After seven decades of the horrific, indiscriminate brutal slaughter of Muslims in Jammu region, the bitter communal undercurrents continue to simmer across the region to keep the pot boiling. The minorities here have been intimidated by an overgrowing culture of intolerance where identity becomes the reason for conflict. The tribal population living on outskirts of Jammu region face the odds of the politics while the Valley, including the leaders and the civil society, overlook these developments in the spring bloom.
Tragically, a shock to the human values, a section of the society has been shamelessly tracing religion in the most heinous crime of a child’s rape and murder. The trajectory of this unfortunate incident is beyond description, sending shivers across the spine, where nobody thought the human values could stoop this low to satisfy the political interests of driving out the tribal population of the area.
In the battle for justice, which the family of the victim is fighting, the most ironical aspect is to see the role of civil society and particularly the lawyers, often termed as the guardians of the law. The nature of politics couldn’t get worse where a child’s tragedy was celebrated, justified and endorsed giving it a color of religion and shielding the victims. In search of cannon fodder, all the political parties speak in one voice. The BJP and the Congress find common grounds to shame, humiliate and threaten a community.
The lawyers of Kathua who proudly feel that they were duty bound to ensure justice by subverting the process of investigations, and later obstructing the crime branch from presenting the charge sheet have thrown their oath to dust by indulging into an unethical act of high voltage drama just to remain in relevance and mount pressure on the state institutions , which certainly did not happen.
The Kathua BAR association’s audacious attempt to mount pressure backed with the support of civil society and local political leaders, only exhibits how insecure the minorities have become. The inception of this ugly trend was at the hands of a Cabinet minister belonging to the BJP, known for his rogue conduct and criminal background, shamelessly participating with his other communal colleagues in a rally in support of the rape victim. Every tool was used to thwart justice, from abusing the national flag to the holy name of Shri Ram, they have done it all.
Most disturbing is to see that this politics of hate which has grown over the years has found acceptance to the extent that not even a child is spared. Religion is being mixed with politics. The Lawyers chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, have not cared for the sanctity and meaning of this slogan. A communal color has taken over and a barbaric crime which needs swift justice is being covered up.
Everything happening today is a chilling reminder of the Jammu massacre of 1947 where a considerable chunk of the population was wiped out and now the same is intended to be done to the remaining handful tribals. At times in the name of revoking the tribal protection order or handing over the investigation of the rape and murder case to the CBI.
Tail Piece: The leadership of Kashmir along with the civil society have a moral duty to stand by the minorities of Jammu region. They will have to show courage, conviction, and honesty in standing up for the truth and sending across a message that they are not alone. The political parties necessarily need to adopt one tone in both the regions without leaving scope for ambiguity in their stand and the Valley’s lawyer too, have a role in safeguarding them.
(The author is a practicing advocate by profession )