Can Railway Minister reassure Muslims of their safety in trains?

When the PM and the Home Minister think nothing of invoking resentment towards Muslims in their speeches, how can the Railway Minister dare to reach out to them.

Whatever may have been the trigger that prompted Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan Chetan Singh to gun down his senior officer and three Muslim passengers, these killings in a moving train give rise to one obvious question: can Muslims who bear the markers of their faith travel in a train now with any feeling of security?

Already, train travel for Muslims had become fraught with tension, entailing precautions that other communities didn’t need: not carrying non-vegetarian food, and not getting into arguments with others. These cautionary measures followed the assault on a Muslim couple in a train in Madhya Pradesh on suspicion that they were carrying beef in January 2016, just four months after the first lynching over beef of Mohammed Akhlaq; and the killing of 16-year-old Junaid in a train in 2017.

It has not helped that none have been punished for these crimes.

Incidentally, Junaid studied in a madrasa in Nuh, and his family lives near Ballabgarh, both places currently engulfed by communal violence. The Haryana Police watered down the charges against his alleged killers; the government lawyer proved to be no help.

The recent riots don’t indicate that the Haryana Police have changed. Five cops assigned to protect the Anjuman Jama Masjid in Gurugram did little as a mob killed the young Naib Imam and set the masjid on fire.

In both the cases mentioned above, it was their co-passengers who turned on Muslims. While no one helped Junaid, a GRP constable rushed to the rescue of the MP couple. But what can passengers do when a policeman assigned to protect them turns on them? Even Chetan Singh’s armed colleagues did nothing. They chose to hide to save their skins rather than use their firearms against him to save passengers.

Ultimately, the buck for ensuring the safety of train passengers stops with the Indian Railways. That’s why the armed RPF exists. On July 31, this force betrayed the trust passengers had in them. Whose duty is it now to restore that trust? Surely the Railway Minister ought to make a televised address to Muslims assuaging their fears, apologising for the heinous crime a uniformed railway policeman committed against them, assuring them that the railways would try to ensure this never happened again.

But can such an assurance be given? There are only two ways to ensure passengers are not targeted by armed train guards. Check their mental health regularly to see if they are fit to carry weapons; or disarm them. The second option negates their very raison d’ etre. Will the Indian Railways do the first? Considering that currently RPF personnel undergo physical medical check-ups only once every five years till they are 45 years old, it would take a real commitment to passenger safety for the Indian Railways to invest in regular psychiatric check-ups of their 61,000 RPF personnel.

But is mental illness the only explanation? There is an alleged video, said to be shot by a fellow passenger, in which Chetan Singh is heard exhorting the victims that ‘if you want to live in Hindustan, it has to be only Yogi and Modi’. The veracity of the video is yet to be established; if proved genuine, it shows how deeply a caustic political narrative has corroded society, even influencing personnel meant to protect the public.

The slogan ‘Uttar Pradesh mein rehna hoga toh Yogi Yogi kehna hoga’ was heard in 2017 the day Adityanath was selected Chief Minister. It was repeated during the Uttar Pradesh election campaign last year by BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who threatened ‘enemies’ who didn’t vote for Adityanath that their homes would be bulldozed, and they would have to flee the state. Of course, no action was taken against him, emboldening him to make even more rabid statements against Muslims subsequently.

But it’s not just politicians who make such threats. WhatsApp groups of BJP supporters — and these are legion — speak everyday of doing away with Muslims. The cyber police can’t be unaware of them; yet, they multiply. Interestingly, a look at recent posts shows that even these groups have been stunned into silence by Chetan Singh’s act, which was in essence, nothing more than an enactment of their wishful thinking.

Stew the people in hate; some time, someone, perhaps suddenly triggered, will act on it in the most unexpected way. It is this reality that will prevent any meaningful, concrete measures that could reassure Muslims of their safety in trains.

When the Prime Minister and the Home Minister think nothing of invoking resentment towards Muslims in their speeches, how can the Railway Minister dare to reach out to that very community? It is hardly surprising that just hours after a uniformed jawan, a symbol of the State, targeted Muslims, the Prime Minister asked his party MPs to reach out to Muslim women, but said nothing about Chetan Singh.

(Jyoti Punwani is a senior journalist.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.