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Opinion

Grim state of law and order

As UP reels under legal disarray, emphasis must be laid on improving the situation of legal machinery

The New York Times relayed analysts' estimations of Adityanath as a candidate for Prime Minister of India in 2024 provided he "delivers on some fronts". It is in line with the thinking in the country, when he became CM, that a Yogi would bring peace and harmony to the society. Whoops! But, notwithstanding the claim of Yogi Adityanath that UP is a model state in his governance, the recent massacre of tribal people symbolises the contempt for the law in this state. And, the denial of access to them for even a small delegation of Priyanka Gandhi is killing the spirit of democracy. Since the country is already wary of several fake-Godmen, questions arise whether ochre-robed Adiyanath is a true 'Yogi'.

In the Hindu tradition, Yogi is a revered title bestowed upon individuals who live inspirational lives and are masters in the practice of yoga to reach 'the highest state of meditation,' or samadhi. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna lays out that apart from practicing yoga, a Yogi lives by voluntary ethical precepts called Yamas and Niyamas that include Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Daya (compassion), Arjava (non-hypocrisy), Kshma (forgiveness), Dhriti (fortitude), Dana (generosity), among others. It is thus clear that a Yogi doesn't just embody attributes that are 'Hindu' but are actually universal. Further, Krishna says, 'By whom the world is not disturbed and he who is not disturbed by the world, who is free from joy, impatience, fear and distress, he is also dear to Me.' The essence is that there should not be any hatred and violence even in the name of religion and faith since the source of all religions and faiths is the eternal Brahman, who is infinite love and compassion. A true yogi is self-giving and unassuming, living without judgement in devotion to God, cultivating equanimity and sameness towards the pairs of opposites.

However, since the 12th century, Yogi has also denoted members of the Nath Siddha tradition of Hindutva, who were respected in several parts of India. They practice Hatha-yoga for strong self-discipline to achieve

the ultimate Self-Realisation. And their principal god tends to be Nirguna, without form. Although Adityanath bequeaths the title of yogi from this tradition of Gorakhnath, he does not appear to have mastered the will to overcome the main obstacles of Self-Realisation: Ignorance, Egoism, Desire and Aversion, Fear and Emotions. Instead of practising the precepts required for a true Yogi, he is only driven by the desire to achieve power and is emotionally guided by history to promote a culture of hatred among communities.

It is true that the Nath Yogis were targets of Islamic persecution in the Mughal Empire. Some were even be-headed by Aurangzeb. In order to resist the rulers, Naths took up arms. Then the warrior ascetics were institutionalised as a religious order by Gorakhnath Math. But, Adityanath is ignorant that they closely cooperated with fakirs of Sufi Muslims to reduce their sense of hatred and keep harmony in the society.

In the modern-day, it is all the more important that, as a true Yogi, Adityanath conducts himself with equanimity in the matters of religion. Instead, once he commented: 'If given a chance, we will install statues of Goddess Gauri, Ganesh and Nandi in every mosque.' In one public speech at Azamgarh, referring to the religious conversions due to inter-religious marriages, he said, 'If they take one Hindu girl, we will take 100 Muslims girls.' He also said, 'If they kill one Hindu, there will be 100 that we will kill". While presiding over a 'purification drive' that involved re-conversion to Hinduism in Etah, he said that he wouldn't stop until he turns Uttar Pradesh and India into a Hindu State. In a law and order matter involving religious violence, when he was arrested and lodged in Gorakhpur jail in 2007, his Hindu Yuva Vahini activists indulged in burning several coaches of the Mumbai-bound Godan Express. In the recent past, he said, 'Those who refuse to practice yoga should go to Pakistan.' It was in pursuit of his pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim agenda that he had launched his Hindu Yuva Vahini and activated it in Eastern UP–and has been using it along with the Gorakhnath Math for his political ends.

For him, 'statistics are not relevant; it is people's perception that is important.' One way he is right. An ex-Army officer, who is associated with a law school, says, 'In this state, law and order has improved a lot. With whatever action Yogi is taking, criminals and goondas have run away.' It only implies that encounter raj has replaced the rule of law, and bigots and influential people are emboldened to usurp the law itself. Perhaps this army man understands only the rule of the gun, while the entire country knows that 'rule of law' is paramount in a democracy.

Thus, in this state, an army of 200 fully-armed men of the village headman can swoop down on the Dond tribe families in Sonbhadra area and shoot down 10 of them–injuring about 30, all because they are cultivating a disputed land for ages. Yet, for the CM, law and order is fine and peace would be disturbed if Priyanka Gandhi visits the terrified victims along with even three other party people; she was thus detained at the border. Although he shifts the blame, saying that this incident occurred only because the dispute originated during the Congress regime decades ago, the SC/ST Commission of UP has demanded action under NSA and Goonda Act, since the use of normal law has no effect as proved in several incidents.

An MLA's son could tie down the in-charge of a chowki to a cot. Unruly elements could attack the house of a Superintendent of Police Nav Kumar when his wife, children and old parents were inside. Subodh Singh, SHO, who tried to conduct impartial investigations in the case against cow-vigilantes, could be shot dead by the religious bigots. A female Bar Council President was killed in open court. Rabid mobs can often lynch

Muslims and Dalits in the name of cow-protection. Such people can even assault a Mulla and pull his sacred beard, and make him chant, 'Jai Shri Ram'. A female BDC officer in Aligarh and a female Home Guard in Bareilly could be killed by setting them on fire. In Rampur, a man was beaten and tied to a tree before his wife was raped in front of him by a group of men. Rape of two girls in Muzaffarnagar stirred the soul of the nation. Out of over 10,000 rapes/attempted rapes reported in the country, about 6,000 occurred in UP alone. Yet, UP is a model state!

A whopping 1,900 encounter deaths, mostly Muslims, in one year, send a chill down the spine of every law abiding citizen of the country since these extra judicial killings mean an open admission of the collapse of the legal system and the rule of law. Except in Gujarat, encounters are not normally resorted to in any other state; anti-social elements are effectively controlled through available laws. However, Indian Police Service Association is silent about it, although there are glaring instances of Vanzara and Sanjiv Bhatt in Gujarat who had acted according to the wishes of politicians and landed in trouble in course of time. Interestingly, the same UP police who kill Muslim-goondas in encounters turns Nelson's eye when it comes to lynching by cow-vigilante goondas. Yet, in the absence of any demand for a judicial enquiry by NHRC and others, Yogi continues with his claim of a model Ram raj.

Furthermore, instead of fearlessly facing the range of cases of communal violence pending against him like a true Yogi, Adityanath's first act on assuming office was to drop all charges calling them 'politically motivated.' Similarly, instead of acting with the equanimity of a true Yogi, disdaining the legal procedures, he got a journalist, Prashant Kanojia, arrested. While ordering his release, the SC observed that the arrest was an even greater affront to democratic principles of freedom of speech and expression than some person forwarding a social media message lampooning the CM. Yet, innocent and ignorant people, as usual, are carried away by the aura of the ochre robes of this power-seeking Yogi, not knowing that their communal passions are being roused with a heady mix of race, religion, history and politics, like how Fascists did. No one thinks why the believers of Nirguna of God use the names of Ram and Hanuman to whip up passions.

Rule of law has taken a beating in UP. Yet, Modi and the BJP act mute, since they cannot afford to antagonise Yogi Adityanath for obvious reasons. He follows the politics of his mentors and spiritual gurus of Gorakhnath Math, who belonged to Hindu Maha Sabha, which was later merged with BJP. They dread the Hindu Yuva Vahini, founded by Adityanath, which along with Gorakhnath Math established an independent power base for him in Eastern UP. He can dictate terms to BJP and can deride them for its dilution of Hindu ideology. In the past, he even revolted by working against the official BJP candidates to ensure their defeat. BJP leaders

cannot cross swords with him since he has been serving as a star campaigner for the party and was in many ways responsible for raising its strength in UP Assembly and Lok Sabha.

But now, it is a serious matter of rule of law and the job of any government is to strengthen the legal machinery in a democracy. Will the PM act, or does he approve Adityanath's actions in view of his own police encounters in Gujarat and Hindutva agenda of RSS and his party? The nation is watching.

(Dr. N Dilip Kumar is a retired IPS officer and a former member of Public Grievances Commission, Delhi. The views expressed are strictly personal)

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