Indian writer, scholar, and rationalist Mr. MM Kalburgi was murdered a few days back outside his residence. He was under the radar of some fanatic organizations for his views on religion, especially Hinduism. Finally, he was murdered like some other thinkers like Dr. Narendra Dabholkar and CPI leader Mr. Govind Panse. These three murders symbolize the recent disturbing trend of prevailing intolerance in Indian society where people who dare to challenge the status quo or whose thoughts are not in alignment with the majority are attacked or eliminated. As if these murders are not serious and disturbing enough there is a glaring silence about these barbaric acts, it looks like people expect these things to happen. Only a certain section of society is questioning these acts, the media and most people are busy debating some celebrity kid murder or some other issues. No doubt that any murder should be condemned and covered by the media, but one can easily see the purposeful ignorance of media which shows which direction we are moving as a society.
Disagreeing with someone's ideas or thoughts, criticizing them, or questioning them is an acceptable way of debate and discussion in any civilized society. But physically attacking people, threatening them, forcing them to resign from their jobs, and forcing them to withdraw their articles and books are signs of an intolerant and barbaric society. The environment of fear and unwanted aggression is not conducive to the intellectual growth of any society. Many countries in this world live in this type of environment, and we can see what is their situation today. India by large is perceived as a very tolerant and inclusive society, the very diverse nature of its population is proof of this. Whatever success it achieved as a country can be largely attributed to this tolerant nature where intellectuals were not scared to express their opinions and ideas. But the occurrence of such incidents put a big question mark on this claim. A society that fails to protect its intellectuals will also fail to protect its intellect. The display of such unwanted aggression towards intellectuals is totally unwanted and I am amazed that respective governments didn't react strongly against any of these murders. The whole of India was on the roads after that infamous Delhi gang rape and people protested against that inhuman crime, these murders are also in the same category. They are equally shameful, disturbing, and inhumane acts. The protection and safety of intellectuals of society is important, especially when in such a hostile environment. If this aggression and attacks are in any way a result of the recent change of political situation in India, then it should be a matter of big concern to the current ruling party of India (BJP). They should not hesitate to take all required actions to remove this atmosphere of fear and insecurity. I hope these incidents are not taken lightly, I know that these murders won't make any media headlines or won't find a place on the front page of national newspapers, but these things are concerning. Such incidents can decay the social fabric slowly and if ignored they can result in serious damage to India in the long term.
I strongly register my protest against these attacks. I am deeply hurt and pained to see that some people are attacked and murdered just for expressing their thoughts. These murders are no different than the recent killings of some bloggers in Bangladesh. I hope people from India (as well as Bangladesh) take serious note of this attack on freedom of expression and act to bring back that tolerant and fearless environment. I hope people learn to agree to disagree and carry on discussion rather than choosing the path of violence. I offer my sincere tribute to these brave free thinkers who dared to express themselves even in a very hostile environment, I salute their braveness and courage with which they fought against all odds, I hope the society for which they sacrificed their lives won't forget their sacrifice and their thoughts.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
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