Mohammad Deepak: Upholding Fraternity in the situation of worsening amity in the Country
- Colonial Roots of Communal Division: From ‘Divide and Rule’ to Partition
- Post-Independence Secular Foundations and the Shift Toward Sectarian Politics
- The Language of Hate: Political Rhetoric and Social Polarisation in Contemporary India
- Assam Controversy: Hate Speech Allegations and Legal Battle
- Gotdawara Incident: When Mohammad Deepak Chose Solidarity Over Silence
Constitutional Values, Civil Courage and the Idea of India
As hate rhetoric deepens social fault lines, one act of courage from Uttarakhand has rekindled hope. Mohammad Deepak’s stand for fraternity highlights the enduring struggle between sectarian politics and India’s constitutional promise of unity and justice.
By Dr Ram Puniyani
India is a country full of all types of diversity. The diversity of religions is astounding. The British used the Hindus and Muslims' identities to sow the seeds of ‘divide and rule’. They harped on history to plant the hatred, which became the base on which the communal stream of the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha-RSS introduced their versions of history and created a hate element between the so far mostly cordial relations between Hindus and Muslims. This hate created unusual violence in pre-partition time and was the major factor for conceding to the Mountbatten plan for partitioning the country. The apostle of ‘Peace’, the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had to face three bullets on his bare chest on the accusation that he is ‘pro-Muslim’.
After partition, Muslim communalism asserted itself in Pakistan, eroding the possibility of a thriving democracy. Social and economic progress was the biggest victim here, diminishing the possibility of its transition into a modern state with progress, peace and Amity. India had a very secular leadership with Nehru in the lead, and he laid the foundations of a nation which till a few decades ago, was due to which we came up to be a major country with the values and progressed to reasonably good heights. The communal forces came up powerfully from the last couple of decades and are undoing the achievements of the first four-five decades of peace and amity. Hate against Muslims has been their core method to increase their power and hold over society.
During this march of effort to convert the aspiring democracy into a sectarian nationalist state, they devised newer and newer languages and slogans against Muslims in particular and also against Christians. The situation is pathetic now. Social common sense is full of Hate against Muslims, and this is increasing by the day. We saw Hindu communalism developing a mechanism to spread far and wide to the extent that Muslim ghettos are the order of the day, vegetarianism is being asserted, love jihad, land jihad, and Corona jihad have been commonplace words. Starting from the top leadership,p the foot soldiers implement this hate into practical violence, leading tothe polarisation of society.
The top leadership throws up slogans like ‘Batenge to Katenge’, Ek hain to safe hain, they can be identified from their clothes, they proliferate like rabbits, Hindus will become a minority, Hindus are in danger; to name just a few. On top of this, the Assam Chief Minister, who was earlier in Congress and is now in the BJP for the last few years, has made statements against Miyas (Bengalis speaking Muslims), which exceed all the earlier hate speeches against Muslims. On 27th January, he stated ‘four to five lakh Miyas will be removed from the electoral rolls through SIR’. He went on to state, "Vote chori means we are trying to steal some Miya votes. They should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh." According to media reports, Sarma also openly instigated the public by saying, "Whoever can give trouble in any way should give, including you. In a rickshaw, if the fare is Rs 5, give them Rs 4. Only if they face troubles will they leave Assam."
To cap it all, he tweeted a video showing him shooting with a rifle and a bullet going and hitting the skull-capped man and the boy standing close to him. These tweet has been deleted now. Seeing all this, the renowned Human Rights activist and eminent author, Harsh Mande,r filed a petition against him for Hate speech to "Promote hatred, harassment and discrimination against Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam." He said he had sought prompt action and the registration of an FIR under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. To this,s Sarma responded that he will file multiple FIRs against Mander for helping the Muslims during the NRC process, and ensure that he is sent to jail.
So, what happened to the syncretic culture that has been part of our land for centuries, where Azan Peer and Shankar Dev of Assam preached harmony and lived in Assam itself? So, what happened to the Hindu-Muslim interaction in all areas of life, food, literature, architecture and religious festivals? One starts feeling hopeless in this scenario and feels despondent. And then came the incident from Gotdawara in Uttarakhand. Here, an old Muslim man was running a shop called ‘Baba school dress’ for the last 30 years. Bajrang Dal activists pounced upon hi,m questioning how he can name his shop Baba, which for them means a Hindu figure. Seeing this, Deepak intervened. As he was confronting the Bajrang dal attackers, the police were mute spectators, and the police filed FIRs against Deepak Kumar and his friend. In another FIR against the Bajrang Dal activists, the FIR is against unknown persons.
One gets a lot of hope from this incident. The hope that humanism is not totally wiped in the flood of hate created by the followers of Hindu nationalism. Deepak is a living example of the thick Hindu-Muslim relations that prevailed here but have become an exception by now. This exception shows the prevalence of earlier amity. Deepak Kumar’s act of Humanism is worth 100 salutes. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, complimented Deepak Kumar and stated, "Deepak is fighting for the Constitution and humanity—for that Constitution which the BJP and the Sangh Parivar conspire every day to trample underfoot. He is a living symbol of a shop of love in the marketplace of hate, and that is what stings those in power the most. The Sangh Parivar is deliberately poisoning the country's economy and society so that India remains divided and a few continue to rule on the crutches of fear.”
Deepak Kumar himself had a very sweet answer as to why he called himself Mohammad. It was an act of solidarity, and he said, “Saraswati was sitting on my tongue, and that’s why, at that moment, the name ‘Mohammad Deepak’ came out of my mouth. I thought they would understand that I am Hindu, and that the situation, which was getting heated, would calm down. But instead, an FIR has now been filed against me.”
One only hopes and wishes we see more of people like Harsh Manders and Deepak Kumar who represent the true idea of India.
