Reduced public tolerance level in India - where are we heading?

During the last few months, there has been an alarming increase in physical and verbal attacks on people expressing political disagreements, especially against the BJP. Any difference of opinion or alternate view is not welcomed, any negative comment is not taken in the right spirit, and even constructive criticism is ridiculed or attacked for no reason. There are organized efforts not to allow discussion on any topic which raises some uncomfortable questions, every attempt is made to shoot the messenger. Recent physical and verbal assaults of some people opposing BJP's policies are examples of such extreme intolerant behavior. Many people justify these actions, they try to justify these violent physical and verbal assaults by using whatever reasoning they can come up with. This attitude is not only dangerous but also harmful for any civilized society, it is especially bad for a country like India which is aiming to become a superpower or a developed nation. Without a free and fearless society, it will be impossible to achieve real development and progress. Without an open and fair exchange of thoughts, and debates on every subject it is impossible to become a developed nation.

These types of incidents have become very common during this election season, especially because supporters of the BJP are very aggressive in attacking people who oppose their ideology or question their leader (Mr. Modi). Respective parties do condemn such incidents if the issue gets too much media attention but no apology is offered or warning is issued to perpetrators not to repeat such mistakes. Maybe they think this helps their campaign that's why they provide their tacit approval as they can't support such attacks openly. This time I also experienced such verbal attacks on a few occasions on social networking forums like Facebook. Some of my comments questioning BJP's agenda or Mr. Modi's performance as CM in Gujarat received some hateful comments from some BJP supporters. They used derogatory language and called me various names (sickular, pseudo intellectual, communist, AAPtard, etc.), and their tone was threatening and insulting. I deleted many of these comments from my wall after warning them not to use such language. I deleted these things because I didn't want such filth to stay on my Facebook wall, but their tone was alarming and threatening. I stopped engaging in such types of discussions as I realized the futility of engaging in such useless conversations. Then I read many reports in the media about many such attacks in the cyber world and even many physical attacks on people. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in those attacks but the occurrence of such incidents is very alarming. In the past none of the political discussions I was involved in reached to threatening or derogatory level. This is a very organized effort to silence political opponents.

Tolerance and patience are very necessary attributes of any civilized society. Without free and fair discussion about various topics and issues, we can not find proper solutions to our problems. Differences of opinion should not only be tolerated but also be encouraged, it's always good to see both sides of any issue before making any conclusions. The role of opposition is very crucial in any functioning democracy. Such political violence should not be encouraged, everyone has the right to express their opinion and share their ideas. People involved in such acts of violence should be charged and punished for violating the right of freedom of expression of other people. True democratic society debates over issues and chooses the path of discussion and peace over violence to solve political problems or to settle differences of opinion. When such people don't get punished by law, don't get reprimanded by their own party's top leaders they get encouraged to repeat such acts. Top leaders don't engage in any such acts, they are not affected by these things but their silence and willful ignorance of such acts is considered as tacit approval. If such incidents are so rampant before the elections then people have every reason to be concerned about what will happen if such parties (BJP in this case) come in power. Such attacks are especially dangerous for minorities and people who choose to voice disagreement against the majority. Bullying in any shape or form is wrong, everyone in society should be treated with equal dignity and respect. I hope that better sense prevails among people and they show more mature behavior. I hope that political leadership in respective parties take all necessary steps so that their party workers and followers don't engage in any such acts in the future. There is a serious concern that such attacks may increase if the BJP and its allies come into power in the center, I hope these concerns and worries don't become a reality. I want them to prove me wrong and demonstrate that no matter which party forms the government differences of opinion, and alternate views are always welcomed, and freedom of expression won't be curbed for anyone.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]