MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi is in the news for his arrest because of the hate speech he delivered in a town near Hyderabad. His arrest can be called a very brave and much-needed step to counter the evil of hate politics. The case is already in court and we have to wait and see what will be the outcome of this case. At least some action has been taken about the hate speech, so let's wait and watch.
This is not the first incident where a political leader has delivered such a speech. We have a long history of speeches like this, and many names can be mentioned. We can argue about who started it, how many people got away, why Mr. Akbaruddin should be punished, and things like that. One can take many names apart from Owaisi like Late Balasaheb Thackeray, Praveen Togadia, Uma Bharati, Sadhvi Ritambara, Varun Gandhi, Digvijay Singh, Narendra Modi, and many more. The list is huge, and they all delivered some type of speech against some community or group that created controversy and communal unrest. There can be many arguments and counterarguments. One can justify some speeches as a need of time, as a reaction to a certain incident, or just as provocative speech rather than hate speech. The fact is that these speeches created some disturbance in society, and were used to get some political mileage. Our system failed miserably to punish these people or sometimes protected and encouraged such speeches. We have to start somewhere, so why not now, and why not with Owaisi?
Owaisi's speech has all the characteristics of hate speech and it demands to be punished. It spreads venom against Hindus, calls for civil war, and includes many things that are regularly used in these types of speeches. For example, talking about some tragic incidents from the past to challenge people's emotions and incite them to take revenge for the past incident that is no longer relevant today. Normally these speeches try to spread perceptions like the majority is trying to suppress or exploit the minority (if it's delivered by some minority leader) or the minority is getting an unfair advantage and crossing their line (if delivered by some majority leader) and things like this. Political parties and leaders use some of these theories, and some incidents to sensationalize some issues and challenge people's emotions. They bring caste, religion, region, state, or whatever can help them to divide and rule. Their intention is to create a polarized society and a loyal vote bank, which can vote for them no matter what. Many times, they are successful in creating their own brand in state or national politics and this success encourages more people to try this formula, that's why we need to stop this somewhere.
People like Akbaruddin Owaisi are not present only in a particular religion or belong only to certain political parties, they are present in every party. Every party needs people like him to appease their vote bank, they deliver some controversial statements from time to time to keep the fire of tension burning. They keep the media busy and try to be in the news. We need to put an end to this type of politics. Such politicians need to know that people are not going to get fooled by these statements anymore. I know that many of these issues or incidents they mention in their speeches require serious investigation, and culprits need to be punished. Various governments at the state or national levels failed to address many of these problems in a timely manner which allowed such leaders to flourish and prosper. These types of leaders claim to express the feelings of people who feel marginalized in their own country or state. In some cases the current establishment allows these types of leaders or parties to grow purposely for short-term political gains.
Any single political party can not be solely blamed for this type of politics. Some are more vicious compared to others, but the blame has to be on the entire system, including regulators. They are all in this game together and we are also playing this game with them. We are also responsible for this mess. They are not going to stop on their own. We need to put an end to such hate politics. We need to tell them that they are not going to get our votes based on hate politics. We are not going to listen to this crap anymore, we need to be loud and we need to be very clear. Let's not encourage this anymore. After all, the choice is ours because this country is ours and these leaders are also our own leaders, and we have the power to make them as well as fix them if they are not functioning properly.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
References:
1. Owaisi sent to 14 day judicial custody
2. YouTube link for Owaisi's speech
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