Tolerance Everyone’s moral responsibility

The International Day for Tolerance is observed by UNESCO every year on 16th November. Tolerance is all about accepting the people the way they are, accepting the fact that howsoever different we might be, we share the same human race.

It is not only the moral duty of people to practise tolerance but also a political and legal imperative for individuals, groups and states. It encompasses solutions to many forms of intolerance, like discrimination, marginalisation, outright injustice and violence.

The global apathy towards Rohingyas would go into history as one of the worst case studies of intolerance. Rohingyas were the Muslim labourers of Bangladesh sent by the British government to work in the farms of Myanmar. The Myanmarese never accepted them.

They rather persecuted them, oppressed them and discriminated against them. As violence raged against them in recent times, mostly by the security forces or with their help, lakhs of Rohingyas were forced to flee to neighbouring countries.

They are termed stateless people. When a person is born, he is born with the right to live in some part of the world or other. The international community must come together to play a bigger role in resolving the Rohingya issue and see to it that we are not becoming a part of another genocide.

For ages, different cultures and faiths have been living together in harmony. The framers of our constitution took utmost care to protect the rights of minorities and create an environment of harmony and equality. Tolerance is an independent, individual choice and can’t be forced onto anyone. Its exercise rests on perceptions an individual possesses about other community. There has been a surge in the incidents of intolerance in the last one decade in India.

The false love jihad case of Hadiya in Kerala has set a bad precedent and now every love marriage between people of different faiths is being questioned. Akhil Bhratiya Vaishya Ekta Parishad of Utter Pradesh has even decided to restrict the use of mobile phones by women to avoid their contact with Muslim men and a Shuddhi Karan programme in a West Bengal goes with the slogan of ‘bahu lao, beti bachao.’

There have been 20 attacks on cow vigilantes so far in 2017 itself. The authorities have often failed to prosecute the cow vigilantes. In Gujarat, the cow slaughter is punishable with life imprisonment. The most recent case of the murder of a dairy farmer Umar khan on 12th November from Ghatmika in Alwar district of Rajasthan shows the apathy of the authorities.

The local people and the sarpanch suspect the role of policemen along with the cow vigilantes. The noted journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered at her doorstep on September 5. So far, there has been no clue yet of who the culprits are. India stands at 136 among 192 nations in the Press Freedom Ranking Report of 2017.

Our Constitution guarantees free speech but it is easy to silence free speech in the name of sedition, contempt of court, public disorder, defamation, official secrets act, and so on. There cannot be a vibrant democracy without dissent.

Ghar wapsi and reconversions are also on the rise. Forcing people to stay or come of out of their religion is totally unacceptable. There has been rise in the incidents of violence against dalits, tribal groups and religious minorities.

Dalits are seen tied and beaten like animals, forced to lick their saliva, paraded naked and harassed publicly by the people of higher castes. Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu top the list in cases of dalit atrocities.

The security forces and the police are also found to be one of the biggest perpetrators of violence. According to the national media, nearly 36,000 cases were registered against the police and security forces with NHRC in the year 2015-2016.

The inefficiency of the authorities to tackle the acts of violence has created a dangerous environment where the perpetrators are encouraged by the indifference of government, despite stringent laws in place. The government should send clear signals that violence and hate crimes won’t be tolerated. Intolerance is closely linked to an exaggerated sense of self worth and pride, deeply rooted in culture.

Awareness should be created to respect diversity and human dignity. There cannot be one single blanket solution for intolerance in different societies. Local priorities should be taken into consideration. People should come together to fight intolerance. “Tolerance of intolerance is not tolerance, its cowardice.”

By Sanjeevani Kusum