The proverbial — bigoted — leopard seldom changes its spots. It, therefore, does not come as a surprise that India’s capital city was shamed, once again, by yet another ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ where an incendiary speech was delivered by an individual who has been to prison for a similar offence in the recent past. Several journalists, including a number of Muslim scribes, who were at the spot to cover the proceedings, were assaulted and heckled. Two of the principal figures involved in this latest conclave of hate where calls were made — again — for Hindus to pick up arms against Muslims are Preet Singh and Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati: both had received bail after their earlier transgressions. Mr Saraswati and some other speakers have been booked for their intemperate remarks. What is strange is that the Delhi police — the Union home ministry is its master — had no inkling that provocative speeches would be made at such a prominent public place.
Is it true that Mr Saraswati et al can cock a snook at India’s law and order edifice, including court and police, because of the political immunity granted to the foot soldiers of Hindutva? At a time when bail conditions have been made difficult for several critics of the Narendra Modi government in spite of the allegedly specious nature of the evidence against them, it is strange that similar stringency is not being applied in cases of serious provocation. This skewness does not augur well for the future of the rule of law. It must be mentioned that Mr Saraswati has repeatedly called for genocide against a section of Indian citizens, thereby invoking the spectre of mob rule. But then bigotry has got institutionalized not only because the fringe has become the centre. Hate’s predominance in New India is the result of the perception of the pusillanimity of key institutions. Large segments of the media are complicit in the spewing of venom against India’s minorities. Leaders, more often than not, get away with stoking the fire even though there are laws in place against hate-mongering. In an astonishing observation, even a judge in the Delhi High Court said that hate speeches, if delivered with a smile, cannot be interpreted as an offence. Each of these acts emboldens the beast. The prevention of India’s transformation into a majoritarian republic is a shared responsibility. Apart from the government, citizens and the administration, India’s influential spiritual fraternity — sadhus and mahants — must call out the mischief of some of their brethren.