The Hindu, October 14, 2011
Editorial: Dangerous culture of intolerance
It speaks to the deeply divisive times we live in that Team Anna activist and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan was savagely assaulted in his own chamber — and in the full glare of television cameras — for the “crime” of saying something that his attackers disapproved of. In the past, intolerant groups who seem to have no problem breaking the law with impunity, have targeted writers, artists, journalists, scholars, and activists whose work they did not like. Mr. Bhushan has lately been in the public eye for going full-throttle against high-level corruption, both in his capacity as a lawyer and as part of Anna Hazare's spectacularly-mounted and hugely resonant Jan Lokpal Bill campaign. As a petitioner in the 2G scam case, he has taken on some of the most powerful names in politics and industry. Yet if Mr. Bhushan has rendered himself vulnerable today, it is for his daring work in the field of civil liberties. In recent years, he has braved criticism to defend those accused of terrorism, taken up the cause of Binayak Sen and spoken out against the violation of human rights in Kashmir. Indeed, Mr. Bhushan was set upon in his office by right-wing fanatics because he suggested at a conference on Kashmir that a referendum may be an option failing other measures such as withdrawal of the Army and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. That the Ram Sena activists had worked themselves into a frenzy ahead of the attack is evident from a YouTube clip containing the speech in question. In the digitally altered clip, Mr. Bhushan appears with his face blackened, and there is a warning to Anna for harbouring a traitor: Brashtachari ko phansi to desh drohi ko kya? (You are advocating death to the corrupt, what about traitors?)
The brazen manner of the attack on Mr. Bhushan — with the goons obviously enjoying being on camera — exposes the extent to which lawlessness and intolerance have corroded the Indian political culture. The attack is also proof — if any were needed — that corruption and communalism cannot be fought separately. If anything, today's right-wing intolerance is a product of the failure of past anti-corruption campaigns to recognise the dangers of communalism. The RSS was an integral part of the anti-corruption movements of 1977 and 1989, and the Anna campaign too suffers from the perception that its ranks have been permeated by RSS foot soldiers. Fortunately, Team Anna has dissociated itself from the dubious elements that once shared its anti-corruption plank. It must also help the group that it can count among its members men of such impeccable credentials as Mr. Bhushan. For once the UPA government must shed its customary apathy and proactively prosecute the culprits in the case, especially in the light of Thursday's ‘follow-up' attack by Ram Sena thugs on supporters of Mr. Bhushan. For its part, Team Anna needs to be as watchful of right-wing ascendancy as it is of all-pervasive corruption.
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Mail Today, 14 October 2011
Editorial: Come down hard on those who threaten free speech
WEDNESDAY’S attack on Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and the beating up of his supporters outside the Patiala House court complex on Thursday, is deplorable. It is shameful that petty goons can act with such impunity — beating up people just because of the political views they hold. One may not agree with Mr Bhushan’s statement that a plebiscite be held in Jammu and Kashmir, and the people be given the right to self- determination. But these should be contested at an appropriate forum. Such vigilantism is a direct attack on the freedom of speech and has no place in a democracy.
One disturbing aspect of the attack is the perverse form of nationalism espoused by the perpetrators. The mastermind — Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, president of an organisation called the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena — went to the extent of proclaiming Mr Bhushan a traitor and justified the attack with an obnoxious tweet: “ he tried to break my country, so I tried to break his head”. Far from being genuinely influenced by the revolutionary Bhagat Singh, Bagga and his associates are nothing but publicity- crazy goons who carry out violence under the garb of nationalism. Moreover, Bagga’s accomplice Inder Verma is the Delhi president of the infamous Sri Ram Sene — an outfit which was exposed as inciting riots for money.
The police must take exemplary action against such people. They have had a history of violent acts in Delhi and if they are not dealt with firmly, they will go the way of the Shiv Sena in Mumbai.
The Sri Ram Sene’s Sangh Parivar links are well known and Bagga, too, claims to have been part of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP must dissociate itself from such entities.
It cannot claim to be part of a democratic setup, yet continue to have links with vigilantes.
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