Justice Markandey Katju writes about the harassment of Muslims particularly the members of Tableeghi Jamaat amid the coronavirus crisis in India. Tableeghi Jamaat members in the country are being falsely accused of deliberately spreading the virus.
It was a dictum of Nazi Propaganda Minister Dr Goebbels that the bigger the lie, the more easily and readily will the gullible public swallow it. In fact Goebbels had learnt this from Adolf Hitler, who wrote in his autobiography Mein Kampf that a lie to be accepted should be so big that no one would believe that anyone would have the impudence to say such a thing if it was not true, and if this lie were repeated again and again one day the people will inevitably accept it as the gospel truth.
A large section of the Indian authorities and our mostly shameless and sold out Indian media are loyal disciples of Goebbels, whose dictum they dutifully follow. Consider the following.
(1) The members of Tableeghi Jamaat Markaz of Delhi have been castigated by many TV channels as 'super spreaders' of corona virus, 'corona bombs', 'corona jihadis', etc and its leader Maulana Saad has been painted as the devil, though even a little cool and rational deliberation can tell us that at most they could be called negligent, but certainly not deliberate spreaders of the disease.
(2) It has been publicised in many TV channels that Tableeghi Jamaat members spat on doctors, defecated in hospital wards, misbehaved before nurses, threw bottles of urine, demanded chicken biriyani etc-- all false,cooked up and ridiculous allegations, but which a large section of our gullible people have swallowed (since a big lie is swallowed easier than a small one). That Tableeghi members have donated their own blood plasma for needy persons is given little prominence by our media.
(3) Former JNU student Umar Khalid has been depicted as a villain who arranged for firearms, gave provocative speeches, and organised anti Hindu Delhi riots. All laughable allegations, but readily believed by many since Umar is technically a Muslim (though he professes to be an atheist).
Many more such examples can be given.
A typical 'big lie' technique adopted by the political leaders nowadays is to brand as 'anti national' anyone critical of them, and slap sedition charges, or NSA against them. Thus the 82 year old Kashmiri leader Farooq Abdullah was arrested in August 2019 on the charge of inciting Kashmiri youth to pick up arms and rebel against the government and secede from India.
These were absolutely false and egregious charges, since Farooq has been known to be a staunch Indian nationalist all his life who was always opposed to secession. Similar absurd charge were levelled against his son Omar, and against former CM Mehbooba Mufti, former IAS officer Shah Faesal and other Kashmiri leaders.
Similarly, totally fabricated charges have been levelled against the Bhima Koregaon accused and Prof Sainath, who are still incarcerated.
The former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has been charged for raising anti national slogans at an event in JNU, when there is no proof he ever raised such slogans (many of the videos of the event were found to be morphed) and at any event raising such slogans is not by itself a crime.
Pawan Jaiswal, a journalist, who reported that children in a primary school in Mirzapur district were being given only roti with salt as mid day meal was booked on a charge of criminal conspiracy.
Many more such examples, reminding one of the Mad Hatter's party in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' can be given
Where this trend will end no one can say, but it certainly does not augur well for Indian democracy
It was a dictum of Nazi Propaganda Minister Dr Goebbels that the bigger the lie, the more easily and readily will the gullible public swallow it. In fact Goebbels had learnt this from Adolf Hitler, who wrote in his autobiography Mein Kampf that a lie to be accepted should be so big that no one would believe that anyone would have the impudence to say such a thing if it was not true, and if this lie were repeated again and again one day the people will inevitably accept it as the gospel truth.
A large section of the Indian authorities and our mostly shameless and sold out Indian media are loyal disciples of Goebbels, whose dictum they dutifully follow. Consider the following.
(1) The members of Tableeghi Jamaat Markaz of Delhi have been castigated by many TV channels as 'super spreaders' of corona virus, 'corona bombs', 'corona jihadis', etc and its leader Maulana Saad has been painted as the devil, though even a little cool and rational deliberation can tell us that at most they could be called negligent, but certainly not deliberate spreaders of the disease.
(2) It has been publicised in many TV channels that Tableeghi Jamaat members spat on doctors, defecated in hospital wards, misbehaved before nurses, threw bottles of urine, demanded chicken biriyani etc-- all false,cooked up and ridiculous allegations, but which a large section of our gullible people have swallowed (since a big lie is swallowed easier than a small one). That Tableeghi members have donated their own blood plasma for needy persons is given little prominence by our media.
(3) Former JNU student Umar Khalid has been depicted as a villain who arranged for firearms, gave provocative speeches, and organised anti Hindu Delhi riots. All laughable allegations, but readily believed by many since Umar is technically a Muslim (though he professes to be an atheist).
Many more such examples can be given.
A typical 'big lie' technique adopted by the political leaders nowadays is to brand as 'anti national' anyone critical of them, and slap sedition charges, or NSA against them. Thus the 82 year old Kashmiri leader Farooq Abdullah was arrested in August 2019 on the charge of inciting Kashmiri youth to pick up arms and rebel against the government and secede from India.
These were absolutely false and egregious charges, since Farooq has been known to be a staunch Indian nationalist all his life who was always opposed to secession. Similar absurd charge were levelled against his son Omar, and against former CM Mehbooba Mufti, former IAS officer Shah Faesal and other Kashmiri leaders.
Similarly, totally fabricated charges have been levelled against the Bhima Koregaon accused and Prof Sainath, who are still incarcerated.
The former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has been charged for raising anti national slogans at an event in JNU, when there is no proof he ever raised such slogans (many of the videos of the event were found to be morphed) and at any event raising such slogans is not by itself a crime.
Pawan Jaiswal, a journalist, who reported that children in a primary school in Mirzapur district were being given only roti with salt as mid day meal was booked on a charge of criminal conspiracy.
Many more such examples, reminding one of the Mad Hatter's party in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' can be given
Where this trend will end no one can say, but it certainly does not augur well for Indian democracy