Saturday, October 03, 2015

A sewing machine, murder and the absence of regret...

How can all this be normal? How can life on the streets of Basehara village go on, as if nothing happened here, and whatever happened was not wrong? It has just been two days since a massive mob pulled someone out of his house and killed him. Before killing him, they made him run to the farthest corner of his home. They broke down his door with such beastly force that instead of giving way at its hinges, it cracked right down the middle. They smashed a sewing machine and used it to beat the man to pulp. There were not just violent, savage people in that mob, but also angry and powerful men. Their blood boiled in such seething rage, and that hot blood flowed into their hands, giving it such inhuman strength that they bent the grills that barred the top-floor windows as if they were made of flimsy wire. The bricks that had been used to raise the heavy wooden bed had been taken out.

The bloody sights inside that room tell the story of how deep-seated was the hatred in the hearts of those who killed Mohammad Akhlaq. Could such fury, such bestial savagery have ridden on just a rumour that Akhlaq had eaten beef? Basehara village has never had any history of communal tensions that can explain this killing. There are no history sheeters or criminals in this village. Mohammad Akhlaq's home sits right in the middle of a Rajput settlement. Surely this means there must have been a semblance of harmony here. Then how could one sudden rumour cause Akhlaq and his son to be dragged out of their home and beaten, their heads smashed with bricks? The son is fighting for his life on a hospital bed right now. Doctors say his condition is critical.

 Everywhere, it is the same story that can at any moment set fire to our country. An announcement is made on a loudspeaker. WhatsApp is used to spread videos of cow slaughter. A calf goes missing. People get angry. Then pieces of meat are discovered - at times outside a temple, and sometimes strewn outside mosques. How many riots have these pieces of meat caused, how many people have they killed? Both Hindus and Muslims. We all know how this works, and yet, each time, we become violent over these same stories. Who are these people who manage to create this hatred inside us? Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Why India man was lynched over beef rumours...
  2. Near Delhi, mob kills 50-year-old, injures son over ‘rumours’ they ate beef
  3. India police seek cow ‘mugshots’ to enforce beef ban...
  4. Beef ban in India reaches cages of lions and tigers!!!
  5. Mumbai's beef ban: A swipe at cultural diversity...
  6. ‘Thou shall not indulge in steaks’: Indian state to hand out 3-yr jail terms...
  7. Beef ban in India raises political temperature...

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