Top

Act now or Bengaluru will turn into tinderbox

The pulselines of civil society have been exposed again.

On the night of January 31 in Hesaraghatta, 35-year-old Shabana Taj was mowed down by a car containing four African students, leaving the woman dead and her husband injured. An angry mob descended on the perpetrators, setting their car ablaze and thrashing the people responsible for the accident. A little while later, a 21-year-old Tanzanian student driving through the same area with her friends was attacked too, on the grounds of a supposed mistaken identity, according the police. The student told the media that she was stripped by the angry mob and that the cops present at the spot didn’t come to their rescue either.

As the week progressed, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj promised that action would be taken, the Tanzanian High Commissioner John Kijazi avoided the buzz created around the possibility of this being a racist attack, simply saying that harmony should be promoted between the communities. Political vitriol has been prominent, with Home Minister G. Parameshwar denying that the attack was racist and Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda saying that unruly foreign students need to be brought under control. Arguments have flown back and forth from every side, the police force has found itself facing severe flack from across the country and allegations have transformed drastically, thanks largely to the efforts of the media. Civil society has found itself divided, with one half showing complete solidarity for the girl who was beaten up and others standing by the actions of the mob, even clamouring for the release of those taken into custody.

This is one incident and while it must not be taken lightly, one does wonder if the accident, unfortunate though it was, simply triggered off deep, underlying tensions between the two communities. The pulselines of civil society have been exposed again, bringing to the fore certain prejudices that undoubtedly exist in the minds of the people. All this is despite the fact that there has been tremendous progress in the development of socio-cultural relations between India and the countries of the African continent. India is a natural habitat, so to speak, to many African students, who find their way here not only for education but also to fulfill a host of other ambitions. Bengaluru is the most suitable place for them because it offers them across-the-board facilities.

The government of India has always encouraged students of Africa to study in India, an opportunity that has been seized by a large number of African students. This is our way of reaching out to the African nations and on their part, Africans do have a certain affection for India and her people. This is all the more reason why the recent aberrations simply cannot be condoned. The responsibility rests not only on the police force, who act when an incident takes place, but also on the local corporators, MLAs and parliamentarians, none of whom have said a word. Why take only the cops to task, when those who constitute the very framework of our civil society stand forgotten?

The police erred by not taking immediate action, but then again, there might have been certain compulsions that needed to be overcome. Still, it is their duty to take action when there is a breakdown in law and order. The Central and the state governments have stepped up to the plates, but our civic representatives remain conspicuously absent from the scene. It simply isn’t enough, after all, for those who are far-removed from the controversy itself to sit around and pontificate, like Sadananda Gowda has been doing. It is upto those who understand the actual ground realities — corporators and MLAs — to ensure that prejudices are understood and dealt with.

Long-term, sustainable solutions are the need of the hour, instead of which the police department has been the sole recipient of brickbats from across the country. Is it too late for our civic heroes to come to the fore and create conditions in which different communities can live in some kind of harmony? Bengaluru will continue to remain a tinderbox if arrangements to prevent these catastrophes are not put into place at once. A few years ago, for instance, social media caused an exodus of people from the North East who fled back to their homes in fear of being attacked. Clearly, the pot boils over every time the lid is lifted.

So what are the issues we need to address? The evident antipathy and resentment that exists toward outside communities living in the city, for starters. We need to understand this a cogent, dispassionate manner, or we will only create a platform for people to regress. Everyone who holds responsibility should do his job of ensuring harmony; what is the point, really, of being proactive only after a mishap has taken place, when we should be making sure they don't happen at all?

I must add that I am not trying to beat down the government either, but the bottom line is that all four corners of society need to work together. At the same time, foreigners who come to India should take the trouble to understand local mores. People from the North East are attacked as well, simply because their socio-cultural parameters are so vastly different from ours. I have worked in the North East and I know that the people there are far more progressive-thinking than all of us here, in this corner of the country. The same holds for Europeans and Africans. They all need to understand that Bengaluru enjoys a certain number of cultural traditions and like all cities, has a certain degree of faith, trust and solidarity toward its own people. These lines must be respected, not crossed.

People coming in from Africa, or anywhere abroad, for that matter, bring a certain personal style to their lives. They might drink, or go out dancing - these things are not taboo in their part of the world. India is different, though, this is all very new and alien to us. This is something foreigners need to understand. Similarly, Indians are not popular in some parts of Africa because they live there in affluence, unlike so many of the locals. Likewise, how did a student who comes to India on a government scholarship have the wherewithal to buy a car? Did he have a drivers' license? If so, how did he manage to procure it? These are gaps that need examination.

One simple way to tackle this problem can take place within the colleges and universities that host foreign students. They should organise a programme or an orientation course that acquaints students with the local environment and helps them understand the socio-cultural scenario in which they will now live.
It all boils down to the issue of tolerance. The attack on the Tanzanian girl should not be treated lightly, but at the same time, we cannot fault the locals for their own cultural beliefs either. That's the thing with tolerance, though — it can never be a one-way street!

( Source : Columnist )
Next Story