India be warned: If it’s Tarique, Kanhaiya today, it could be you tomorrow

Tarique Anwar, our reporter, was beaten up by goons — yes, we refuse to call them lawyers — on the court premises a few hours ago. The police stood and watched, the same way they had been mute spectators to a similar attack on Monday. It was a mob that could have killed. Tarique survived. He was lucky. For all those concerned about him, here’s the message: thanks for all the love. There’s nothing to worry now. He is a plucky young man. He does not get scared by cowards. He will be at the Patiala House court tomorrow doing his job. What they should be worried about is what if it is someone else tomorrow? It is immaterial here that a journalist was attacked; the victim of the goons could be just anyone, including you. They would attack in packs like animals in a jungle, and with the police watching, get away with it all. A few minutes before Tarique was attacked, Kanhaiya Kumar, the president of JNU students’ union, was roughed up by the same bunch of goons on the court premises. [caption id=“attachment_2630198” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Firstpost journalist Tariq Anwar was beaten up at the Patiala House Court in New Delhi on Wednesday.[/caption] The person who led the attack was involved in the assault on a CPM activist on Monday. Given the circumstance of Kanhaiya’s case, he was supposed to be under protection. None of it was visible. The question now: if you are not safe in the court premises with the police around, where are you safe? There’s a hint that the government is also supportive of these people. If this is not anarchy then what is it? After the attacks the bunch went around the premises carrying the National Flag and shouting they won’t spare anyone who supports Pakistan or is anti-national in general. If it’s not an insult to the National Flag then we need to either redefine the word insult or presume that the National Flag is some kind of a joke. Tomorrow a bunch of people can gang rape and then walk around proudly carrying the flag. Since when did Mother India need the support of hooligans? Of course, it all comes from a nasty ideology that is in wide circulation these days. It’s a hateful ideology that militates against basic rules of democracy and concern for humanism. It does not believe in tolerance and it’s intrinsically coercive. Its inherent nastiness has attracted a good number of converts over the last few years. And over the last two years they have got the wings to fly and sting. Left unchecked, the current trend would lead to anarchy. This has been debated enough. But the country refuses to wake up to the danger. No action has followed, thanks to political opportunism. The problem is nobody can predict now where it’s going to end and in what ways it is going to damage the democracy. It’s beast that has proved to be dangerous all over the world. Since no one seems keen on intervening on your behalf, it’s better to be careful. If it’s Kanhaiya and Tarique today, it could be you tomorrow.