MillenniumPost
Editorial

Reprehensible act

Law and order marked a new low on Martyrs' Day as a peaceful protest march was interrupted at the source — Jamia Milia Islamia University — by a man firing a pistol at the crowd. In a shocking piece of video, the man can be seen pointing the gun towards the anti-CAA protestors at the University while a score of policemen equipped in riot gear can be seen in the background. The shot fired injured a student as the man calmly walked away shouting "Yeh lo azaadi", an explicit mock to protestors' 'azadi' slogan. Though the man was subsequently apprehended by the police, the chain of events is disturbing to the core. Not only did the man walked-in, brandishing a pistol at the crowd and shooting a student, but he also did all that in sheer presence of police. Facts speak for themselves and the police standing in the background rather than rushing to subdue him is unmistakable. A similar incident also occurred at Shaheen Bagh where a man came by brandishing a pistol but was overpowered by the crowd before he could inflict any injury. The sheer capacity of individuals to walk in peaceful processions and terrorise the assembly is an outright failure of law and order machinery. And, political leaders making careless statements thereafter only makes it the situation more unfortunate. While polarising arguments can surface, narratives can shift and blame game can thrive but lawlessness remains the same and points to a dangerous trend. Besides the evident lawlessness, the fuming hatred emanating from culprits of such acts is also a cause for worry. As a society, the sign of such escalation wherein individuals pursue violent measures to such scale irrespective of punitive outcomes highlights the decaying tolerance. A part of it could be attributed to the derogatory speeches by leaders like Anurag Thakur — whom the EC barred from campaigning in the light of his rally remark. Police machinery also has to take cognisance of their effectiveness as in recent times, a lot of criticism has been directed towards police. From JNU to Jamia, Delhi police has failed to prevent the attacks, notwithstanding arguments that proceed to label them as being complicit. For a society to lose confidence in its police is not a very healthy sign. Such instances only disrespect Gandhi, who was the greatest preacher of non-violence. With central universities being subject to such violence, the state machinery is failing to instil the sense of security in students. Failure in protecting our students only blemishes our achievements of security.

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