Biased Indian State

E: This is a biased state sheltering terrorists. Look what they are doing to churches in Mangalore.
B: You can’t equate terrorism to this.
E: And why not?
I sat (not so quietly) as the argument got heated up and touched several new fronts, digressed and finally died down over a sumptuous brunch.
* B and E are dating. And yes you guessed it, B is a ‘Hindu’ and E is a…. well yes, ‘Christian’.
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B: Man, that guy looks like a T******** (on seeing a man driving a car wearing a Arab Keffiyah head gear)
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A: Why is this happening? I am scared for my family. This is so unfair to the rest of us.
(He is a dear ‘Muslim’ friend of mine for the last 8 years, He called in, disturbed, after he read somewhere in Yahoo forums where someone wrote, if the terror strikes go on, “Godhra to hona hi hain”)
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It’s a topic very close to my heart. And something I feel strongly about at several levels. We live in an increasingly fragmented society. The bias towards certain people/sections of the society is almost inherent and subconscious. As you stand judging people according to the facial hair growth and skull caps, it will almost take you by surprise. Why should you judge?
Today, the Indian state is a mere shadow of its former secular self. I always used to think that India had done a remarkable job surviving given its inherent diversity and the problems that come up with it. This belief was based on the fact that India is surrounded with nation sates which are on the verge of imploding because of civil unrest (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Maynamar, Bangladesh etc.). This thought also had its roots in the fact that while certain subsections of the Indian society might be prejudiced, Indian Netaji(s) were at large was secular due to fear of being labeled communal by the extremely large cross section of society. In this age of vote bank politics, you can’t afford to lose votes. Sadly that argument has turned on its head, and communal politics is bringing in more voters than ever before. Today our society is a more fragmented and fractured than ever before.
Why? Recently publicly available facts show that the police are extremely quick on identifying “masterminds” and suspects they just happen to ‘encounter’. Attacks on the Christian Churches are extremely shameful, and what makes it worse is there is no public apology from the State or any convincing action taken to stem these shameful acts. It all is fairly reminiscent of the state sponsored carnage in Godhra. Although, the Nanavati Commission, gave a clean chit to Mr. Modi, the entire episode reeks of state sponsored communal riots.
Am I being cynical? No. The State has displayed its bias time and again by letting Bajrang Dal run amok with its moral police agenda. This right wing outfit is an offshoot of RSS, and believes that our State is soft and reluctant to come down hard on “terrorists” and “anti-national” elements.

Swapan Dasgupta, a journalist and BJP ideologue,

Rioters cannot be equated to terrorists ….. The Indian State is not a neutral state and has multiple levels of biases; it is also not an efficient state and a source of harassment for all its citizens, regardless of caste and creed.

Huh? Really? Are we extremely myopic in our view of Bajrang Dal activities? I don’t remember much media coverage on a certain blast in Kanpur, in which 2 Bajrang Dal sevaks blew themselves up while making grenades? Or a certain terrorist network of Hindu extremists in Maharashtra planning to target mosques while pretending to be Muslims?
Media is definitely responsible and has been callous in its portrayal of the story thus far. There is extremely unbalanced coverage. And that is why an increasingly large section of the society feels alienated and views state as biased. Media should play a leading role to bring politicians who harbor outfits like Bajrang Dal / SIMI to book. Also people in power who disseminate information based on their personal prejudices should instantly be asked to step down.
Do not get me wrong. I am not supporting anyone here. While I am equally against all terrorist strikes in which innocent civilians suffer. But this post is not about that. I am increasingly disturbed by the perception which calls for all terrorists being labeled as Muslims. All Muslims are not terrorists. A terrorist has NO religious leaning. It’s more of an extremist outlook which is not perpetuated by any religion. And that is why, I will not shy away of equating Bajrang Dal as a terrorist outfit. Yes, planting bombs does not probably measure up to riots is what you will say. India has suffered long and hard at the hands of these outfits and their guerrilla tactics. But what we certainly do not need is communal unrest within the country. If left unchecked we could seriously implode under the weight of our religious biases. Regardless of how things play out (fingers crossed), India’s secular credentials have definitely taken a serious hit!

P.S : A special thanks to Madame Pixiedust, for the numerous enlightening discussions on the subject matter. They definitely helped. : )