Padmavat (i) violence: Hijacking the law and democracy

Indian Constitution:

Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution guarantees the third principle of the Rule of law (freedom of speech and Expression). No person can be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence is also very well recognized in the Indian Constitution.

Karni Sena is no fringe element in the country. Lynch mob is the new normal in modern India. It’s appalling, horrifying and disgusting as we prepare ourselves to celebrate our 69th Republic Day to see the extremist group, I weigh my words, Karni Sena is a terrorist organization, to hijack the entire country.

We should hang our head in shame to see an outfit spreading terror in the country, torching buses, attacking school children and roaming free and with impunity carrying weapons to vandalize theaters. It is a dark day to our democracy. A blot to freedom of expression and artistic liberty. I really don’t care about the merit of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavat(i) or its box office fate. It may set the cash register ringing to emerge as the biggest blockbuster hit or became a debacle and masterpiece or the crappiest movie ever made. Our concern should be to preserve our democratic values as a nation, the right to protect our citizens from violence and uphold the rule of law. Thuggery at its best and showing the scant disregard for our constitutional and secular values.

The kind of cowardice violence wrecking havoc in the country and jeopardizing the rule of law  is shameful. It’s thuggery, terrorism and religious extremist on the part of a group hellbent to spoil the name of their own culture or religion. So much for Rajput bravery. We shall not call them a fringe element but a dreaded terrorist organization who claim that they are above the Supreme Court. The worse in the whole scheme of thing is the non-functional State Governments in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat who has no moral or legal right to stay in power. It is more than a tragedy to see a Government failing its people and lacking the gall to maintain law and order. Only cowards and thugs can attack innocent children in school buses. Let’s not speak about India Shining, Davos or FDI when a Government cannot uphold the rule of law and lack clout disperse a terror organization. The image of our country has taken a serious dent and a beating on international forums. It’s about high time we acknowledge that India  ‘hailed’ as the biggest democracy through its judiciary and freedom of expression is being made a mockery. We cannot play with the future of the country like that and pretend business as usual.

The worse is the so-called Rajasthani women organizations making violent protests and threatening to commit Jauhar. Where were they when every single day an innocent girl or woman is being sexually assaulted or raped on the roads? It is beyond me to see the Karni Sena and its ilk cocking a snook at the State, judiciary or at large the democracy when the elected representatives remain mute or are emasculated spectators to violence in broad daylight.

It’s beyond horrifying. I never thought that our country whom we take pride in being called the biggest democracy in the world to reach such a state. Beyond shameful to see one extremist group calling the shots and not the Government. As a ruling party, the BJP is sitting on a fence and behaving like Khap Panchayat, absolutely stripped of its power and conversely, the Congress as an opposition party whose sole aim should be to defend the country and hold the Government for accountability, start playing the political card by pandering to the Rajput vote in a diplomatic manner. Both the Government and the Opposition are guilty as charged. It’s the real shame for India as a country who has such political masters. The people doesn’t deserve such a treatment. We are in a shambolic state.

We are living in dangerous times. In the past, there has been a mockery of reasonable voices who hit at the level of intolerance raging in the country with the ruthless murder of Gauri Lankesh and certainly, the violence against Padmavat (i) is certainly not the last straw in the cup. In the name of vote bank politics, caste or religious equations, it is harrowing to see what we are becoming as a nation. In the name of a movie with fiction and imaginary character, a country is being whittled into tiny pieces. Cry my beloved country. Hope tomorrow will be another day where sense will be knocked into the head of State Governments and the Central Government to ensure that the rule of law prevail and there shall be no place for bigotry, or religious extremism. A country like India doesn’t need such extremism or terrorism. There is nothing that can be bigger than the Indian Constitution and its our final-cum-last resort as a civilized society.

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