There are proverbs aplenty that never get cliché and keep coming true in any form or the other, unfailingly and contextually. One such, even if expressed variously, but essentially conveying the truism ‘behind every effect there lies a cause’ has been proven yet again, and in this case it’s the violent clashes over CAA witnessed by a part of the national capital all throughout Monday. Such had been the intensity and magnitude of violence, visual media have had to encounter an unprecedented dilemma over prioritising the chunk of air-time, given the fact that US President’s all-important visit was also on Monday.

Anti-CAA protests till now, except for the UP violence which took more than 20 lives and a few and far between cases elsewhere, had largely been peaceful garnering appreciation for exemplary and novel methods of displaying trust on the sacred Constitution and nationalism through oath taking for upholding them, along with striking presence of the national tricolour. So far, it had been government machineries versus anti-CAA protesters that had been the characteristic of the ongoing agitation. But Sunday’s ‘warning’ from an ex-MLA & BJP leader in the form of a  three-day ultimatum to Delhi Police to get certain roads cleared had allegedly changed the scenario completely, paving way for entry of so-called pro-CAA  supporters in the setting. By Monday afternoon this new entrant had inflated beyond expectations, taking the situation to a critical meandering twist where it’s now not just a confrontation between the law enforcing apparatus and anti-CAA believers, but between two warring factions comprising primarily of civilians. And by early evening of  the fateful day, along with one policeman, a civilian reportedly also succumbed to injuries, besides torching of vehicles, fire tenders and business establishments, forcing Delhi Police to enforce CrPC 144 in multiple locations.

 

Violence was never a solution to any problem and must be hated by all. If this is the general agreement to be maintained in a democratic setup, the law enforcing apparatus must also be made such ‘up to the mark’ that there remains little space for the instigators of violence, irrespective of ideologies they propagate. The theory that the violence had been "orchestrated" to "degrade India's image in the world" has also been floated. Whosoever or whatsoever might be the true contributors or causes - deliverer of inflammatory speeches or a ‘clandestine conspiracy’ to malign national image, facts must be probed fast and culprits nabbed, strictly according to rules of the book.

But most importantly, any attempt to give the violence a communal spin must be thwarted first, making sure along with that no such replication happens in those locations anywhere in the country which had, by now, become nerve-centres of anti-CAA protests.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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