The brutal killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal on Tuesday, June 28, sent shockwaves through the country. It was revealed that the perpetrators’ intention behind the murder was to exact revenge on Lal for sharing suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s derogatory remarks on the Prophet. The perpetrators in the video recorded after the murder also threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These included the rising communal tensions in the country; the Rajasthan police’s failure to act preemptively; and even the potential role of the Islamic community at large.
The Udaipur murder’
The newspaper, the Hindu, calls for ‘quick’ and ‘exemplary’ action to be taken against the perpetrators. It also views the action being taken by Muslims – who have been disenfranchised and persecuted in other parts of the country – as boiling over a communal conflict. An editorial in the Hindu newspaper highlights the ‘chilling tale of caution’ to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has been stoking communal fires across the country, failing to act on the numerous instances of Hindutva violence. The article ends with a plea to the BJP not to fall into a ‘cauldron of endemic violence’ with its communal rhetoric.
The Tribune editorial states that Kanhaiya Lal’s assassins deserve ‘the clearest, toughest conceivable condemnation’ for their heinous conduct. Nonetheless, it asks for the country’s religious and political leaders to respond ‘responsibly and restrainedly’ to the murder. ‘ It is incumbent on religious leaders to strongly condemn violence in the name of religion and God; and, for the sake of peace and harmony, political leaders must refrain from making inflammatory, divisive comments and inciting their followers to violence. The editorial finishes with an emotional plea to the people of the country to cease prioritizing dogma before human lives. ‘ The sacredness of human life is fundamental,’ it states, stressing that in a contemporary democracy, even the most ‘disgusting’ thoughts can find expression as long as they are directed at ideological or belief systems and not trained on human beings.
Act against the barbaric killing
The Hindustan Times of India’s front-line newspaper has called on all actors to come together and stamp out dogma and blind allegiance to faith. The editorial lambasts the ‘indefensible’ act, emphasizing that no comment – referring to Nupur Sharma’s comments on the prophet which reportedly prompted the killing – can be used to justify violence. It calls for respect and dignity to be afforded to every religious group in the country.
The Times of India joins the other editorials in calling for a thorough investigation into Laloo Prasad Lal’s murder and likening the perpetrators to the Islamic State. It also joins the editorial board in pulling up the Rajasthan police for its failure to take preemptive action to prevent the heinous crime. The newspaper extends its support to the Union government’s directions to the National Investigative Agency (NIA) to probe the matter and the accused for links to overseas actors.
Barbarians are at large
The Free Press Journal is one of the few news outlets in India that chose to focus on Kanhaiya Lal’s murder rather than Nupur Sharma’s comments against the Prophet Muhammed. The ‘one-sided’ way in which Sharma’s remarks and the ensuing controversy played out may have led the perpetrators to ‘pursue jihad’ for the supposed rewards.
The editorial alleges that the ‘Sangh Parivar mostly draws its sustenance from the narrowness of the Indian Muslim’. It also contends that unless madrassas are made to modernise their teachings, there can be no stopping germinating ‘martyrs’ like Riyaz and Ghouse in the factories of zealots. The through-line in the editorial seemed to be that Nupur Sharma’s remarks against the Prophet had some truth to them in the Islamic oral tradition and that the apparent failure to acknowledge that in the media is what eventually led to her arrest.
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