The dilemma often faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that he is damned if he does and equally damned if he doesn't. That's not so for the overwhelming majority of Indians, but it holds true for a minuscule but highly voluble group of "secular fundamentalists". This reality was borne out again when he spoke out on the need for communal harmony, appealing to Hindus and Muslims to fight poverty rather than each other. The remark was made during an election rally in Bihar in the context of the recent incidents in Bishada village in Western Uttar Pradesh - where a riotous mob lynched a Muslim man for allegedly consuming beef and storing cow meat in his refrigerator. The lynching came in the wake of rumours that a stray calf had been slaughtered by him and his family members and its flesh eaten.
Without any proof to substantiate the rumour, a call was allegedly given from the loudspeaker of the village temple to avenge this blasphemous act. After killing the head of the family, Mohammad Akhlaq, the mob turned on his son Danish who is currently fighting for his life. The media has feasted on this story for the last fortnight, aided to a significant extent by provocative remarks by radical Hindu and Muslim leaders.
India being an extra-ordinarily violent society, targeted murders or lynching are not uncommon. But the Bishada incident has hogged the headlines for two reasons. First, a section of the media, which has gunned for Modi ever since the Gujarat riots of 2002 and was shell-shocked by the scale of his electoral victory in 2014, is still hunting for an issue with which to nail the Prime Minister. Second, in the backdrop of the frenzied campaign to wrest power in Bihar, the protagonists have found a peg on which to hang their pursuit of polarisation. With the saffron group's extended family showing no remorse over the killing, and secular fundamentalists baying for Narendra Modi's blood, an explosive situation with serious implications for communal harmony has been created and is being assiduously nurtured.
Within hours of the tragic lynching coming to light, the media - social media in particular - was agog with vociferous demands for the Prime Minister to speak out. Since Mr Modi is an avid user of the Twitter, his critics pointed out that while he has commented on various issues, complimented people on their achievements, wished them 'Happy Birthday' etc., his silence on Bishada was mystifying if not sinister. On umpteen TV discussions, the BJP's political and intellectual critics ranted vocally demanding an apology from him. BJP supporters tried to argue that the Prime Minister cannot be expected to comment on every murder and, in any case, law and order is a State subject - besides, UP is ruled by the "secular" Samajwadi Party. But the hounding of Mr Modi, asking him to speak out, continued relentlessly.
The artful politician that Mr Modi is, having steered himself through choppy seas of high-decibel criticism for over 12 years, he maintained stoic silence till an opportunity arose. Once President Pranab Mukherjee spoke out, appealing to people to preserve India's age-old values of tolerance and mutual accommodation, Mr Modi found the opening he needed. Basing his comments on those delivered by the President a day earlier, the Prime Minister extolled people to follow the sage advice given by Mr Mukherjee.
The Prime Minister's critics have been flummoxed since. He refused to fall into their trap of an apology which would have opened him to the insinuation that he was accepting guilt. At the same time, the Prime Minister spoke eloquently in favour of maintaining communal harmony and also urged that energies be channelled into combating poverty. Put on the back foot, his critics are whining that Mr Modi has not apologised, nor has he named the particular incident, thereby only alluding vaguely to the Bishada killing. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was quick to jump onto Twitter to dismiss Mr Modi's comments as inadequate. Similar remarks have been forthcoming from the usual suspects apart from anti-BJP politicians. The Left-leaning intelligentsia, fattened on Congress doles for decades, has predictably continued their tiresome rant as if the Prime Minister of India is expected to act like an SHO of the police station concerned.
Mr Modi is understandably cagey about being dragged back into any debate that hinges on communalism. At a time when he is trying hard to pull his party out of the quicksand of communal stigmas, he will clearly not fall into the booby trap laid for him in social media. Naturally, therefore, he chose to be silent till the tempo of communal passions tempered
The Prime Minister is acutely aware that in the eyes of his vocal and socially dominant left-liberal critics, he can do no right. Congenital Modi-bashers see an agenda even in his development plank. While they ostensibly argue against casteism, they start seeing red the moment RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat suggests a re-look at the Government's reservation policy, arguing its benefits must accrue only to the poorest and most backward communities. So, the Prime Minister is right not to engage in a debate with secular fundamentalists who viciously loathe the BJP and are petrified by its soaring electoral acceptability.
Particularly in view of the highly-charged campaign rhetoric in Bihar, the Prime Minister was entirely right to steer clear of a specific comment on the incident. If he were to give a considered opinion on the issue, he would have had to point to the UP Government's repeated failures to nip communal mischief in the bud, as evident from the way disturbances simmered in Muzaffarnagar earlier. If he were to strongly admonish Hindu hotheads, he could not have avoided mentioning the likes of UP Minister Azam Khan, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi or his brother, an acclaimed instigator of communal discord.
Frankly, neither the Centre nor the Prime Minister has any role in an isolated communal disturbance in a State. Yet we find Modi-bashers trying to fan the embers of discord with their poison-laden tongues. Several Congress retainers of yore, discomfited by the withdrawal of their erstwhile privileges, are on a resignation spree from the Sahitya Akademi in a bid to incite others. Never before has a single, isolated incident of murder led to such feigned outrage from self-styled intellectuals. Therefore, disgraceful as the communal mobilisation in Bishada is, it was an individual act of a misguided mob for which no Government can be held responsible.
Reports from the disturbed village prove that communal hatred has not taken root in the rural community and local residents are working hard to forget the sordid incident and restore normalcy. This is how it should be. Those who are demanding the Prime Minister's abject apology for an act with which he does not have the remotest connection only wish to heat up the debate. If irresponsible hotheads from both sides get another opening, the riots could spread.
Saner elements in the country sometimes wonder whether secular fundamentalists want peace and harmony or act in ways to instigate strife so that Mr Modi comes under fire in the international arena. Like the disoriented owners of the Congress fiefdom, they cannot stomach the fact that the BJP is in power, Narendra Modi is Prime Minister, and the party is going from strength to strength.
Well, too bad for them!
(Dr. Chandan Mitra is a journalist, currently Editor of The Pioneer Group of Publications. He is also BJP MP of the Rajya Sabha.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.