The Rajsamand Horror – Where Did So Much Hate Come From?

A brutal hate crime recently occurred in Rajsamand town of Rajasthan, where one man hacked down and burnt a human being alive. How do we know this? The attacker had himself videotaped and publicised the entire blood-curdling incident. The supposed reason was some nebulous grievance that the attacker had; not against this particular person but his entire community. How has this unapologetic barbarity found expression in a country that crores of Indians and I look upon used to look upon as a shining beacon of plurality, diversity and generous acceptance? Where did this naked hate come from? How and when did we lose our way?

The Rajsamand Horror

A man identified as Shambhunath Raigar asked one Afrazul to come to a location promising him work. Raigar then attacked Afrazul with an axe and sickle repeatedly from the rear while the victim begged for mercy. Raigar then proceeded to burn Afrazul while he was still alive. All this was filmed by Raigar’s 15-year-old nephew. Raigar is a smalltime trader who has been out of work for about a year since demonetisation ruined his business. Afrazul was from Malda, West Bengal; he came to Rajasthan as a labourer and had been doing small time contract work along with his brother.

The alleged reason for this brutal murder was retaliation for the supposed phenomenon of love jihad; a phenomenon that primarily exists in the fervid imaginings of the paranoid, fanatical mind. In any event; Afrazul had no connection with any such incident; imagined or otherwise. His only fault was that he was Muslim. Raigar has also spoken about his deep hatred for Muslims on video; he has called on voters to unite in the name of religion.

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