Strife and Violence:

June 09/2014: Clearly, the deadly attack on a youth from the minority community in Pune has come at the most inopportune moment for the Narendra Modi government at the Centre that has just started its innings. The signals that it has sent to the people across the nation and the world outside are ominous. From reports that have emerged on the murder so far, the young techie who earned the ire of the Hindutva crowd probably did no wrong, was obviously innocent, and may have simply been a victim of the circumstances. Some Facebook postings against Chhatrapati Shivaji and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray provoked a local outfit to turn violent, move around the

streets and mercilessly beat up and kill this young man of a minority community. The postings on a social media site do not warrant a murder, even at the farthest stretch of imagination. That young man, it seems, happened to have been sporting a beard and wearing a particular kind of  suit which identified him before the frenzied mob.

Prima facie, this has nothing to do with the installation of the Modi government at the Centre. Yet the incident has let out signals that are all too clear and highly gruesome to be neglected as if of no consequence.

While Hindus were supposedly, and in general, believed to be a peace-loving (may be read as cowardly) people, there is no dearth of thugs, gangsters, goons, fanatics and anti-social elements in that community, just as there are similar people in other communities too. Some see this as a necessity and a balancing act. They cite the case of Bombay where, in the past, the underworld was controlled largely by elements drawn from the Moslem community, and the Hindoo Shiv Sainik emerged as a counterweight to that kind of gangsterism. At the same time, nothing justifies assaults –fatal or otherwise – on law-abiding citizens on the basis of their religious, communal or other affiliations as has obviously happened in the case of the Pune assault on this young techie.

The region around Pune has, historically, been the centre of Hindoo fanaticism though such elements remained subdued and under close watch for long. The other incident of another recent murder of a rationalist in Pune, also attributed to the antics of such fanatics, is fresh in memory. It is time we all realized the kind of forces that have been unleashed amongst us because of the results of the recent election. The results have definitely encouraged those who thought a new and larger space has been approved and created for them.

That large number of suspects have been arrested and put behind bars at Pune may be seen by some as a positive development. The Modi government’s embarrassment was evident in the swift response the Union Home Ministry has made by getting in touch with the state and local authorities. This will not be enough, though. The impression that has gone around is that the Hindutva fanatics, including the likes of the Sangh parivar, would now take law into their hands. They may have felt immunity has been given out to them as was done in Gujrat. More so because everything now seems to be going the 'Gujrat Model' way.

Narenda Damodardas Modi carries with him the stigma of the Gujarat riots, which some may see as a pogrom. His winning a mandate to govern the country and entering the portals of the Parliament with relatively large number of MPs may be read by many as being similar to 007's Licence To Kill.

It will be his actions as Prime Minister and the actions of his Ministers that will now be under close scrutiny in terms of balancing the delicate communal situation in this country. Those indulging in acts like the Pune attack need be put down with a heavy hand, so that the rest of the irresponsible elements in our society take a lesson from it. Modi's victory, limited only to the north and west of this vast nation, may have upset him. He must be aware that having made extremely tall claims to the people, he is still viewed with suspicion. His abilities in creating a situation that encourages inclusive growth are yet to be tested. The electronic media, owned mostly by large Indian corporates today, that contributed a lot in building the Modi Mania, have also a tough time ahead.

Modi's system of governance has to give reassurance to every segment of the society from every corner of the country that this government belongs to them. They all have to have the confidence that their lives and properties are safe in their own country. 

The election fight is history; what matters now is performance. People’s expectations are high. Only peace within the country and befriending neighboring nations can make India prosper. Strife and violence may make a state like Gujrat tick, it will certainly damage India in the long run.