An ecosystem of hate and distrust is being fuelled around the hill state of Himachal Pradesh. There are ominous warnings emerging for the state that is known for peace and being a much sought after tourist destination.
Concerned citizens feel that it is high time the administration and the government make serious efforts to counter the forces of hate, instead of dealing with instances in a piecemeal manner.
There are attempts being made to give a ‘Punjab versus Himachal’ colour to small and isolated instances of petty nature. This has become more evident after film actor turned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentarian Kangana Ranaut was slapped, by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Kulwinder Kaur. Now, there are attempts to see every incident allegedly involving Punjabis through the prism of the ‘slap gate’ episode.
On the other hand, hate is also being peddled against the Muslim community with impunity by the foot soldiers of Hindutva Right Wing. They continue to give a communal colour to issues that are primarily socio-economic in nature.
One can take a couple of recent instances to elaborate and explain what is happening on the ground. A NonResident Indian (NRI) family from Punjab was allegedly assaulted at Khajjiar near Dalhousie in Chamba district on June 11 by some locals over parking of vehicles.
Punjab Cabinet minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal issued a statement after meeting the couple at an Amritsar hospital condemning the episode. He said that “every day thousands of people from Punjab visit tourist places like Shimla, Manali, Kasauli and Dalhousie.
This story was originally published in thecitizen.in. Read the full story here.
