The Assam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come under heavy criticism for posting a video on X that showed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma taking aim with a rifle and firing a shot at two people – one wearing a skull cap and the other with a beard – with “point-blank shot” as the caption. It’s been deleted since, but the video is a blatant call to violence against Muslims, whom the CM has again and again referred to as “Bangladeshis,” taking their agency as citizens away.
The minorities have become immune to hate, especially from those associated with the right-wing party and its affiliate groups, who are more right-wing than the other. This particular incident shouldn’t affect much, except that it does.
Sarma isn’t a “member” of Hindutva groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the Bajrang Dal. He is in a position of power, a position of influence and a position where his words are taken seriously, both by the people implementing law and order in the state and those who have to follow it.
There’s a real-life example of this. On the sidelines of an official event on January 27, the Assam Chief Minister went on an unhinged tirade about harassing “miyas” – a derogatory term used for Bangali-speaking Muslims. “In a rickshaw, if the fare is Rs 5, give them Rs 4. Only if they face troubles will they leave Assam… We are saying it openly. We are not hiding it… Now I myself am encouraging people to keep giving troubles,” Sarma had said.
Three days later, a video emerged where a young woman handed only Rs 4 instead of Rs 20 to a Muslim rickshaw puller in the state. This isn’t just a small incident, even as it seems like it, but the CM’s words have very real consequences. It can start as underpaying minority rickshaw pullers, but if Sarma is pointing a gun at minorities to show that they are the target, they may very well become actual targets.
Himanta Biswa Sarma being featured in the genocidal video – a word used by Maktoob Media and rightfully so – posted by the Assam BJP strikes at the core of the Constitution, which is supposed to protect each and every citizen. It devalues the tenets of national integration, sows suspicion against a particular community and shows legislative harassment. All this, because Assam goes to the polls soon. It begs to ask, is this all worth pitting citizens against each other?
In an ideal scenario, both the Sarma and the BJP would be booked under stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including but not limited to Section 153(a) (promoting enmity between groups on religious grounds, Section 295(a) (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), Section 505(1) and (2) (statements conducing to public mischief), Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation).
It also begs to ask why, even after the Supreme Court’s 2022 order to the police across the country to take suo moto action (on its own) against hate speeches and register a first information reports (FIR) is not being followed, especially in this instance. Are the court’s orders merely a directive or will it seek accountability from the forces that are responsible for ensuring orders are implemented?
One defence right-wing leaders have is “plausible deniability.” Shafeeq R Mahajir, a well-known lawyer based in Hyderabad, explained this concept. “When Goshamahal MLA and former BJP leader Raja Singh says, ‘Main yeh Deshdrohi musalmaano ko mita dunga (I will wipe off traitor Muslims),’ he can say, ‘but if you’re not a traitor and Muslim, this was not meant for you.’ That is plausible deniability,” he said.
Still, it calls for everyone to get enraged with what Sarma said, and not just that, but seek accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is responsible for all law-and-order in the country, especially since the ruling party harps on “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas.” The Assam CM may be seeking “sabka saath” on his genocidal rhetoric, but is certainly not “sabka vikaas.”
At one end, we have a “Mohammed Deepak” in Uttarakhand who stood up to hate by Bajrang Dal goons against a Muslim shopkeeper, and on the other, a divisive, hateful leader of a state.
Himanta Biswa Sarma needs to not only step down as Chief Minister but also he held accountable for his hate, and even face jail time to set an example. It is time that action is taken.
If activists like Mahesh Raut, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Iman can be sent to jail and rotting there for years under the stringent UAPA for a crime they didn’t commit (there is no concrete proof against them yet), then Sarma can be too, especially since there are videos and speeches that prove his guilt.
No one is above the law, especially the Assam CM.
