Minorities shouldn’t be begging the PM for safety when there is the Constitution: Muslim lawyers

“It is written in Mahabharata that the ruler who claims to provide protection to his people but actually fails to do so should be punished out in the open,” said Advocate Tufail Ahmed, as he expressed his anger against the establishment at a conclave of Muslim lawyers, organised by the All India Muslim Advocates on Monday.

The conclave was organised to discuss the socioeconomic conditions of Muslims and the challenges facing the community. As the Modi government’s pet slogan of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” came up, the conclave soon turned into a discussion on mob lynching.

The prevailing anger against rising instances of mob lynching could be sensed in the address of each speaker.

One of the speakers, Rajya Sabha MP and prominent lawyer Majeed Memon, aptly remarked, “The incidents of mob lynching are not restricted to one community alone; Dalits and other backward castes are also being targeted. The lawyer community should fight their cases legally and become their voice. Beating someone after forced entry, forcefully checking the food items of a household based on mere suspicion, damaging property or killing someone is a crime.

Memon further questioned as to why the person involved in the first case of mob lynching wasn’t punished till date.

Further noting that an atmosphere of intolerance was being created, Memon cited an Urdu couplet, “Sher agar saamne aa jaye toh koi baat nahi, gaaye peeche se bhi guzar jaaye toh dar lagta hai (A tiger passing from the front is less scary than a cow passing from behind).”

The Maharashtra MP, however, expressed hope that this phase was a passing one and won’t stay for long.

“We have to go a long way. We have to fight injustice in all spheres of life, so we can’t limit ourselves to just the issue of lynching. But we will take up every lynching case that comes up in the court,” he said.

Expressing faith in the ability of the Indian Constitution to weather the ongoing crisis staring in the face of minorities, Memon added, “See, the government and nation are two different things. The nation is a more powerful concept than the government. Governments come and go but the nation stays.”

Dwelling on the role of citizens in a healthy democracy, Memon highlighted that the ultimate responsibility of a bad government lies with the citizens alone.

“It is not the PM or, the President of India, who rule the country. It is the Constitution. So our duty is to uphold the values of the Constitution. We have to raise our voice against any injustice taking place in the country. We have to fight for human rights, humanity, particularly those rights that strive to bring minorities into the mainstream. We are not asking for any favours, we are not begging in front of anyone, not even the Prime Minister. We are just asking for the rights guaranteed to us by the Indian Constitution. If you can’t guarantee us those rights, we have the option to consider whether you are fit to continue ruling us,” he said.

The sentiments expressed at the conclave shows that every segment of the Muslim community is highly concerned about increasing number of incidents of mob lynching.