No Violence

The proposed Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, is a significant step towards tackling communal violence and delivering justice and compensation to victims. Indeed, in bringing categories like sexual offences, hate propaganda, dereliction of duty and culpability of officials within its ambit, the Bill charts new ground in penology on the spectrum of crimes that constitute communal violence. While there should be a constructive debate on the Bill, including aspects affecting the federal structure, there is no merit in the saffron charge that the Bill seeks to exempt crimes committed by minorities and solely targets the majority community. Given the history of communal violence in India, not least the fact that in a country where the majority community comprises around 80% of the population, it is patently clear that it is the minorities which need the most protection. The draft Bill’s definition of ‘group’ as a religious or linguistic minority (and Scheduled Castes/Tribes) within a state will also cover states where members of the majority community, nationally, are in a minority.

After the Gujarat riots, it is clear that we need to deal with a potential situation where the state machinery can be complicit in acts of communal violence, with little by way of justice being delivered to victims. That is also, critically, what the Bill addresses, even as a cursory reading of its provisions makes clear that the Bill seeks to prevent all forms of violence against all communities. Communal violence, even the spectre or threat of such violence, is something that tears apart the most basic of our Constitutional ideals. And despite expected BJP opposition, it would be a giant step forward in combating that evil when the Bill is passed in Parliament. But there is a wider issue too. The Bill can help tackle acts of violence, not communalism per se. Communal riots are a manifestation, the instrumental side, of divisive politics. Combating that, through a re-envisaged politics that eschews all forms of competitive identity management is the larger task before political parties.