A matter of extreme lajja

India is known for its religious tolerance, but the recent incidents suggest that religious intolerance is on the rise in the country. Though Hindu fundamentalists have shown their displeasure and dismay on various occasions, no one has ever threatened to ‘behead’ a person for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments.

It was therefore shocking to watch the attack on the celebrated writer Taslima Nasreen in Hyderabad by MIM activists and the subsequent threat by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and legislator in AP assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi to behead the writer if she visits the city again.

The whole world watched this ‘shameful’ act on TV. Some intellecutals condemned this ‘spineless’ attack on a woman but most politicians chose to maintain an enigmatic silence.

The fact that the perpetuators chose Press Club to assault the writer shows the scant respect the fundamentalists have for media or freedom of the press. In a way, this was an attack on the freedom of press too.

The silence of politicians to the statement of Akbaruddin that anyone who commits blasphemy deserves to be beheaded is, to say the least, scandalous. It needs to be condemned by all quarters of the society, including the media. The legislator is the representative of the people and statements like this can lead to communal disharmony. The government should take a note of it.

Where are the so-called custodians of religious equality and protector of fundamental rights of people gone? No one from the highest office in the government spoke against the incident. Probably they had minorities’ ‘votes’ in their mind.

In a democracy, people can air their views on any subject without fear, but in a peaceful and democratic way. Indulging in violence and threatening to kill a person is totally unIndian and unacceptable. There is no place for such people in India.
Will the Assembly of Andra Pradesh take action against the MIM legislators? If this happens, we can proudly say that India is a secular having country with a high degree of religious tolerance.