The riot in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh where 32 people lost their lives is once again attributed to a video that went viral. BJP MLA Sangeet Som was one of those who had circulated a fake video purportedly showing two men being lynched by a mob in UP. The video was apparently filmed at Kawal in the month of August where two Jat brothers were lynched after they shot a Muslim boy for harassing their sister in the village of Kawal. A farmers’ gathering was called later to demand justice for the brothers. It was the attack on farmers after the meet which triggered clashes and spiralled into rioting in several villages. This country is replete with such examples of communal flare-ups due to the insensitivity of a few. India requires a different kind of education and social conditioning. For too long religion had defined people and their actions. A criminal can belong to any religion, caste or community. No religion or social group can be stereotyped as ‘criminal’ or having terroristic proclivities. Unfortunately that has happened all too often. As a result innocent men, women and children become targets of mob attacks.
What is worse is that such communal riots always have their roots in politics. Uttar Pradesh has turned lawless after the Samajwadi Party came to power. All hopes that the young, dynamic chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav would lead the State on the path of progress and development are belied. The Government has barely recovered from the shameful Durga Shakti Nagpal episode where it sided with wrongdoers and punished the IAS officer for putting a stop to criminal activities. No good can come out of a state where the rule of law is compromised again and again and the state police are beholden to their political masters. But UP is not the only state where the rule of law is pulverised. This is what makes India a bad investment destination. Perhaps the downslide of the Indian economy can be attributed to this state of lawlessness which also gives rise to corruption.