By Wahidul Islam for TwoCircles.net
The nation has unfolded into a new kind of chaos, digital chaos. Social media like Facebook, Twitter are flooded with unprecedented numbers of posts with abusive languages.
With upcoming elections in Bihar and UP in 2017, BJP and their affiliate organisations has thrown all their energy and might to manipulate the sentiments of majority vote bank by igniting religious sentiments. Recent brutal murder of Akhlaq by Hindu extremists over the rumours of beef eating have opened a new front for BJP to further communalise the already volatile environment and to grab maximum benefits by exploiting the issue of Cow slaughter.
Modi’s so called digital Indians have left no stones unturned to show their love for mother cow and to prove Muslims as the killers of holy cow. With thousands of abusive arguments and counter arguments filling spaces in social media, no one is winning or losing, whether the majority or minority, it is India which is losing slowly and slipping towards chaos and uncertainty.
Whether Hindu or Muslim, most of those social media active class hurling abuses at each other are neither too religious nor experts in their religion. Most of them reacts out of common emotions. In beef eaters part, many have been posting pictures of people eating beef in Kerala in protest against beef ban.
Many have been copy pasting some excerpts of Manusmriti to show if beef allowed in Hindu religion. Many of them may be right in their own arguments. But what we have to remember is that we cannot teach a whole nation neither we can suggest the majority to accept beef eating by quoting from their own religious scriptures. The reason is simple, they won’t accept people from other religion to give lesson about their own religion.
Also posting pictures of Hindus eating beef will mostly provoke their sentiments and may be counterproductive. Parties like BJP and like want to exploit this issue at best to manipulate the sentiments of Hindu people which will give them benefits in upcoming elections. This is a crucial time not only for the minorities of India but also for every Indian with liberal thoughts.
People of all religion has to be extra careful and responsible while sharing anything in the public platforms. Being active in social media, we need to condemn all kind of hate mongering activities, killings and atrocities such as the brutal murder of Akhlaq.
We also need to assure each other that we can be mutually respectful to each other’s religion. As a Muslim we need to assure that we won’t do anything which could directly effects the sentiments of Hindu in my neighbourhood and we expect the same from them too. We have to also make them realise that Muslim live matters as much as Hindu lives. After all a peaceful India is most crucial to everyone’s existence whether Muslim or Hindu.