‘The government of India appears to be failing big time from its constitutional and solemn duty of protecting the lives and property of its citizens.' 'The mob rule and vigilante justice currently taking over the country are posing a direct threat to its revered institutions and the rule of law' said George Abraham, Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA. We fully support Mrs. Sonia Gandhi’s observation that the culture of violence that is on the rise is being actively supported by those supposed to enforce the law. According to her, the country’s inclusive rule is under attack, and the domestic misrule is one of the big challenges facing the country. Mrs. Gandhi said, ” The tried and tested the idea of India has been thrown fundamentally into question by rising intolerance, by malevolent forces that tell Indians what they cannot eat, who they cannot love, what they can say, indeed, what thoughts they cannot hold”. The Congress President urged people to speak against the wrongs committed, asserting that “if we do not raise our voices, if we do not speak up, our silence will be taken as consent”.

She cautioned “let us not forget that though their language is modern, they seek to take India backward to further their narrow sectarian vision, their modern jargon conceals pre-modern beliefs.” In the latest incident, 16-year-old Junaid Khan was lynched to death in a train by cow vigilantes who accused him of killing cows and eating beef. In Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, Usman Ansari was thrashed by a mob, house set on fire over a dead cow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, upon returning from U.S. made a statement that ‘killing in the name of cow is unacceptable.' However, it is high time that his words are also matched with strong action from the central government. The Prime Minister may also share some responsibility in this regard as one of the major themes of the 2014 campaign was a supposed “pink revolution” that Congress was promoting, an insidious plan to slaughter more cows and make money of their meat. It seemed to have played well at that time with his constant charging the opposition of ‘minority appeasement.' INOC, USA urges NRIs worldwide to speak up urgently on the need to stop the politics of religious hatemongering and making India a subject of ridicule internationally.

George Abraham, Chairman INOC, USA

917-544-4137