Praising Rajnath Singh for ‘Kashmiriyat’ tweet is overdone. It’s his job
Union home minister Rajnath Singh has received both a lot of praise and some flak, from expected quarters, for his now famous “Kashmiriyat” tweet in response to belligerent and downright violent provocations online. From his official Twitter handle, Singh said on the microblogging platform: “The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.”
The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017
Well said by the HM! https://t.co/rvnSXixKVV
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 11, 2017
This wasn’t before he had said that the whole country was united in condemning the terror attack on Amarnath yatris.
The attack on Amarnath Yatris is a cowardly act of terror. Heartening to see the whole nation stand united against terrorism. pic.twitter.com/JglOdZWU34
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017
The fact of the matter is: it shouldn’t be extraordinary for the home minister of the country to quell unrest and anxiety amid such dire straits and grave security lapses leading to a heinous attack on a bunch of innocent pilgrims. The communal nature of the attack, despite the many security loopholes and the strange circumstances of numerous protocol breach by the bus in which they were travelling, can only be somewhat compensated for if those in charge of the nation’s well-being speak in union about the country and the state’s syncretic cultures, as Singh rightly did.
The profuse praise for Singh is as out of place, therefore, as is the barrage of acrimonious comments he received for “placating” those responsible for the attack. For example, a Twitter user, who has since deleted her account, quoted Singh’s tweet to say a terribly tasteless and irresponsible thing on a public platform.
Image courtesy: Twitter/@IronyOfIndia_
The line, “Who gives a f*** about the spirit of Kashmiriyat at this moment? It’s not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them”, reeks of counter-violence, incitement and the least of all, extreme impoliteness. Nevertheless, it was handled with care and concern and a firmness by Singh, when he responded:
Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace & tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists https://t.co/YdTnjDND9i
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017
This was profusely praised by many politicians, journalists and others prominent Twitter users, particularly former J&K CM Omar Abdullah.
Bravo @rajnathsingh ji. You have my respect & admiration. I salute you. Thank you for your statesmanship & leadership today. https://t.co/At2daqlnEI
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 11, 2017
.@rajnathsingh not only shows how to deal with hateful trolls, but also provides a fine example of humanity for many in his own party
— Sidharth Bhatia (@bombaywallah) July 11, 2017
Bravo @rajnathsingh https://t.co/eUEMfctKb8
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) July 11, 2017
This is both a tad overdone and underwhelming. We need to ask ourselves if we have come at such a juncture that words that should be routine and expected of a senior cabinet minister, now seem extraordinary and statesmanlike. We need to remind ourselves that the corrosion of conversation has reached such an alarming proportion in the country that any tweet, any quote, any line that’s remotely civilised and polite appears to be visionary and exemplar to our tired and exhausted eyes.
Rajnath Singh is doing his job, and let’s say he’s doing it better than many in the Union cabinet. However, the very fact that the nerves of the nation are so jangled, the state of the Valley is so frayed, the communal poison being spread at such a noxious frequency – should compel us to ask if Singh is alone in his sanity, in his grounded approach to the national security questions.
For example, we need to ask how many in the BJP actually retweeted or echoed Singh’s sentiments. We must ask what has J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti has done beyond giving the usual sound-bytes and making cursory visits to the victims’ families.
Certainly, the prime minister himself condemned the terror attack on social media, but he left his leadership dangling when he failed to assuage the fears of the ordinary Kashmiris who hardly see internet working in the Valley, live under semi-permanent digital incarceration, and are vulnerable to becoming victims of crossfires.
Rajnath Singh must be lauded for having the courage to say what he did, but we must also ask if this “good-cop-bad-cop” game of the ruling party has gone on for too long now.