There is all-round discussion on tolerance (or
intolerance) in the country. A country where the majority community has always
upheld the philosophy of Sarva Dharma Sambhava (all religions are equal or lead
to the same goal) is today being placed in the dock by elements whose own
credibility or even integrity is questionable.
There is a radical leader, who threatened to
annihilate the entire majority community of the country within the space of a
few minutes only if the police were withdrawn from the scene. He is not only
alive and kicking but is basking in the glory of state tolerance. A film-maker
makes fun of Lord Shiva in his production, and yet continues to have millions
of admirers across the country. A politician uses the most un-parliamentary
epithets for the Prime Minister of the country, and he is wielding power in one
of the biggest states of the country. If there was intolerance in the country,
as is alleged, the man who threatened to wipe out the entire majority community
would have been despatched by now, the celebrity who made fun of Lord Shiva
would probably have been behind bars today, and the politician abusing the
Prime Minister would have been sent to some gulag. The truth is that there has
been too much of tolerance in this country, too much of
democracy and too much of freedom of expression.
All these are being abused in a manner which is taxing the patience of the
majority community, making a mockery of our democratic institutions, and some
people, including sections of the media, are getting away with irresponsible
utterances and depictions ad nauseam.
This is, however, not to deny that there are clowns
and irresponsible persons in the majority community also who should have been
thrown out of the party or at least gagged. They make provocative statements
from time to time, asking someone to go to Pakistan et al, but no action is
taken against them. People in authority do not realise that their inaction is
contributing to radicalisation of segments of the youth.
All said and done, there is still a strong case for
shades of intolerance in the country. There are four areas where we
particularly need to be uncompromising. First is in the area of corruption. The
Prime Minister rightly said in one of his speeches, “Na khaunga, na khane
doonga (Neither I shall take bribe nor shall I allow anyone to take bribe)”.
There has been some drop in big-ticket corruption at the highest levels.
However, for the common man, there is no relief yet. Day-to-day corruption is
as rampant as before. The Lok Pal is yet to be installed. At the state level,
things have in fact deteriorated.
The second important area is that of Swachh Bharat.
It was a great idea by the Prime Minister, but progress on the ground has been
disappointing. Even in Delhi, one can see garbage and filth all around. The
chief ministers have shown hardly any commitment in cleaning up their stables.
Rivers continue to be polluted. The Ganga is virtually gasping for life. The
Yamuna is as good as a drain.
The criminal justice system, which according to
Justice Malimath is almost collapsing, also calls for a degree of intolerance.
The police have to be made accountable to the people and they must uphold the
rule of law and protect the human rights of citizens. Judicial delays have to
be addressed. It is a mockery of justice that disposal of cases takes decades.
Terrorism must not be given any quarters. Political
considerations have prevented us from going hammer and tongs against this
pernicious evil. The UK and France are strengthening their anti-terror laws.
Are we going to do that only after disaster strikes us? The threat of Islamic
State is staring us in the face. Are we prepared to face the onslaught of
radical Islam? The security architecture is quite fragile. There has been no
effort to reinforce it in the recent past. The National Counter Terrorism
Centre appears to have been forgotten.
Tolerance is a great virtue, but stretched to an
extreme it becomes counterproductive. Nothing in excess, said the ancient
Greeks. In any case, there are certain areas where intolerance, or zero
tolerance as politicians like to call it, is a virtue.
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