India: terror on train
The frightening incident on a long distance train in India, where a railway security official shot dead four people in what appears to be a hate crime targeting Muslims, is another reminder of how deeply ingrained bigotry has become in parts of India. The Railway Protection Force constable reportedly shot dead a senior colleague on the moving train before moving across nine carriages to kill three Muslim passengers before he was disarmed and arrested.
The attacker also went on an anti-Muslim tirade — which some train passengers recorded and shared online — in which he accused all Indian Muslims of having ties to Pakistan and said anyone who wants to live in India should only vote for “Modi” or “Yogi”, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He quickly added, “and your Thackeray”, referring either to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, or more likely, Uddhav’s late father Bal Thackeray — who like Modi and Yogi was an outright bigot and supporter of majoritarian terrorism. Uddhav, on the other hand, has been a relative moderate — not particularly a friend of Muslims or Pakistan, but certainly not an icon for a religious terrorist.
But the fact that the murderer actually named Modi and Yogi in his rant stands out, especially since the two leaders, who are both from the ruling BJP, failed to condemn the incident. Even the party has not condemned the incident so far. In true bigoted fashion, Yogi’s public statements since the attack have focused on trying to strip a mosque of its status and inserting dubious ‘Hindutva-approved’ material into the school curriculum. Modi, who has been blamed for the Gujarat pogrom and other communal violence, already has the blood of thousands of Muslims on his hands, so the fact he is unconcerned by three more dead is unsurprising.
Unfortunately, while Modi publicly claims “there is no space for any discrimination” in his government, the truth is that, at the bare minimum, his government keeps turning a blind eye to such violence.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2023.
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