Dear Editor,
The recent events in Haryana have stirred me to remind the the people about the principles on which our founding fathers had laid its foundation. Mahatma Gandhi had called off the non-cooperation movement after the incident of arson reported at Chauri-Chaura in Gujarat in which 22 policemen were burnt alive inside a police station by a mob of protesters. Mahatma Gandhi had taken this extreme step much against the advice of political pundits, who had termed it as ill timed because the movement had reached its crescendo and was having the desired effect on the British Raj.
Unfortunately, today, neither do we have such leaders nor the confidence in ourselves that our aspirations can be met by non-violent means. This is because in the past, the state has failed to bring the perpetrators of such mindless mayhem to justice. For instance, the incidents of violence and destruction unleashed by the Gujjars in Rajasthan and Haryana in 2008 demanding reservation. The perpetrators were allowed to go scot-free under political pressure. In 1984, there was genocide of hundreds of Sikhs by rioters avenging the death of Indira Gandhi. The state remained mute spectator and in fact, in some cases state actors actively instigated mobs to unleash terror. The families of victims are still awaiting justice. Reservation has only served the powerful and mighty. Let us hope that only merit will decide the fate of an individual and not his identity.
Harnam Singh
R S Pura
