Just two days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, termed the people who criticise the government, demand repealing of unjust laws and stand for their rights or that of others, as andolanjeevi. Yesterday, in the Lok Sabha, he described the farmers’ agitation as pavitra (sacred).
Lakhs of farmers, who have been protesting on Delhi boundaries for more than two months have been joined by citizens be it lawyers, students, activists, artists, academicians. With regard to the Prime Minister's statement, such individuals fall in the category of andolanjeevis, meaning survivors on agitations. He did not stop at that, he called them parasites.
As has been the case in the past about his statements, Modi failed to explain why the farmers’ protest is sacred. This statement of his, is as confusing as his mathematical explanation of a2xb2.
It is not that he follows the dictum: if you cannot convince, confuse. He himself is confused on how to handle important issues in the country and to camouflage his confusion and lack of constructive decision-making qualities, he makes statements, which he considers to be humourous, which is reflected by his laughter.
Trampling of anything sacred amounts to sacrilege or blasphemy. Did Modi forget that his party leaders, including his cabinet colleagues, called the protesting farmers Khalistanis or that they are backed by China and Pakistan? Modi himself has repeatedly stated that the farmers are being misled by the opposition into believing that the farm laws, against which the farmers are protesting, are going to destroy them. Such statements would amount to blasphemy, if the protest is sacred.
Modi’s government has used draconian measures in its attempt to crush the agitation and continues to do so. These acts against what is sacred, amount to sacrilege.
But a party and a leader, surviving on religion and religious places will not understand what is sacred and how sacred things should be taken care of. Playing with religion to achieve political gains is sacrilege.
Modi cannot forget that it was his party’s ideology and the agitations and speeches by his party leaders that led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque, a pavitra place for many. Even the Hindu leaders protesting against the existence of the mosque, had claimed that it was in fact a temple, with the placing of the idols of Ram inside the premises. If that was the case, his party initiated the demolition of a place pavitra for Hindus.
Whether Modi and his government feel so or not, for millions of Indians democracy and Right to Free Speech are sacred. Many have been jailed because they spoke against the government. This amounts to sacrilege of democracy.
Modi needs to act immediately to reach an amicable settlement of the issue, instead of trying to ‘preserve’ the pavitra agitation for posterity.