar who was also a distinguished diplomat.
It is incorrect to say that the comment was his “parting shot”. It can be recalled, like former President Pranab Mukherjee, Ansari had spoken his mind as occasion demanded. The words of the President and the Vice-President are apolitical. The government of the day should construe their remarks as wise words of elderly statesmen. Their opinions on boiling issues should be seen as a cautionary advice for the government to introspect on its shortcomings. There is no point in chiding Ansari that he should have quit if he had nurtured such “strong feelings” on cow vigilantism and lynching.
All this being said, the minorities in India are safe and secure. Though the cow vigilantism and killings have not exactly abated, and the government needs to do much to bring the culprits to book, no member of the Muslim community feels intimidated when he/she steps out. Despite all loose talks, it is a tribute to young Indian Muslims that they have not fallen prey to the nefarious designs of the Islamic State. Nation building is an arduous task to which our Muslim brethren have contributed their mite.
