We are painfully writing this letter to bring to your notice the death of a 29-year old innocent man, Prashant Poojary a florist from Mangalore, which is probably ignored because he belongs to the religion which is followed by the majority of our countrymen. Recently there has been another such death in dadri and surprisingly both death are related to the animal, cow. One was murdered on the suspicion that he consumed beef; the other was murdered because he offered protection to cows.
While the whole country is mourning the death at Dadri, with intelligentsia surrendering their awards, opposition in Parliament and media crying continuously, why the Prime Minister did not deliver an hour-long speech condemning the death and did not turn the world upside down, surprisingly nobody seem to care for the death at Mangalore! The double standard and hypocrisy can only be attributed to indifference and possibly hatred of media and Parliamentary Opposition towards those living by Hindu religion and trying to protect the ancient heritage of this country.
Prashant Poojary had been actively involved in preventing illegal cow slaughter and transportation and the murder can be suspected to be carried out by those allegedly involved in illegal cow slaughter.
A hard-working, honest man, who despite being economically backward was trying to protect an illegal activity, falls prey to hooliganism of criminals. Wasn’t his life as precious as that of a soldier fighting for the country at its borders? They both try to protect the country; one protects the land, while the other was protecting the culture. While the soldier gets the glory of a hero after his death, this hero dies in oblivion, because our countrymen are indifferent but will the Government too remain indifferent?
Why is always the Hindus victimized in this country by the media and parties who claim to be secular? Is being a Hindu a crime? Is practicing Sanatan Dharma a crime? Is protecting cows which is part of Hindu religion a crime? We were victimized in Bombay, Kashmir, Ayodhya, we were attacked in (give the train name in which Kar Sevaks were burned alive in Gujarat), we were victimized in Muzzafarpur. We are daily victimized in Bengal while the State Govt keeps mum and media pays no heed. How long shall this torture go on? Is it till we become extinct like dinosaurs while Bharat being turned to Pakistan or Bangladesh? Why is our right to practice our religion being taken away by such religious intolerance and shameless appeasement for sheer vote-bank politics which the so-called secular parties impose? Is this constitutional to curb the right of the majority of people to make the minorities happy? Is this democracy?
Leading English news daily, The Hindu reported on October 10, 2015 in its Mangalore edition that the victim revealed to the police the names of those who were allegedly involved in the attack. But Police refused to admit it and hided the information. As citizens of India and tax payers, can we ask WHY? We demand immediate release of the statement given by victim and the culprits be brought to justice.
If the state governments take necessary action against cow slaughters, incidents like dadri would cease to happen. When the state machinery allow some people to insult the religious sentiments of the public at large, hatred and intolerance are bound penetrate the society. The death of Late Prashant Poojary should be treated not only as a murder but a crime committed with the intention of communal violence and provoking communal tension. We demand the State Home Minister of Karnataka, to take up the matter and give public statement that such an incident will not be dealt with any form of callousness.
We the people of India demand justice for Prashant Poojary and a strong message from both the state & central government that such crimes will invite strong punishment not only for the criminals but also on those belonging to the community who are supportive of activities such as illegal slaughtering of cows which is the core reason of this murder.
~ Niraj Dave
