Opinions

The Real Ravish Kumar: Whitewashing Minority Wrongs While Pointing Fingers at Hindus

August 30, 2023
Hydra

Kathua Student Assault Case

In a disturbing incident that occurred in Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir, a minor student attending a government school reportedly suffered physical assault at the hands of a lecturer and the school principal. The alleged reason for this assault was the student’s act of writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the classroom blackboard. This incident transpired on 25 August 2023 at HSS Bani, with the victim being a tenth-grade student who required hospitalization due to the injuries sustained during the attack.

A video in which the student recounts the ordeal was widely shared on social media. In the video, he describes how he was subjected to severe beatings by his teacher, Farooq, and the school principal, all because he had written ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the blackboard. It was only the next day that his father admitted him to the hospital.

The Kathua Police has confirmed the incident and taken action by filing an FIR against the two accused individuals. The charges include various sections of the Indian Penal Code, such as voluntarily causing harm, wrongful confinement, deliberate insult aimed at provoking a breach of peace, and criminal intimidation. Additionally, they have been charged under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The accused individuals in this distressing case are identified as the school Principal, Mohammed Hafiz, and lecturer Farooq Ahmed. The police have assured the public of a prompt arrest of both suspects. Furthermore, the government of Jammu and Kashmir has formed a high-level investigative committee, led by the Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Bani, with the participation of other education officials to probe into the matter.

How Ravish Kumar Reacted

A clipping of a video featuring former NDTV journalist, Ravish Kumar, has been making the rounds on social media platform X.

In this video, Ravish Kumar is seen asking “serious” questions about the Kathua incident. While he starts by saying, that not much information is out there about the incident, he also asks questions like, “There is not much information about the Kathua incident. But it must be investigated as to why the student wrote Jai Shri Ram on the board, why he felt it had to be written, is the classroom the ideal place for this? how did this idea/thought come to his mind, because of which ideology, what have we done with this slogan? we cannot ignore the politics behind raising this slogan.”

In his 30-minute long video titled “Schools Poisoned by Communalism”, he speaks elaborately about casteism and communalism in schools. His focus is primarily on the Muzaffarnagar incident where a teacher allegedly told her students to beat another student (who happens to be a Muslim) because he failed to memorise the tables. He highlights that anti-Muslim venom is spreading in schools, colleges & private coaching institutes, and warns viewers that they must be wary of such things. 

Love For Zubair

In the video, he doesn’t fail to show his support and solidarity to his fellow alleged journalist Mohammaed Zubair. He says, “Muhammad Zubair has exposed the truth of numerous hate videos; and prevented the spread of hatred. Not only this, he has also exposed the truth of many false videos made against the BJP, thus displaying exemplary journalistic ethics. But Amar Ujala has described him as an “alleged media person”!?” 

He claims many statements on this incident have emerged and that the statements have also changed. He also states that the video was so horrifying that the “viewers’ minds went numb” and that “we all know there is much discrimination on religion and caste in Indian schools.”

Worry For The Kids

Next, he speaks about how the religious angle is being dismissed or made dubious, but there is no denial of slapping/hitting here. He also says, “It is bound to have an adverse effect on the kids. What will be the effect on the self-confidence of the kid who was slapped; the children asked to slap could likewise develop the audacity to hit anyone.”

Shifts Blame On Hindus

Next, Ravish Kumar goes on to say that since the father of the aggrieved child has said that there is no Hindu vs. Muslim angle and that the situation is fine, does this resolve the entire matter? He asks, “Is it not the truth of Indian schools that now, the audacity for anti-Muslim discrimination has even reached the Principals and teachers? Everyone knows what kind of things –picked up at their homes– the kids say to their fellow Muslim classmates. You will find tons of samples in the media reports.”

Book On Experiences Of Muslims In India

He then introduces a book named “Mothering a Muslim” by Nazia Iram. explores the experiences of Muslim mothers in South Delhi and other cities whose children face discrimination and bullying in schools. Muslim children are subjected to hurtful labels like “terrorists” and “Pakistani,” causing deep psychological impact. The book highlights that even young children are affected, with some as young as five years old experiencing religious-based bullying.

Nazia Iram interviewed Muslim mothers and found that around 85% reported that their children had been bullied on religious grounds, leading to beatings, bullying, and ostracization.

Selective News Reporting

He then picks out selective incidents from different parts of the country to prove that there is an inherent hatred for Muslims among the people. He says, “Schools & teachers infected with anti-Muslim politics & ideology will turn them into rioters.” In the case of the Muzaffarnagar episode, he claims that “the majority community should’ve also come forward”, thereby blaming the “majority community” Hindus for anything and everything that occurs.

Farmer Leaders

Next, he goes on to talk about “farmer leaders” with special mention to Rakesh Tikait – the one behind the Farm Laws protest that led to unrest.  He claims that because of the hard work of those farmer leaders, who are “uniting people against the politics of Hindu vs. Muslim by holding Panchayats in Haryana villages day & night. After the Nuh riot, the farmer leaders have done a brilliant job. They are calling panchayats at various places and openly challenging the rioters. Consider this meeting of the United Kisan Morcha: this was its first mahapanchayat. Anti-Muslim activities are being openly condemned in these gatherings and the emphasis is on brotherhood. There are calls to avoid riots at all costs. This is a very good thing happening in Haryana villages. This is a grassroots-level protest. Farmer leaders have openly come out against anti-Muslim politics and have started talking about brotherhood.”

Lip Service For Kathua Incident

Finally, with just a few minutes to spare in the video, he comes to the Kathua incident. He says that the incident at Bani Government High School, Kathua district, J & K is no less dangerous. He claims, “The newspaper wrote that: according to the students, after he wrote ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the Urdu teacher Farooq Ahmed dragged the student to Principal Mohammad Hafiz, and he beat up the student severely. There is no further information about this incident, nor have we been able to gather more. In protest against this incident, the local people demonstrated outside the school; the huge crowd broke the school gates and entered the campus.

Compare & Contrast With Muzaffarnagar Incident

Ravish Kumar proves yet again, why he is worth every penny he is paid. He compares the fact that protests took place after the child was thrashed and says, “This could have endangered the safety of other students too. But in the Muzaffarnagar case, there were no crowds in protest; instead, leaders of different organizations came to persuade the father and bury the incident.”

He then warns parents saying, “You send the kids to study spending lakhs of rupees; even there, children are falling prey to this kind of politics. Where did they learn all this? Well, you do know very well! The communalism fires are burning in schools and colleges. From teachers to the school administration, children, their parents, grandparents, families… everyone is playing with fire. Everyone knows, no one is innocent. Your children are being made into future rioters through family and institutions. No one knows when they will kill someone, or break the law, all while shouting slogans and scuffling.”

Ravish Kumar – The True Sepoy

Like a true brown sepoy being faithful to his paymasters, Ravish churns out yet another false propaganda video focusing selectively on “anti-Muslim” sentiments, completely forgetting that there is another side to everything he says. He gave the Muzaffarnagar incident a communal angle while whitewashed the Kathua incident, just a less than 5 min lip service to the boy who had been thrashed by his teacher and principal for writing Jai Shri Ram on the board while blaming the boy for doing it and fearmongering that if this “fire” is not put out, children will turn into rioters in the future. Did he forget who instigated the Nuh violence, did he forget who did what to the Kashmiri Pandits? 

Just for replying to a post derogating Hindu deities on social media, a huge mob gathered in front of a Hindu minor’s home in Bareilly late evening and gheraoed a police station too. Did Ravish Kumar bother to question that mob? Did it not endanger anyone’s life?

Did Ravish Kumar question why slogans such as “Sar Tan Se Juda” are raised every now and then by people of a particular community, does he not think that the same community has inferiority complex that even a slight comment on them can agitate them to such an extent? Or will he make songs similar to the ludicrous Monu Monu to shift the blame for every violent occurrence on Hindus?

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