Haryana violence: Same technique of polarisation ahead of polls

The statement of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on communal violence in Gurugram and other places in the State has surprised none. His categorical declaration that the State cannot protect every citizen is part of his strategy to allow rioters to act according to their wishes. Besides being unconstitutional and against his oath as the Chief Minister, his statement gives us a clear picture of what is going on in our country. The Constitution of India guarantees the right to life to every citizen. The State cannot abdicate its responsibility. If the government does so, it must vacate the office. Does his declaration not indicate that he has withdrawn his authority in favor of those who are targeting innocent citizens? The question is: has India entered anarchy? Or, has it turned into an authoritarian State? Recent developments only refute the advent of anarchy and point to authoritarianism. The State is omnipresent with all its arms, including the police and other apparatuses such as paramilitary forces. We are approaching a state of lost democracy.

Haryana violence has all the characteristics of Manipur violence. Non-State actors, as in Manipur, are targeting a religious minority that also has some sort of ethnic identity. The MevRajputs of the Mewat region are practically an ethnic group. The chronology of events suggests a replication of the organized rioting we often see in present-day India. A Shobhayatra is organized. The police allow participants to brandish weapons, including firearms. They shout provocative slogans. The yatra will essentially cross a religious shrine of the minority community. The angered community may retaliate with stones or in some other way. There can also be no retaliation. In the latter case, the participants may attack the shrine and the residents. The police become mute spectators or willing partners. The State starts the drama of bringing the culprits to justice. Here comes the real face of the government. It punishes rioters in a partisan manner. Members of the minority community face bulldozing their property and houses. And, the media portrays the leader of the ruling side as a hero.

In Haryana, pre-event slandering was already going on social media. Monu Manesar, an absconding accused in a case of mob lynching in Rajasthan, was announcing his participation and issuing intimidation to the minority community. The police did not act properly. What it did was window-dressing. The deputy chief minister has accepted that the police had no clue about the route of the procession. The media has also reported that an insufficient number of police were deployed. Participants were brandishing weapons and hurling abuse at the minority community. Stone pelting was the outcome, and it resulted in rioting. Now the government is alleging a conspiracy to attack the Shobha yatra. The statement of the Chief Minister clearly targets the minority. The same tactic of punishing the community is being used. About 250 houses have been bulldozed in the Nooh district of the Mewat region. The police claim to have spotted stone-pelting and violence in the area.

Obviously, a parallel could be drawn. Muslims in the Mewat region, the location of turmoil, are being named cattle smugglers. They are being called criminals involved in cybercrime and other criminal activities. The police are also alleging that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have settled in the area. Is this not the same technique that has been adopted in Manipur? Kukis and Zo are being termed as illegal immigrants from Myanmar. They are being called drug smugglers. The area, Nooh in Haryana, is the poorest district of the country. This minority-dominated area has been a center of the cattle trade. However, stringent cow-protection laws have adversely affected the cattle trade. The worst part is the entry of cow vigilantes, who have unleashed a sort of terror.

These cow vigilantes have been allowed to work freely in the name of helping the police implement the cow-protection laws.

Is it a sheer coincidence that all this is happening when the Lok Sabha elections are around the corner? The statement of Haryana's Home Minister makes it clear that Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante and the main accused in a case of mob lynching in neighboring Rajasthan, is being protected by the State government. He has said that his viral video has nothing objectionable. The BJP spokespersons of the ruling party are openly defending him on TV channels. TV channels are supporting their narrative.

The violence in Haryana has everything to do with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the assembly elections in Rajasthan in 2023. The BJP is facing a tough situation in Rajasthan. Its attempt to engineer a split in the ruling Congress miserably failed. Dissident leader Sachin Pilot failed to muster enough support to split the Congress Legislature Party. He ultimately mended fences with Ashok Gehlot at the direction of the central leadership. The BJP is divided in the State and has decided to fight elections in the image of Prime Minister Modi. The tallest leader of the State BJP, Vasundhara Raje, has been sidelined and made national vice president of the party. The Prime Minister has also failed to draw enough crowds at his recent rallies in the State.

The BJP does not have any other plank on which it can fight State elections or Lok Sabha elections. Analysts are rightly speculating that the BJP is reverting to communalism and hyper-nationalism to retain the lead it had in the 2019 elections. However, Hindutva has lost its old charm, which is obvious. People have seen how invoking Bajrang Bali did not work in Karnataka. Here, the image of Modi also could not perform any magic. Like Himachal Pradesh, he appealed to voters to vote for him. He also failed to use the Uniform Civil Code as a polarizing issue. The announcement that the Centre would legislate on it did not create the expected excitement. On the contrary, it generated resentment among non-Muslims, including Sikhs and some tribes. Has Hindutva lost its appeal?

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)