Incidents Like Dadri Have No Place In Modern India: Majeed Memon

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How free are you? What are your rights as a citizen of India? Boom embarks on a series of interviews with lawyers and civil rights activists to throw light on the law that governs the fundamental rights of Indians. We speak to Majeed Memon, a criminal and constitutional lawyer, and Member of Parliament from Maharashtra, on the slew of violent incidents that have impinged on the individual rights of the victims involved.

Freedom of Expression, individual rights, intolerance are words that are being discussed daily - in the news as well as on the ground.

This year started off with the state government of Maharashtra banning the culling of bulls and oxen for consumption, which was followed by the killing of noted writer and rationalist MM Kalburgi in Karnataka, a man was lynched in the village of Dadri, UP for allegedly storing beef, former politician and researcher Sudheendra Kulkarni was attacked by Shiv Sena for hosting the book launch of a former Pakistani minister and the latest is the BCCI bowing to pressure to not host Pakistan players on Indian soil.

These seemingly disparate instances have a common thread - each instance shows the imposition of one ideology over the other. Some call it the failure of the administration while others call it a breach of your fundamental rights.

Boom interviews Majeed Memon, a criminal and constitutional law practitioner, and an MP of the NCP; to understand the various political and ideological factors at play in the country. While he answers questions about the threats to India’s democratic fabric, he also expresses remorse at the failure of the Central administration at curtailing the growing number of instances of intolerance - against the minority community as well as those that speak up against the wrongs in our society.

Memon says, “It is unfortunate that it is we the people of India, who have put these people in power. Now we are observing for the past one and a half year, the way the wind is blowing. Is India really progressing? Is India really doing something that would raise our heads in pride in the world? The answer probably is not in the positive. Infact, we have to hold our heads in shame. We need to build pressure on the administration because this is not achche din. It's worse than bure din!”