Just after the #NotInMyName protests which drove thousands of civilians to the streets across states, in solidarity against the repeated crimes in the name of religion and cow-protection, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence on Thursday.
As he publicly condemned the violence caused by gau-rakshaks or cow-vigilantes which claimed many lives, PM Modi said that killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti can’t be accepted.
“Killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve”, said the PM.
At a time when our country has come to a point where mobs are taking over public spaces, the lynching of Muslims and Dalits in the name of cow-protection and ‘Hindutva’ has become a common phenomenon, the #NotInMyName protests were an attempt to create awareness to transcend through the rigid walls of religion.
The latest incident of mob-lynching took place in a Mathura-bound train on June 22. A 16-year old Muslim boy from Haryana, Hafiz Junaid, was lynched to death and his three brothers attacked, as they were travelling back home from Delhi after shopping for Sunday’s Eid.
Condemning such hate-crime in the name of religion, PM Modi further said, “We are a land of non-violence. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that? As a society, there is no place for violence”, the Prime Minister said.
“No person in this nation has the right to take the law into his or her own hands in this country. Violence never has and never will solve any problem. Let’s all work together. Let’s create the India of Mahatma Gandhi’s dreams. Let’s create an India our freedom fighters would be proud of”, PM Modi said.
