Prophet row: Violent streets, arbitrary govts

The violence resorted to in some places during last Friday’s protests over the issue of insulting remarks about Prophet Mohammad by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and the party’s Delhi media chief Naveen Jindal was wrong and counterproductive. Nupur Sharma was suspended and Jindal expelled by the party. The protests were held in many states, including UP, West Bengal and Karnataka, demanding Nupur Sharma’s arrest. There were clashes with the police in some places, and two deaths were reported in such clashes in Ranchi. The protests have continued in some places. Citizens have the right to protest peacefully, but violence during protests is wrong and condemnable. No one has the right to destroy public property or harm other people or the police during protests. That would weaken the cause of the protest. That would also give the authorities the opportunity to dub all protests as violent and as part of a conspiracy to upend law and order and create chaos and anarchy. That is what has happened too.

Hundreds of protesters have been arrested and a campaign has been launched to vilify the protests and the protesters. They are called rioters and some have also been summarily punished. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned of strict action against the protesters, and that has come in the form of bulldozer action, as in the case of anti-CAA protesters. A multi-storeyed building owned by a relative of a protester was razed down in Kanpur. The house of an activist and protester in Prayagraj was demolished, though it was owned not by him but by his wife and daughter. In the case of demolitions, the excuse is that the houses are illegal constructions. But only houses belonging to protesters who are Muslims are targeted. The illegality is not verified and there is no due process of law for the action. The bulldozer action of BJP governments has been challenged in many courts. The Supreme Court had stayed such action in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri in April this year. In February, the court had pulled up the UP government for its action against the anti-CAA protesters, which it said it was not in line with due process and violated its guidelines. The message is that protests of any kind will not be allowed and would be dealt with arbitrary, even illegal, means.

It is not just from Muslims that demands for legal action against Nupur Sharma and Jindal have come. The Delhi police has filed FIRs — one against Sharma and another against Jindal and many others, including political activists, social media users, religious personalities and a journalist, for hurting religious sentiments. A single FIR against multiple persons would lead to a dilution of the original offence and weakening of the case.