India is a secular democratic republic. But evidently, many citizens have not been able to recognise the fact that hate crimes are unforgivable and heavily punishable. Predominantly a Hindu-majority country, the rest of the world looks up to India as a path-finding nation primarily because the ‘Hindus’ practise the Sanatana faith, which is eternally relevant to any mankind in any civilisation.

The expression ‘Hindu’ has been coined by Persians who could not pronounce the river ‘Sindhu’ comfortably. Technically, Hindustan is that politically recognised land through which the Sindhu or Indus flows. Today, the Indus flows mainly through Pakistan which should logically be called ‘Hindustan’.

European explorers including the Portuguese and the Spanish named the country ‘Inde’. The British masterminds made it India. So, the expression ‘Hindu’ has nothing to do with religion; it is essentially a geographic concept.

Only a few days ago, Naveen Patnaik, who does strongly believe in secularism and the basic tenet of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Hinduism, seemed to suffer a great deal as mobs went on sprees of lynching innocent cow traders, beef eaters, no matter from whichever faith, and killed in public glare absolutely helpless people wrongly accused of child abduction and women practising witchcraft.

Thus, mobocracy is the normal order in many parts of the country today. So, over very trivial skirmishes, even altercations between groups of people in the same community, guns and swords are pulled out to kill or injure opponents grievously.

No one is safe today in India, it seems. One of the biggest causes of spreading hate within no time is the social media, which actually is thoroughly ‘antisocial’ in effect. Every tiny or big mobster is finding it amusing to post gross falsehood which go viral in minutes. And violent acts are reported within no time.

Lately, there is news everyday of people being beaten to death or lynched for allegedly stealing motorbikes, making catcalls at girls and eating whatever flesh they liked and more.

The content-hungry media is encashing on that. India is thus being increasingly defamed as a violent society.

The Supreme Court has taken strong cognisance of the disturbing facts and slammed the Federal Government and the State administrations to wake up fast and bring in place mechanisms to prevent such acts of violence which are literally barbarous and not acceptable in any civilised society.

The court has also hinted clearly at failure of governments due to lack of a political will as the prevailing laws are adequately fit and fine to take care of the disturbing situation. IPC Section 153 A is just superbly potent to nab any perpetrators born out of mobocracy.

Section 153A is to be invoked when one witnesses instances of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, birthplace, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance harmony by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, linguistic or regional groups or castes or communities or commits any act which is prejudicial to maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquility, 2[or] 2[(c) organises any exercise, movement, drill or other similar activity intending that the participants in such activity shall use or be trained to use criminal force or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, or participates in such activity intending to use or be trained to use criminal force or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, against any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community and such activity for any reason whatsoever causes or is likely to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of such religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, ) shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

Offence committed in place of worship, etc.—(2) Whoever commits an offence specified in sub-section (1) in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.] Yet the enforcement agencies, mainly the enslaved police personnel, do not act according to law maybe due to political compulsions or lack of integrity or laxity in performing duty.

As legal luminaries believe the prevailing legal provisions only need to be invoked instantly and action taken without prejudice. No new law is necessary.

Naveen Patnaik foresaw these grave situations quite in good time and proposed to the Union Government to take measures so as to incorporate a component of nonviolence at least in the Preamble of the Constitution of India. But the BJP Government did not seem to care.

Dharmendra Pradhan, projected as the local BJP face, only keeps struggling to prove in vain the blunders of the BJD which, like any other party, has its own flimsy, negligible flaws on record that have hardly anything to do with public interest.

Lately, Pradhan has mastered the art of aping Modi and Amit Shah, believing that the two top leaders are the wisest on the living planet. After repeatedly failing to nab the BJD credibly on any public front, they have now stuck to trivial issues like temple trove keys and similar tiny matters. The BJP biggies, who are really not rated high by the Odisha public, keep focus on the Jagannath Temple imagining the devotees will side with the saffron colour blindly.

Incidentally, the Jagannath Temple issues are being resolved steadily and effectively. To the delight of all, the Supreme Court has ruled that the reforms as suggested by the local District Judge be implemented forthwith as that would lead to devotees being at peace, thereby upholding the dignity of the Odia race as nonviolent and truly hospitable.

Most unfortunately, the Car Festival is being projected as a State-sponsored one. In a secular republic, the State’s role in any religious festival is strictly limited to maintaining law and order due to huge congregation of people. Even during the British rule, the administration took ample care to keep pilgrims and devotees safe and comfortable by providing facilities that prevented riot, epidemic and communal tension in any manner.

Shockingly, the on-duty servitors, whose number should never have exceeded 120 or so at any given point in time, is now hovering around a few thousands. That itself is an anarchic situation which sometimes leads to berserk and riotous behaviour of the servitors while trying to make the most personal benefits.

No one is sure how the temple ‘Record of Rites’ got termed as the ‘Record of Rights’ and why no researcher on the temple history has failed to mark this blunder. The ‘Record of Rites’ explains explicitly the rituals and who should perform what and in what manner and what wage be given on a particular basis.

But now, some frontline servitors claim the right to have any newborn male baby older than only 21 days as a servitor with a full claim on earnings from the temple sources.

The State took over the temple administration only because lax, lazy and callous Gajapati kings entrusted by the British only to manage the temple well did nothing to serve the deities and had a great time eating away property and valuables under their care and meant to be spent on the temple rituals. They had of course a right to live and survive with dignity by claiming a little from the temple property and produce.

The State administration has to come heavily on any element causing disruption in public order or being unruly and violent for personal benefits.

The Supreme Court has a great job after a woman Odia lawyer provoked the court. The Puri District Judge shall remain in history for having a commendable job completed in an incredibly record time. And that indicates the Lord is waking up to take care of all!

(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)

Apex court furious over mobocracy; Naveen had warned quite in time