Eminent social reformer Swamy Agnivesh physically thrashed and his clothes torned at Pakud, Jharkhand. No action against hooligans?

Two major incidents that happened today compel us to hang our heads in shame in acountry which boasts of an open and liberal democracy. Intolerance in the society has crossed every limit of decency and people of eminence or even woman are being phsically assaulted and subjected to extreme extreme and mental torture.

In one incident the prominent social reformer and a liberar thinker whose entire life has been dedicated for freeing the bonded child labours and serving the poor, hapless and the down troddens of the society n who was also instrumental in safeguarding several innocent lives during the1984 anti Sikh roits putting his own life in danger, alongwith the then socialist leader Chandra Shekhar and journalist Habib Akhtar erc, Swamy Agnivesh was today allegedly physically beaten and attacked by hoodlums and workers of the saffron party after showing him black flags in a vociferous deminstration.

According to seniour journalist Habib Akhtar, Swamy Agnivesh aged 78 years who lives at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi had gone to Pakud in Jharkhand to participate in the 195 th anniversary of Daamin festival in Litpadha. While he had left his hotel for the festival venue an enrazed mob showed him black flags,raised highly provocative slogans against him and torn his clothes after physically assaulting him.

This is the version of the police given to the BBC correspondent. This is indeed shameful and highly condemnable an act which demands stringent action against the culprits responsible for Swamy Agnivesh’s thrashing who isa peace loving social activist havingcome to LitpadaJharkhand to participate in an ancient festival.

In yet another shameful incident a woman in a debate in the Zee Hindustan studio was during a debate literally slapped by a person participating in the TV interaction. While the live debate was in the air on Zee Hindustan TV studio at Kaipur city, the discussion between the woman and the man took a vociferous turn with both of them shouting at each other.

Attempts were made by the anchor and other participants to pacify both of them but the maulana becameso furious and irritated that he publicly during the live show slapped the woman to the utter shock, surprise and dismay of the TV crew as well as the audience. The show had to be thereafter brought to an abrupt end. Sounds shocking, after all whats happening to the tolerencelevel of the people.

While the mob psychology is at work in some states physically harming, injuring or even lynching others the women are not safe even in Television studios.

Just yesterday the three Judge bemch of the apex court of the country led by honourable justice Dipak Mishra has taken an extremely serious view of these increasing incidents of individual and mob lynchings and had asked the union government to devise a new law to put an end to these horrendous killings under various false pretexts and rumour mongerings in cases like cow vigilantism and child liftings.

It is hightime that the various state governments and the union government should seriously look into these ill concieved designs and credibly counter these hate oriented attacks and killings.