The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Appalling

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Monday, Nov 26, 2007
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Appalling

Unfortunately, the rally taken out by the All-Adivasi Students’ Association in Guwahati on Saturday, to press for the inclusion of the Santal adivasis and the tea tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes, turned violent claiming a life. According to official and media reports, the adivasis invited retaliatory action by breaking security cordons and going on the rampage. This argument is unacceptable. Why did the police not take adequate action in anticipation when they knew that a rally was taking place? Increasingly, the people are taking the law into their own hands all over India. Governments should take serious note of this tendency.

K. Shabeeb Rahiman,

Bantwal

* * *

The photographs of a man kicking two adivasis with the people around him watching, and a woman being dragged by a local resident (Nov. 25) should make all of us hang our heads in shame. The law and order machinery and the criminal justice system are to blame for the appalling state of affairs. One never hears of stringent action taken against those who perpetrate crimes against Dalits or lynch petty offenders. It is time we had an effective law that could deter anarchic mob behaviour.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin,

Kadapa

* * *

It is obvious that the oppressed sections took to the streets to press their demands. The photograph of a hapless Adivasi woman being dragged tells it all. When the opponent is meek, the oppressor is unduly brutal. The marchers’ violence cannot be justified; but the residents had no business to set upon the rallyists who had already been chased away by the police. The incident coming as it does after a series of incidents of mob fury in Bihar shows the country in a poor light. The culprits of the Guwahati violence should be meted out exemplary punishment.

N.K. Vijayan,

Kizhakkambalam

* * *

The front-page photograph shows the contempt the so-called civilised society has for the democratic aspirations of the downtrodden and the poor. While the state has failed to look beyond “terrorism” and “law and order” in the northeast, civilised society has failed to appreciate the basic aspirations of the masses. The Hindu deserves praise for exposing the ‘real’ face of modern civilisation.

N. Divakar,

Mysore

* * *

If the picture of a man kicking a tribal protester does not trouble the conscience of all right-thinking people, nothing will. India might have made great economic progress as the government often reminds us, but in social awareness and civilised behaviour there seems to be no progress. This ought to be a matter of great concern to our leaders and opinion makers.

K. Vijayakumar,

Bangalore

* * *

The photographs bear testimony to the barbaric response of civil society to the oppressed, and remind us of the medieval age. By carrying them, The Hindu has proved that the print media are no less effective than the visual media. What is surprising about the Guwahati episode is that the police seemed to be nowhere around. Or were they watching the fleeing protesters being beaten up? If this is the state of affairs in a capital city, one can imagine how the downtrodden sections live in remote rural areas.

S. Bhaskara Rao,

Bangalore

* * *

It is a bitter truth that whenever the downtrodden sections demand their rights and justice, they are forcefully suppressed. But it is equally true that sacrifice never goes waste — a fact that is evident from the history of Jharkhand and its people.

Suggi Murmu,

Jamshedpur

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