The brutal attack on the Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi in the Maharashtra Assembly on November 9 by the legislators of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will go down as a black day in the history of Indian democracy. The way Abu Azmi was slapped and heckled while the whole world was watching should make every Indian feel ashamed and ask themselves whether these are the people who really deserve to be elected as legislators. Suspension for four years is no punishment. The four legislators deserve to be booked under sedition charges. Any chauvinism, be it religious, regional or lingual is very dangerous for the country. The language chauvinism is much more dangerous than communalism. We have very few religions in the country, but we have hundreds of languages and dialects. If people start behaving the way the MNS goons are behaving the day would not be far when there would be a civil war. Hindi is our national language and Abu Azmi committed no crime. I wonder whether the self-styled nationalist chauvinists who swear by Hindi have the guts to condemn the MNS hooliganism. The MNS should also be banned for seeking to divide the country. Let us nip the evil in the bud and not let outfits like the MNS play with national interests for petty partisan gains. Sooner the better.
Jassi Khangura
Halqa Qila Raipur,
Punjab

Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 IST