We condemn the inhuman act of killing a 15yr old child for his religion. Yes, the boy named Junaid was a Muslim. He got killed on 22nd June on a Delhi-Mathura passenger train between Okhla and Asoti while hundreds of fellow passengers watched blindly. The killers accused him and his fellow five others (including his brother) for their religion. The widespread protest over the murder forced the ‘Leaders of State’ to respond after a calculated silence of seven days. It is unfortunate that these ‘Leaders’ share the same social mindset of those who killed Junaid; belongs to the same institution that nourishes communalism; leads the Hindu state agenda and champions the communal politics.
It is the evidence of the recently set communal mindset in the Indian society. Even though clashes between different religions existed for long, the rise of BJP over last three decades gave an impulse to worsen it. Winning in elections gave a wide spread acceptance to their communal arguments in general public. A substantial section of middle class Hindu believers gradually compromised with Hindhutwa. Now, Hindus (particularly from upper middle class) are increasingly expected/started to support BJP and its allies. They gradually accepted Hindu way of living by promoting and practicing vegetarianism, yoga, hindu rituals etc. But more dangerous is their changing mindset towards ‘the others’. For them Muslims became rapists, plunders, barbarians, terrorists, anti-nationals and what not. Targeting Muslims and those criticizing Hindhutwa became a political mission for the supporters. Akhlack, Kaushik, Ayoob, Asgar – they all were its victims. But NONE OF THESE ACTS WERE NOT IN MY NAME, not in our name but they were their communal criminal acts. Those who used religion as an identity to distinguish people are communalists; they do not belong to me. Junaid and Ayoob are my brothers and they are not killed in my name.
Not In The Name Of My Religion:
My religion is how my ancestors lived in this land for thousands of years. My religion accommodated all who questioned, attacked and criticized it. My religion teaches acceptance, love, respect and patience; but not communalism. My religion is not the one which destroys temples or mosques. My religion is not the one to lynch individuals for their belief. My religion is not the one which asks to rape woman if she eats meat. My religion is not the one which call for massacring people for they are Muslims or Sikhs. My religion is not the one which demand killing people for taking beef. My religion is not the which hijacks elections with communal cards. MY RELIGION IS HINDUISM AND IT IS NOT BELONGING TO THOSE WHO KILLED JUNAID.
Not In The Name Of My Country:
Despite many pluralistic limitations, our country believed in tolerance, secularism, democracy and unity within diversity. We may have many clashes with our neighbours but never hesitant to reach out when they are in need of us. We celebrated our festivals not by making hollow remarks on platforms like Iftar, Deepavali or Sabarmati ashram but by inviting each others in those occasions to celebrate togetherness by sharing the meals. We never traumatized anyone in the name of religion but we lived together harmoniously. The country that kills people for glorifying cow is not my country. The country that kills a 16 year for purifying a religion is not my country. The country that kills farmers because they lost their harvests due to state policies is not my country. The country that hangs individuals for satisfying public outcry is not my country. The country that distinguishes people on the basis of religion is not my country. INDIA IS MY COUNTRY AND IT IS NOT BELONGING TO ANY KIND OF COMMUNALISTS WHO KILLS JUNAIDS.
But Junaid, my brother, we are equally responsible for your tragic plight. We are responsible because we let our brother killed when we are against communalism. We are criminals because we let our younger ones think communally. We are guilty even when we protest against communal lynching because we let our public spaces inaccessible to human beings because they believe in another religion. We are culprits because we were divided in our ideologies about humanity, approach to progress, definitions of revolution, programme against exploitation and many other reasons . Carrying the pain of guilty, we firmly believe that, it is nothing but ANTI-NATIONAL as well as ANTI-RELIGIOUS as well as ANTI-HUMAN to become silent when someone assassinate a young boy for the reason being a Muslim.
