What happened in Udaipur was brutal and those responsible should get the punishment they deserve because they have not only killed one person—no matter what his religion was—but also played their role in projecting the rest of the Muslims, who cannot even think of harming an insect, in total bad light and the same might end up making their lives difficult. The same is the case with the majority community where there are elements that do everything to stoke communal tensions and now the Udaipur killing would provide them with a great opportunity to execute their evil plans—if things are not kept under check.
The issue comes back to the matter of hate speech which has remained unchecked and has turned out to be the main source and inspiration behind, first, such heinous crimes and through that, adding fuel to the fire of communal tension. The cycle of hate speech, if not stopped at the right time, turns vicious and moves ahead with utter destruction and decimation of values of humanity, or the basis of any religion because those who are the culprits do not really follow their religion—what they follow is their ‘self’, their ‘rage’ and ‘anger’.
In such a scenario, the Government, both centre as well as the state, is duty-bound to act tough against such elements, no matter what their faith is, and at the same time shut down the platforms, or at least control them, which are used to spread hate speech. Because it has been the propagation and effective communication of the hate speech across the country that the air has become heavy; smells of hatred; carries bloodstains and has gained weight due to ever-increasing communal tension eating up the country within and without. What also needs to be remembered is that India has got a bigger role to play in years to come in world politics and other dynamics, and by carrying such heavy baggage, emerging on the larger platform, and having a decisive say in the global decisions, might turn out to be just a dream and nothing else.
