Understanding the Haridwar conclave
The Hindu
Incitement to violence against a community is wrongly being referred to only as hate speech
In January, Gregory Stanton, the founder of Genocide Watch, who had predicted a genocide in Rwanda years before it took place in 1994, sounded the alarm on violence against Muslims in India. He condemned the statements made at the ‘Dharam Sansad’ organised in Haridwar and said that they were intended to incite violence. Genocide Watch is an international organisation established to prevent genocide and other kinds of mass murder and is credited with making critical interventions over the years.
This statement reveals the quick and radical shift in India’s sociopolitical narrative. The Dharam Sansad deserves to be acknowledged as an open call for violence against a community. Moreover, the state’s inaction to proceed against the perpetrators violates principles under the Constitution and international law.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.