Don't make excuses for racist mob violence in Bengaluru, was the site of shameful, racist mob violence, after a Sudanese man drove over and killed a local woman. Much later a young Tanzanian woman, who had nothing to do with the crime but happened to be from the continent of Africa, was dragged out of her car and assaulted by the crowd, her clothes torn, her friends beaten for trying to protect her.
By her account, when she tried to board a passing bus, passengers pushed her back into the crowd. She also alleged that the police first refused to register her complaint, asking the African students to go and bring the man who had caused the accident.
This kind of community-sanctioned public brutality has occurred again and again in India, with no repercussions for those who seek cover in a crowd to commit violence. In this incident, the staggering racism and sexualised shaming of the woman has shocked the nation, particularly because it happe ned in Bengaluru, supposedly the very meridian of cosmopolitan new India.
This incident only reveals how much “India's Silicon Valley“ remains a work in progress and how brittle the city's façade really is. Only three years ago students and workers of north eastern origin had fled Bengaluru in fear, because of social tensions triggered by violence in Assam.
Now the city is hosting a global investor's meet, touting its openness and civic vibrancy, even as its streets tell another story .
What's worse is the state's seeming refusal to see these incidents for what they are. The police failed to maintain public order and the government cannot duck responsibility . Police officials said that the victim's clothes were torn, but also that “there was no sexual assault“.
Even as chief minister Siddaramaiah promised prompt action home minister G Parameshwara struck a defensive note, trying to cast it as “road rage“ rather than a spectacle of racist and misogynist terror.
Denying that there was any racism in Bengaluru's mindset, he called it a “response to an accident caused by a Sudanese student“ exemplifying that racist mindset. By underplaying the horror of this incident, by denying the bigotry of it, Parameshwara does not inspire faith in his government's commitment to justice
No comments:
Post a Comment