Friday, 17 May, 2024
Rajasthan has been in the arc lights of media for the most unfortunate reasons for some time.
Rajasthan has been in the arc lights of media for the most unfortunate reasons for some time. The most recent is the gruesome and grisly killing and beheading of a tailor Kanhaiya by two fanatic Muslims because the former posted something in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media. Nupur Sharma has been facing multiple and credible threats of death for a few weeks on public platforms. Kanhaiya, a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan, was also threatened by some fanatic Muslims after the post. He was even arrested and given bail in one day. About ten days before the dastardly murder, Kanhaiya had submitted a written appeal to the police in Udaipur seeking protection as some people were threatening to kill him. For whatever reason, the police ignored his appeal and Kanhaiya was murdered in his shop in broad daylight. Even more disturbing, the two killers filmed the murder and then did another video post boasting about the beheading and saying their next targets were Nupur Sharma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This created an outburst of grief, anger and outrage across the country. This is not the first time brazen violence has been witnessed in Rajasthan for a while.
C Voter-India Tracker conducted a nationwide survey to find out what Indians thought of the issue. As expected, there was widespread anger over the issue. Overall, almost two out of every three Indians were of the opinion that the Rajasthan government is failing to maintain law and order in the state. As the accompanying chart shows, close to 54% of even opposition supporters shared the same sentiment. Of course, more than three out of every four NDA supporter was convinced the Rajasthan government is in the dock for failing to provide security to citizens. Except Muslims (47%), more than 50% of respondents in every category of respondents were of the opinion that the Rajasthan government was failing to maintain law and order.
The most worried seemed to be middle income (67%) and middle education(73%). Amongst ethnic groups n the Hindu community, there was a unanimity of response on the issue: a thumbs down to the Rajasthan government.
True or not, many people have accused the Rajasthan government of turning a blind eye to rising fundamentalism and display of street violence by a section of the Muslim community in the state. During a Ram Navami procession this year in Soorsagar, stone pelting was allegedly done by a mob of Muslims who subsequently attacked a Hindu house. Similar violence was witnessed during Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations in the state in April, 2022. The police have not been able to nab the rioters who can be identified in CCTV footage. The state goes to polls in December, 2023.
