Our India by Capt. G R Gopinath

Author:Capt. G R Gopinath
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: null
Publisher: HarperBusiness
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

All the Waters of the Ganga

Uttar Pradesh, the hallowed land of sacred rivers and holy temples and of sadhus and saints, has become a map of rape and death. All the waters of the Ganga will not wash the blood and cleanse the sins of the perpetrators of the rape of the Dalit girl in Hathras, nor all its holy waters purify the defenders of rapists and their lusty cheerleaders. The rapists and killers may hang or may go scot-free under political patronage, but can those in ochre robes who wield power, where criminals under their watch have a free run, those leaders who sing Vande Mataram and end their speeches with zesty cries of Bharatmata ki Jai, can they go unpunished? Can any amount of worship in the temples of Kashi and singing and chanting of beads in Mathura to appease the gods exculpate them from their dastardly crimes when they violate women with such cruelty? Can such a land ever aspire to Ram Rajya?

Why did the UP government busy itself in pointing fingers at Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi or assaulting and arresting journalists and civil rights activists who were showing solidarity with the victim’s family? If there is such a rape or murder in West Bengal, shouldn’t the BJP protest against the administration of Mamata Banerjee? If there are violent sexual assaults and brutalization of Dalits in Rajasthan, as has been the case, can the BJP sit quiet and let Ashok Gehlot off the hook?

Doesn’t the UP government realize that its soft-pedalling of atrocities against Dalit women and high-handedness and exploitation of minorities will be taken as tacit approval of these by the upper castes and will result in a backlash against them and against the BJP itself and its affiliates, as has happened in West Bengal and Kerala previously, where they are at the receiving end? The autocratic ways of Mayawati when she rode roughshod, channelling Dalit anger against upper castes gave way to lumpen elements from the Yadav community and Muslim leaders during the rule of Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav. Did not the BJP ride to power promising to rid Uttar Pradesh of violence and goondaism, on the promise of good governance?

Some political commentators have observed that ‘While Muslims as “enemies” suits the BJP’s political strategy perfectly, alienating the Dalit vote could exact a heavy price.’ Uma Bharti has been openly critical of the Yogi government’s handling of the Hathras rape and assault. Others have commented that while Muslim lives might not matter for the BJP, Dalits’ lives matter. Their votes do. They have warned that Yogi is playing with fire, stoking it to appease the upper castes. Is this the time to descend to such depths, to dissect caste calculations and vote bank arithmetic? We cannot be more depraved than this. Every life matters. Every daughter is inviolate. Be it a Dalit or a Muslim, a Thakur or a Jat, a Brahmin or a Baniya.

When Nirbhaya was raped and murdered bestially during UPA rule, no one asked what caste she belonged to.

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