It's Time to Repeat the Message, Over and Over Again

B. Raman writes a wonderful column (via Sriram at INI Signal ) in Outlook introspecting on the 5th anniversary of Godhra carnage and the hypocrisy of secular intellectuals and secular media and the communal politics played by UPA. Few highlights:

This has always happened after every communal riot. Whenever some Muslims take the law into their own hands, it is always the police which is criticised for acting against them. The secular elite rarely criticises the Muslims, who violated the law in the first place, and rarely calls for action against them. The voice of the secular elite will carry greater credibility if it modifies its present position that "the Muslims can do no wrong" and that it is always the Hindus and the Administration who are responsible for anything going wrong, which affects the interests of the Muslims.

One talks often of the spreading radicalisation of the Muslim youth and of the need to address the root causes of their anger and to appeal to their hearts and minds. This is very important. I have myself been advocating it since the Mumbai blasts of March, 1993. But, we should also take note of the emerging radicalisation of sections of the Hindu youth and of the need to address the root causes of their anger and to appeal to their hearts and minds. The government will be committing an error of judgement if it fails to take note of the feelings of concern and hurt in the minds of large sections of the Hindu youth.

The Muslims are the rightful citizens of this country. We are proud of them. They have every right to enjoy the benefits of our Constitution and the fruits of our economic development and to expect that the Administration, including the Police, will protect them.

At the same time, I have also been pointing out that the Muslims too have obligations like any other citizen, whatever be his or her religion—like the obligation to observe the law; not to look beyond our frontiers for ideological and religious inspiration; to condemn the resort to brutal terrorism by members of their community; and to help the police in dealing with this terrorism. They also have the obligation to try to achieve their legitimate political and economic objectives through legitimate means and not through intimidation.

Recently, a highly-respected intellectual of Delhi told me of his sense of shock when he heard some leaders of the Muslim community warn at a meeting convened by one of the Ministries of the government of India that there would be more jihadi terrorism in India if the Sachar Commission report was not implemented in toto.

What is this but an attempt at criminal intimidation? Doesn't the government have the obligation to put down such attempts? Doesn't the public have the right to protest against it? If a Muslim leader resorts to intimidation, one dismisses it as an instance of understandable anger. If a Hindu protests against such intimidation, he is demonised as communal, anti-Muslim, anti-Islam etc. These double standards have to go if we have to strengthen national harmony and integrity. (Highlight mine) [Outlook]

Our self appointed secular media is so biased that it refers Muslims as minority group and Hindus as saffrons. There is no boundary to its stupidity and double standard.

Raman's message has to be repeated over and over again, year after year, by more and more people from judges to bureaucrats to right thinking people. It's time to side line the justifications of jihadi actions by self-appointed secular media and subversive religious appeasement politics of left wing parties such as Congress I.

Update: K. P. S. Gill has a different introspection of Godhra and the following riots. He is dismayed at the grand standing of various NGOs and the secular media as they try to keep the post-Godhra-carnage riots wounds alive keeping the communities divided while doing little heal the victims of riots. He also worries nothing is being to done to deal with such deadly events in future.