Rohru Violence is Himachal’s Shame

Opinion

Rajeev Khanna

Rajeevsolan@gmail.con

What has happened in Rohru earlier this week should make us hang our heads in shame. We Himachalis who call ourselves developed, progressive and educated have no right to make these tall claims unless we come out denouncing the assault on minority shops and kiosks. Himachal has no place for such cheap and dastardly acts aimed at polarizing the society on communal grounds.

Come to think of it that a severed calf head makes an appearance on a roof top of a building on Wednesday evening and is followed by an assault on the insignificant 20 shops and kiosks belonging to the Muslims after a scene created by Hindu right wing elements. The violence spills over to the next morning till the administration steps in to restore a ‘semblance’ of normalcy.

It is a ‘semblance’ because things are not normal and it will take a long time for them to become so even if a beginning is made today. This is because fear has been instilled in the minds of those who are vulnerable.  Doesn’t the whole thing smack of a planned assault?

Criticism of the act cannot be expected from the Sangh Parivar affiliates but it is shameful on the part of the second mainstream party the Congress for not standing up to confront the advent of this kind of acts. It was indeed shameful that the Congress workers and supporters could not take a stand in a place like Rohru that has been its stronghold for decades.  But come to think of it that it was none other than a Congress MLA Anirudh Singh who was seen moving a resolution seeking the status of ‘Rashtramata’ (Mother of the Nation) for the cow and the rest of the Congress and BJP members supported it.

Take a minute to think whether Himachal has a space for bovine politics. The state has too many other issues to deal with instead of resorting to such political theatrics.

It is only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that has taken a stand on the issue of Rohru violence. In a statement, the party’s state secretary Onkar Shad and district secretary Sanjay Chauhan have demanded a thorough probe into the matter of the severed calf head finding its way into the town and the subsequent arson. They have also sought protection for the victims and compensation for them.

It is a known fact that a large number of people from other states, including Muslims, have migrated to Himachal over the last two decades to earn their livelihood. In fact, almost the entire construction industry which is construed to be development by many stands on the shoulders of these migrants. They are also running small businesses like barber shop, fruit and vegetable vends etc.

There has been a campaign against Muslim migrants unleashed by the right wing instigating the locals that the latter’s jobs and employment avenues have been usurped by the migrants. The failure of successive governments to generate jobs both in government and private sector for the locals has led to a situation where the well educated youth of the state is staring at unemployment and under employment. The economic disaster unleashed by demonetization and shoddy implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has added to the woes.

The fact on the other side is that the migrant labour has established small enterprise by sheer hard work. They prefer to work in Himachal because of social peace and the facilities that they get in terms of better education, health care etc.  Himachal has done well on social index and this draws the people to the state. There are many homes where girls are getting education for the first time as this was unthinkable in their native places. This is what the right wing is out to destroy while a large majority remains a mute spectator which is nothing but criminal.

Over the last couple of decades the right wing has been following the strategy of creating an enemy on caste, communal and regional lines to cover up the failures of the governments. This gets a boost with majority of the people deciding to remain mute spectators. The media also plays a negative role as was evident in the case of creating a false bogey against Rohingyas some months back. If this silence continues for long, more Rohrus are bound to happen and this will surely tarnish the image of the state as a peaceful haven.