India should know, nobody is above the nation
 

Many Indian newspapers had front-paged the same day a photo of a woman prostrating before Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackerey and the news of looting and stoning shops by his sainiks. This is the Jekyll-Hyde
countenance of politics in Maharashtra where people have lived in fear since the advent of a party called, the Shiv Sena. 

They kowtow to Thackerey to be left alone because he has an army of hoodlums to beat up any community, sect or a set of persons he does not like. And his 'activists' as he calls them, are on the rampage
whenever they feel that the law is catching up with his mis-doings. 

They have indulged in violence this time because Thackerey faces arrest following the indictment by Justice Sri Krishna Commission. It inquired into the riots during December 1992 and January 1993, in the
wake of Babri Masjid's demolition. 

The commission said how frenzy was whipped up by the "writings and directives issued by the Shiv Sena pramukh Bal Thackerey." The recorded evidence showed that the killing of Muslims was well-planned. Their houses and shops were marked and all those engaged in the orgy knew the part they had to play. Thackerey's men were the main force behind the carnage. 

Normally, he would have been hauled up long ago. But the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra and the BJP-led coalition at the Centre managed to protect him. 

Ready-made alibi 
When I asked Home Minister L.K. Advani in parliament a year and a half ago why no action had been taken on the Sri Krishna report, he had a ready-made alibi: since the state government had not accepted
the report, the question of the central action did not arise. 
Probably, even now, the Congress-led Democratic Front government in Mumbai would have left the matter at that. But the Shiv Sena pressed for action against Samajwadi leader Abu Asim Azmi for his 'inflammatoryı speech. 

It did not realise that it would reopen the pending case against Thackerey. Both had committed a similar offence ­ one a few months ago and another a few years ago. 

Perforce, the state government had to make the decision. It gave the assurance that the police would prosecute both of them, Azmi and Thackerey, under 153 (a) of the Indian Penal Code, offence for
promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, etc. 

Fear 
However, after making the announcement, the state government developed cold feet. The fear of the Shiv Sena made chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh explain that there were no immediate plans to arrest Thackerey. 

The state police chief said that it was not necessary for them to take action against Thackerey straightaway. By the time, the lord and the master, Thackerey was so furious even over equivocal authorities that he declared: Should he be arrested, "the entire Hindustan" would be "up in flames." The threat worked. 

The chief minister got so scared that he had to flash on Doordarshan that people should not panic as there were no orders yet to arrest Thackerey. 

To pressmen, it was explained that the police would examine the implications of the case and consult lawyers before taking the next step. A lawful action got fizzled out by a single bark from Thackerey. The
chief minister did not realise the price he was paying to buy peace. Nor did he care about the demoralisation of law-abiding citizens. The chief minister's timid response had an effect on the authorities. They slowed
down the action, although they went on putting up a brave face.  
Those who have read books on the rise of Hitler would find similarities in the way Thackerey is being lionised. But the state is not alone to blame. Advani called on him only the other day in Mumbai. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, according to the press, phoned him up when told that Thackerey had complained that the PM had never rung him up. 

What is decisive in the philosophy of persons like Thackerey is their attitude on the basic issue of respect for man. They have contempt for him. It is a caricature of democracy if someone is considered more than
equal. 

Both Mumbai and New Delhi are guilty. There is yet no explanation why the centre has kept quiet on Thackerey's challenge that the country would go up in flames if he was arrested. At least Vajpayee, who is not looking beyond the current term, should have spoken out against such an ultimatum. 

The minimum he could have done was to ask Industry Minister Manohar Joshi, belonging to Thackerey's party, to quit the cabinet. It would have sent a message. People would have known that none was
above the country. 

Hardliner 
Advani's silence is understandable becaue he himself is facing prosecution on the demolition of the Babri Masjid and he does not want to stoke the fires at this juncture. Moreover, he is hard-liner, sharing most of Thackerey's philosophy of Hindu rashtriya. 
George Fernandes, Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Yadav ­ all the five central ministers have no past to suggest that they have love for fascism. That they are blind to the BJP is understandable because they want to stay in power. 
Discretion is the better part of valour. Still the fact that there has not been even a murmur from their side is a shame and a blot on their credentials. 

The Shiv Sena chief has thrown down the gauntlet: You dare to arrest me. Is there anyone from among the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners to pick up the gauntlet? What about Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who is considered a strong man of the South? Will he dare to tell Vajpayee to bridle Thackerey? Naidu has voice, with 29 Lok Sabha members. 

If nobody has courage, at least Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah should register his protest because Thackerey has called him a "traitor." 

It does not come as a surprise when the BJP says that "Thackerey should not be arrested under any circumstances." 

Mockery of law 
The thinking of the BJP tallies with that of Shiv Sena. But the party makes a mockery of the law when it says that it is against "raking up an old event which is best buried and forgotten." Does murder cease to be
murder if it is old? Ask the families, whose members were butchered, whether their wound had been healed. 

The NDA, ruling the country, should realise that if Thackerey gets away with his posture by threatening to disrupt trains, flights and normal life, many more demagogues will take birth. They too will assemble private armies to dare the established governments. 
Nobody is above the state. The government should be seen to be acting. 

Thackerey's men have said that they will "take the issue to the streets and meet the challenge." The challenge they are talking about is the overthrowing of the democratically-elected government through
violence. 

Any soft-peddling will tantamount to compromising with such forces. They want to prove that power, not the law, is the ultimate arbiter. The Nazis in Germany began in the same way. Everyone knows what
happened to them.  

         

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        By Kuldip Nayar who is a former Indian High Commissioner to the UK and a Rajya Sabha MP.