Delayed response: On govt.’s stern action against hate speech

The Government’s decision to take a stern view of hate speech targeting religious beliefs, to distance itself from comments made by two spokespersons of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and to assert India’s traditional values of tolerance and respect for all religions is both welcome and reassuring for those within the country increasingly concerned about the increase in such speech. The second, that its reactions, and the BJP’s action appeared to follow statements made by foreign governments, beginning with Qatar, and then Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Jordan, the Maldives as well as by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the powerful six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. Regardless of the reasoning, the statement issued by the Embassies in Doha and Kuwait, which said that the Government accords the highest respect to all religions “in line with our civilisational heritage and strong cultural traditions of unity in diversity” reflects some introspection within the establishment and the ruling party, and the line that has been drawn must be adhered to across society. There is also a case for similar introspection to be made within the media, particularly news television channels that appear to have turned prime time viewing into a prize-fight, encouraging the most radical voices to spar verbally every evening and engage in blatantly extremist hate speech.