Kokrajhar Riots & The Tyranny of Distance

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA           SEPTEMBER 06 , 2012           12.55 P.M.

Rajdeep Sardesai at IIM Kozhikode in March 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kokrajhar in Assam is reeling under communal violence . Demography of Assam is getting changed or rather it is being changed . Assam is fast changing and changing for worst . Assam is in trouble but no one is paying attention . They say that Assam is very far off and inaccessible . So in the words of Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai ” tyranny of distance ” is the main cause of this criminal neglect . And if Assam is in trouble can other states of North East India be far behind ?

In the age of internet , when twitter , Facebook and blogs are the order of the day , is this theory ” tyranny of distance ” convincing enough ? Or is it a ploy to avoid some troublesome questions , some unpleasant truths ?

Why ” tyranny of distance ” , which is so convenient for Kokrajhar , did not apply to Gujarat ? Why even the minutest details of post Godhra riots were aired repeatedly and why gory scenes were played on the television over and over again ? If the reportage on Gujarat riots were prerogative of a journalist then Kokrajhar should also be reported . And if Assam in general and Kokrajhar in particular is too distant , then Gujarat is also not the immediate neighbour of New Delhi .

Apart from ” tyranny of distance ” theory , Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai came with another brilliant ( ? ) theory for not reporting Kokrajhar riots . He tweeted that since more that thousand people got killed in Gajarat riots and less than hundred got killed in Kokrajhar , so reporting about Kokrajhar is not that important . Can a riot be termed as important and unimportant ? Is a riot less important because less than thousand people got killed ? He did tender apology after public outcry , but his hypocrisy was there for all to see .

English: Image of Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum in India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If Narendra Modi , the Chief Minister of Gujarat is responsible for Gujarat riots , then same yardstick should be applied to Tarun Gogoi , the Chief Minister of Assam also . And if Tarun Gogoi is not directly responsible for Kokrajhar riots , then how come Narendra Modi is guilty of Gujarat riots ?

@ Brahma Mandir, Kokrajhar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Countryside in the Bodo area of Assam “Udalguri and Kokrajhar are considered the center of the Bodo area.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Assam (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bodos are tribal of Assam . Landscape of Bodoland is divine . The tribal culture of Bodos are in danger . So they are up in arms against the Bangladeshi immigrants . Because of vote bank politics provincial government is not paying attention or rather ignoring the menace . And even after riots , a cover up operation is going on . Now Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai is talking about the need of sensitivity for the Assam victims but he totally forgot to maintain that sensitivity for the victims of Gujarat riots .

I am not defending Gujarat riots . No sensible person can defend such acts . But there should be one yardstick for all the acts of crime . It should not be the case of good riots and bad riots . It should not be our riots or their riots . Riots are riots and they should be condemned in equal measures and with same force and vehemence .

That is the reason I fail to understand the logic of Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai and other secular like him . I condemn their hypocrisy . There cannot be and should not be two yardsticks for the same communal ( ? ) crime . If Gujarat is still remembered , so should be Kokrajhar . If BJP is communal , so is the Congress , Indian National Congress .

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

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