By requiring Hindu pilgrims to purchase their food exclusively from Hindu-owned businesses, the government directive aimed to create divisiveness and, as some have noted, may have also fostered caste prejudice. The issue was exacerbated by Uttarakhand’s administration, which replicated the same actions and through which the pilgrims also travel.
First of all, it should be mentioned that the trip has been made for decades without encountering any issues. Thus, no justification based on necessity exists.The expectation was for nameplates to be attached to commercial establishments, such as makeshift eateries and roadside booths. This caused a sense of unease among Muslim sellers, who were afraid that many pilgrims would take their business to establishments owned by their fellow Muslims.
Source: The Hindu
It’s a new low when governments genuinely encourage people to act out their prejudices. Such discriminatory actions are actually prohibited by the Constitution against the general public as well as, clearly, the duly elected officials. There was no understandable explanation provided for this harmful administrative rule.
Prakash Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, contended that since this was a transparency campaign, nobody should conceal their identity. One wonders if he understands the full absurdity of his defense.By that reasoning, all businesses in the state ought to clearly display all of their owners’ information so that patrons and customers are fully informed.
Source: Times Now
The truth is that clients and customers typically don’t care who specifically is selling them a bottle of water or an orange. Cabinet minister Kapil Dev Agarwal of Uttar Pradesh provided an even less convincing defence, basically saying that the decision was fine. The edict was flawed in every way since it amounted to religious stereotyping.
In this instance, it was evidently the malicious goal of the profiling to harm one class of people’s economic interests based on their religious beliefs. That was a step toward the fascist ideology.One bright spot in this otherwise gloomy situation was that certain National Democratic Alliance members voiced their opposition to the proposed move. The decree was criticised for being an attempt to divide people based on religion by the Uttar Pradesh-based Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Bihar-based Janata Dal (United), and the Lok Janshakti Party. Additionally, the JD(U) has politely requested that the order be rescinded.
What do you think about this? Comment below.
