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Tuesday, March 26, 2024
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HomeOpinionAnkit Saxena murder shows it's Muzaffarnagar everywhere now

Ankit Saxena murder shows it’s Muzaffarnagar everywhere now

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We are living in the times of a ‘hate epidemic’ where the price of making the mistake of loving is paid by innocent lives such as that of Ankit Saxena.

Photographer-cum-sales assistant Ankit Saxena hailing from west Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar was a victim of brutal hate crime. The only thing different in this case from the Rajsamand gruesome murder video of a Mulsim man was of religion. The young man was a Hindu and the woman was a Muslim.

But the Ankit Saxena incident is now coming into prominence and is being held up to illustrate the popular social and political narrative these days — where Hindus are victims. But what is not being said is how this is a result of the poisonous social churning that the country is undergoing. His murder shows that the communal tensions that one had assumed existed mostly in corners have travelled to the capital.

It is Muzaffarnagar everywhere now.

Every conversation about secularism these days is drowned out by an onslaught of abuse unleashed by organised Right-wing groups, online or in real life.

Raghubir Nagar is engulfed in anger with heavy armed police security deployment since the murder. The residents claim that they have never seen this tense atmosphere. The Bajrang Dal activists are going around shutting the shops and work places calling for boycott of the family while the police look on. In the past, we have seen many cases of hate crime but this stands out because it is a reaction to the past inaction of the governments in the Centre and the states that allowed emotions to come to a boil.

Just a few weeks ago, the Rajsamand man was seen murdering a young Muslim man in the viral video till his cries fell silent. Identified as Shambhu Lal, the murderer then turned towards the camera and issued a menacing warning against “love jihad”.

To an outsider, these religious insecurities around “Love Jihad” might appear ridiculous and a product of overly active imagination, but in many parts of India with mixed population, it is becoming an excuse for hate crimes.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that India has seen a rise in the number of hate crimes against the Muslim community since the Hindu Right-wing forces became dominant. They are called ‘fringe groups’ but they have managed to create an environment of hate and cause widespread communal tension between communities. The gau-rakshaks have come into major prominence and faced criticism within the country and internationally for the series of murders that took place last year.

But in spite of the criticism they faced and the evidence, the accused in Pehlu Khan’s case were acquitted by the state police and the victims charged with cow smuggling. Even though Shambhu Lal admits on tape why he murdered the Muslim labourer, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi issued a statement saying it was not a case of love jihad but was a “criminal incident”.

We are living in the times of a “hate epidemic” where the price of making the mistake of loving is paid by innocent lives such as that of Ankit Saxena. A country where the law allows two adults to make their own choices when it comes to what to eat and who to love, this “state-fanned hatred” is killing not just its people but also its Constitution.

Gurmehar Kaur is a writer and student activist.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. Inapt — Muzaffarnagar riots were caused by adherents of THE WORST HATECRIME OF HISTORY, the cult-of-pieces misbehaving with a Hindu Jat woman — there was NOT any attempt at marriage involved there!

  2. yup completely ignore what quran the holy word of a retard man the muhhamad says, suffering from dis-associative identity disorder he wrote j the name of allah to kill all infidels. never pay attention to those dangerous words written just cry foul for society as a whole.

  3. Hindu kills Muslims = Hindu monster
    Muslim kills Hindu = poor Muslim forced to do so coz bjp in power

    Get a life gurmehar.. if it were not for right wing, this incident won’t even get reported

    A simple google search wil tel u about Muslim atrocities on Hindus and the various hideously communal organisations they have forms across country

    Get over ur fixation for Bajrang dal n do some unbiased research

    N if u can’t write sthg unbiased, don’t write

  4. In india young adult people are treated as slaves of parents, traditions, society : let young people be free to make choices of job, marriage, friendship.

    How long can this slave system be tolerated?

    How long can violence and murder be tolerated that is used to enforce this slave system?

    • First ask the contractors of your holy religion to live and let you all youngster live peacefully.Perhaps then your comment will make sense to me.

  5. Another leftist propoganda…….they are just passing the buck……in every case where Muslim is victim the blame leviathan monster of Hindu communalism……but when Hindu is victim they cry foul and blame the misguidance of Muslim as they have been forced to do such henious act as if they have compelled by venomous Hindu communalist…..

    • Agreed Shashank… for these Leftist Pseudo secularist.. its always Hindus to be blamed.. even when Hindu boy/Hindu girl are the victims !!

    • I too felt the article became misleading somewhere in between. It started with contempt of Ankit’s murder but ironically went down to critisise hindus for it. I don’t understand why the voice of dissent picks up all the malfunctionings of govt. and associates it with something completely unrelated in order to voice their fury !

  6. Correct description of the prevailing situation and it’s background. The atmosphere is of exaggerating the individual incidents through the videos & motivated trolls, to suit a particular political end by giving it hues of religous colours. Your stand on Delhi ABVP issue & subsequent support from civil society did reduce those incidents, especially because their conduct resulted in loss in the University body elections at various places.
    Time now is to ensure that such a narrative is defeated at the polls. It’s the only way to save us from future communal disaster.
    You are an excellent role model Gurmehar … Stay blessed ?‍♀️

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