Dadri Beef Lynching Changed India's Political Conversation

Dadri beef lynching changed India's political conversation

The murder of Mohammad Akhlaq became the trigger for an “award wapsi“ campaign against the Modi government that saw writers, intellectuals and film persons return national awards in protest against what they called a growing culture of intolerance and majoritarianism under the NDA regime.

The movement swiftly assumed political overtones ahead of a bitterly contested election in Bihar that pitted a “secular alliance“ of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, along with Congress, against NDA. When BJP lost the encounter, the result was hailed as a big win for the anti-intolerance movement.

PM Narendra Modi came under fire for not promptly condemning the Akhlaq murder after it became a national issue.BJP's decision to rake up the beef debate in the Bihar election only strengthened suspicions that it was looking to use the emotive issue of cow slaughter to overcome OBC satraps Lalu and Nitish.

Modi did break his silence at an election rally on October 8, expressing his sadness over the event. This did not halt the politics with the Bihar results indicating that BJP had over-estimated the power of the beef debate and its own failure to ensure adequate OBC representation proved crucial.

One year on, while Akhlaq's death may not be in the news, the debate is far from over. Communal polarisation and violence remain a near constant in Uttar Pradesh. The communal cauldron of western UP where Dadri is located saw fresh controversy over the “exodus“ of Hindu families from Kairana, allegedly in the face of communal bullying.

A recent riot in Bijnore over alleged harassment of girls going to school seems a near exact replay of events that led to the widespread riots in Muzaffarnagar in 2013. UP simmers with dozens of communal clashes that keep the social landscape in a state of permanent polarisation.

The Akhlaq or the intolerance debate played in different hues with the controversy over sedition cases against JNU students accused of holding an anti-national event to commemorate the “martyrdom“ of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru set the stage for BJP's “Bharat Mata“ campaign and CongressLeft responded by saying the ruling party was stifling freedom of expression.

The political battle swung BJP's way with a convincing electoral victory in Assam where it assumed office for the first time on the back of a more subtle campaign than the one it had run in Bihar. But gau rakshaks and incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims brought the Akhlaq debate back into focus.

This time, Modi weighed into the discussion, describing cow vigilantism to be largely the handiwork of anti-socials, prompting a backlash from VHP leader Pravin Togadia.

Politics took a new turn with atrocities against Dalits forcing BJP to take corrective action that included replacing Anandiben Patel as Gujarat CM over mishandling of the assault on Dalits at Una.

The Dadri lynching and the heated communal politics that followed will come to a head in next year's UP election. The result may not settle the debate fully but can deliver a verdict on competing narratives.

(TOI)