Udaipur incident: A barbaric killing

Worst response to the incident is the temptation to politicise it and use it for political, communal and other narrow ends

The macabre killing of a person in Udaipur and the public display of that horrific act on social media is the lowest point the country has reached in its recent descent into a culture of hatred and barbarism. There are multiple sensitivities involved in it and danger points that can lead the country to deeper abysses than marked by this incident. Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor by profession, had made a tweet in support of Nupur Sharma who had recently created a controversy with her objectionable comments on Prophet Mohammed. Two persons, who have since been identified and arrested, attacked and beheaded the tailor and put out the gory details of the act on social media. There is high tension in Udaipur, where curfew and other restrictive orders are in place, and the tension has spilled over to other parts of Rajasthan and outside. The action was most reprehensible and should be condemned in the strongest terms. It is a welcome sign that it has evoked such condemnation and strong responses from all over the country, irrespective of politics, religion and community.

While condemnations are right and legitimate, the worst response to the incident is the temptation to politicise it and to use it for political, communal and other narrow ends. It is a terrible and inhuman act, not to be seen as an attack on one community, nor even as the defence of another. The killers defended nothing and nobody with their heinous action. It is a wayward and criminal act of two rabid and perhaps perverted individuals who do not represent their community. It should be treated as such and the two, along with any others who may be linked to them, should be brought before the law and justice should be delivered at the earliest. A Pakistani hand has been seen, fishing in troubled waters in a communally polarised India, and it must be probed.

It is unfortunate that the gruesome images of the act circulated in social media. The authorities should have taken steps to stop the spread of such inflammatory material which has the potential to create strife. It is also not an issue that should pit the Centre against the state. The temptation to use it for political gains would be high, especially when Rajasthan is headed for polls, but that would be wrong. The country does not gain from communal confrontations and strife, it is only weakened by them. Governments should take steps to avert any repercussions of the incident and it should be ensured that there is no misleading information and provocative actions that can lead to trouble.