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INBOXED co-existence , openness and dialogue .”
How true and appropriate will those words be if they are addressed to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad , the Bajrang Dal , the Ram Sena , Hanuman Sena , the anti-Romeo squads and some ministers who reject this ‘ path of wisdom ’. It will be a great service to our nation if our prime minister delivers his Shangri-La speech in India itself .
Ceaseless Ire ON E-MAIL Mahesh Kapasi : This refers to Autumnal Thaw : An Open Script ( June 25 ). It is disheartening to note that Shujaat Bhukari , who was working on bringing peace back to the Valley , was killed . But this is not the first time a journalist has been murdered for fair reporting . Reporting the truth is becoming most dangerous — but this also proves again that the pen is mightier than the sword .
HYDERABAD J . N . Bhartiya : The unilateral ceasefire during the month of Ramzan wreaked havoc in Kashmir . Thankfully , it has been abandoned , but it exposed the inanity of the move
HOME OP Rajnath Singh in Kashmir
for amity in the face of the perpetual hostility of communal marauders in Pakistan and their hirelings in India . The Kashmir government is bereft of moral aut hority with so many people killed by militants notwithstanding the sacred fast under the ceasefire ’ s protective cover . But deferring military action — a real possibility — to the eve of the 2019 elections in order to garner votes shows a lack of humaneness and a surfeit of Machiavellianism . We need a bold and straightforward government to deal with the Kashmir issue .
Barbarity Check
MUMBAI Vinod Kumar : History is not the exclusive proprietor of barbarity Digital Bombs of Mob Violence ( June 25 ). We often throw the word ‘ uncivilised ’ to mean something not in sync with the modern condition . Look around you — is it really so ? The new wave of barbarity that currently holds sway in India will debunk all convenient assumptions . Brutal lynchings spurred by nothing concrete but accumulated and fanned hate have become the order of the day . Murder by mobs functioning under the term ‘ gaurakshak ’ have alr e- ady become the norm . They no longer shock the collective conscience . The ‘ child abductor ’ lynchings stirred something in us because they are a new phenomenon . It won ’ t be surprising if another similar incident exhausts news value beyond the reportage pages of newspapers . Such is the nature of news , it renders repeated incidents mundane . But nothing gets lost altogether . Only , the violence shifts to the background . And as we continue to build our lives in the foreground , a disturbing hum continues to haunt our existence .
LUCKNOW M . C . Joshi : After the attacks on the eve of Eid , the Centre was justified in not extending the Ramzan ceasefire and having the security forces resume operations . Pakistan-backed militants have hijacked the Kashmir peace agenda and sabotage every effort for peace in the Valley . Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his recent visit said the government was ready for dialogue with anyone and everyone , including the separatists , but the separatists have their own conditions for dialogue that cannot be acceptable to any government in Delhi . The situation is quite murky and the question — will it all end in dialogue ?— has no answer for now . However , Kashmir cannot be left at the mercy of jackboots , separatists and militants forever . Firm and decisive action is needed .
Myth-Crazed Mobs
GUWAHATI Ashim Kumar Chakraborty : This refers to Digital Bombs of Mob violence ( June 25 ). I would like to add a few more words regarding the inhuman , barbaric killings of Abhijit Nath and Nilotpal Das of Guwahati . Superstition is an omnipresent societal curse in Assam . Assam has seen plenty of deaths of men and women in the name of black magic and witchcraft . Widows and old people are known to be targets of mob violence in Assam after being tagged child lifters and black magic practitioners by people who were after their properties .
CHENNAI M . Y . Shariff : The mad mob violence and the barbarous instant lynching of suspected accused or innocents by unruly mobs has become a day-to-day narrative of Indian society . It is shameful and shocking . The saner people across the country are wondering whether India is returning to the stone age , when anyone could kill anybody . Child-lifting is a serious issue but the absurd nature of the lynchings merely based on social media rumours is crazy . When there is a government and police in place , shouldn ’ t ‘ suspects ’ identified by the public be first handed over to police for investigation ? Or is there no law and order left in the land ? The police cannot just blame social media . It should be held accountable for its inaction , apathy and lackadaisical approach to serious and heinous crimes . There is no use of running after the horse after it has bolted and no use of making arrests long after the precious lives of people have been lost . Unless the police assert themselves , unless people fear and respect the law , nothing can change . It is no wonder that we will continue to hear horrific and spine-chilling news of such unfortunate lynchings in the future too .
The Murky Woods
SILIGURI Rathi Raj : This refers to # MeMum ( June 11 ) on the “ casting couch ” in Bollywood and elsewhere . Female actors are always under the threat of sexual abuse and blackmail . Without mentioning any particular personalities , it can be inferred that many of the now-famous heroines would have had to deal with this culture of abuse .
6 OUTLOOK 9 July 2018