While assaults on Christians became more visible during Christmas, attacks on Muslims have become an everyday affair across large parts of India. Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers find themselves particularly vulnerable with lynching now becoming a pan-Indian phenomenon. Several cases have been reported in recent weeks from BJP-ruled Odisha. There was a particularly disturbing case of a migrant worker from Chhattisgarh being beaten to death in Kerala on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi. Bajrang Dal members attacked a birthday party of a young Bareilly woman in a cafe for the simple reason that her guest list included two Muslim friends. The majoritarian arrogance and hate-filled aggressive Hindutva promoted by the Sangh-BJP establishment is also fomenting racial attacks in India today.
The killing of Angel Chakma, a young MBA student from Tripura, for protesting against racial abuse in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, has again brought to the fore the issue of racism in India. The people of North-Eastern India have long been subjected to racial slurs and attacks, and now protest against racist abuse makes them liable to be lynched in the 'New India' of the Modi era. It was left to Kiren Rijiju, Modi's cabinet colleague from Arunachal to deplore the 'death' of Angel Chakma while Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami turned a belated phone call to Angel Chakma's father Tarun Chakma, a BSF jawan posted in Manipur, into a PR exercise in a vain attempt to absolve his own government. The fact is it took several days for an FIR to be lodged and the Uttarakhand government and police are busy downplaying the very angle of racist hate that caused this murder.
From unmitigated hate in social life to an environment choking in toxic air in the national capital, and government-supplied contaminated water claiming more than ten lives in Indore of Madhya Pradesh, India's 'cleanest city' in official records, there are unmistakable signs of a growing rot in every sphere of India's national life. The rot gets reinforced when the judiciary - which should ensure the constitutional principles of justice and rule of law - starts granting impunity to perpetrators of hate, loot, injustice and violence. The Supreme Court order that threatened to turn vast sections of the Aravalli range into real estate business, and the Delhi High Court verdict staying the sentence delivered to rape and murder convict BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar, naturally shook the public faith in the very system of justice. Protests ensued to save the Aravallis and cancel the relief granted to the notorious former Unnao MLA. For once the Supreme Court responded quite promptly and positively to the voices of the people on the streets. The Aravalli order has been scrapped and the matter referred to an expert Committee while the High Court relief to Kuldeep Singh Sengar has been stayed. The apex court's correctives on these two issues marked a much needed sign of hope for free India's beleaguered democracy and betrayed people for the crucial year of 2026. The alertness and activism of the people must continue to serve as the most reliable bulwark against fascist aggression.
