Media reports indicate that coronavirus is subsiding in India. Majority of the states have removed most of the restrictions. Schools and other educational institutions are opened and they are returning to normalcy. Educational institutions are the last to be reopened. 

At the same time, infection by hate virus is increasing day by day, and it adopts new carriers, as the coronavirus mutates into new variants. Hijab has become the latest carrier of the hate virus. The protests against the use of hijab in schools and colleges have spread to other states like MP and UP. The other carriers like religious conversion, love jihad and cow slaughter are kept alive. They are used by their inventors as and when required.

Election season provides a fertile atmosphere for the hate virus to spread exponentially. Spewing the venom of hatred against political adversaries and certain religious communities has become a normal means of electioneering, and no political party in India can excel the BJP in this art. Dharam Sansads organized at Haridwar in December and later at Raipur in Chhattisgarh gave call for the genocide of Muslims. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Union Home Minister condemned the terrible forms of hate speech. 

Both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister during their electioneering resort to innuendos targeting certain communities. The level of electioneering in India has degenerated into mutual accusations and acrimonies by the political leaders instead of presenting before people alternative solutions to the serious problems faced by them like unemployment, malnutrition, lack of quality education, basic health care services etc.  

The latest major instance of hate speech was a derogatory statement by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Rahul Gandhi. During a rally in poll-bound Uttarakhand, Sarma on 11th February attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for demanding proof for the September 2016 surgical strike. Sarma asked whether the BJP had ever demanded proof of him being the “son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.”

A few days back UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned voters on Twitter: “I have to tell you something that is there in my heart. A lot of wonderful things have happened in these five years. Beware! If you miss, the labour of these five years will be spoiled. It would not take much time for Uttar Pradesh to become Kashmir, Kerala and Bengal.” 

In response, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted: “If UP turns into Kerala as @myogiadityanath fears, it will enjoy the best education, health services, social welfare, living standards and have a harmonious society in which people won’t be murdered in the name of religion and caste. That is what people of UP would want.”

The tweet exposes not only the prejudice and hatred of Adityanath towards the three states, but also his utter ignorance about them. Yogi Adityanath was denigrating the three states as supporting extremist groups. In his attempt to disparage them he seems to have forgotten that the three states are ahead of UP in economic development, law and order, education and literacy, communal harmony, sex ratio, poverty reduction, status of women, maternal and child health, child nutrition etc.

Hatred and prejudice towards minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, has penetrated to different layers of Indian society. Although its violent expression is found in certain groups, the virus of hatred has infected a large section of Indians. Two apps -- Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai -- created by young engineering students, which sought to silence Muslim women by putting a price on their dignity, expose the dangerous volcano on which India is sitting. Five young people who were arrested by Mumbai and Delhi police for being involved in creating these apps are between 18 and 26 years of age. It clearly shows that young people with expertise in information and communication technology are being used to spread hatred.

According to Sidrah Patel who filed the case with the Mumbai Police, “Nobody can work with so much impunity and continue to challenge the Mumbai police. The network has to be really big. This cannot just be the work of 21-year-olds or 18-year-olds working on the internet. There are many other players who are yet to be unmasked and that can only happen, if the investigation is fair”.

Politicians and religious leaders making use of the youth for achieving their selfish and partisan ends is not something new. But what is worrying is the level and extent of brainwashing of the youth by the right wing groups. Students are used by these groups in Karnataka to protest against wearing hijab by Muslim girls in schools and colleges in view of further polarizing people. Muslim and Hindu students who were friends and classmates have become enemies suddenly. It will not be easy to wipe away the mutual hatred created in these young minds by the communal forces.

In an article published in the New York Times on 9th February under the title, “As Officials Look Away, Hate Speech in India Nears Dangerous Levels,” the authors (Mujib Marshal, Suhasini Raj and Hari Kumar) have highlighted the dangerous consequences of uncontrolled hate speech in India. “In recent weeks, global human rights organizations and local activists, as well as India’s retired security chiefs, have warned that the violent rhetoric has reached a dangerous new pitch. With right-wing messages spreading rapidly through social media and the government hesitant to take action, they are concerned that a singular event — a local dispute, or an attack by international terror groups such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State — could lead to widespread violence that would be difficult to contain”.

The right wing organizations and the political leaders are not only spreading the venom of hatred but also some of their policies are motivated by hatred and revenge. For example, the stringent laws banning cow slaughter, irrational anti-conversion laws, love jihad laws and the Citizenship Amendment Act are aimed at harassing, alienating and even persecuting Muslims and Christians. Definitely these laws are not going to do any good to the people of India. On the contrary, they have created a vicious atmosphere of majoritarian arrogance that often leads to violence on the minorities and a deep insecurity and fear among them.  

Prejudice and hatred are two greatest enemies of peace and happiness. Hatred destroys oneself and others. “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned”, says Buddha. If a person’s mind is filled with prejudice and hatred against a particular person or a community, he/she will be tempted to take revenge and cannot be happy even though he/she may pretend to be happy. 

If anyone speaks about peace and happiness and nurtures within himself/herself hatred towards others that person is a hypocrite. That is why Gandhiji says, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”.  Our present leaders speak about the rich heritage of India when they go abroad and proclaim about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. But within the country they are busy with manufacturing and marketing hate messages, and indulging in hate speeches.

Those who indulge in hate speech are not the majority, even though they are very vocal and resourceful. Perhaps the majority of the people are indifferent. Hence there is an urgent need for creating awareness among the people about the dangerous consequences of hate speech and circulating hate messages. People are to be encouraged to use social media platforms to spread the message of peace, love and harmony. There is also a need for exposing the falsehood of hate and fake messages.

A large section of young people is already infected with the virus of hatred. Immediate measures are to be taken to prevent the youth from becoming hate mongers. The value-education programmes in educational institutions have to focus on promoting pluralism i.e. acceptance, appreciation and celebration of diversities and the need for understanding and harmony among the followers of different religions. For this purpose, class-wise peace clubs could be started in schools and they can undertake various activities for promoting peace as an antidote to hatred.

It is very sad to note that the opposition parties, despite being aware of the serious danger facing the country, are not ready to transcend their narrow interests and ego and come together to oppose the forces that are spreading hatred and the government that supports the hate mongers. If they do not unite to oppose the hate-motivated policies of the present government, they are doing a great harm to themselves and the nation.  

Gandhian ideals of non-violence and Satyagraha are the solution to various crises India is facing today. In the absence of peace and communal harmony economic growth and infrastructure development will not be sustainable. The citizens of India have to use their critical thinking and work for building harmony among the people of different religions, castes, languages and ethnicities.