﻿ Aligarh murder case latest news today India UP police A dead child and the netizens

Aligarh murder case: A dead child and the netizens

Saba Naqvi
Saba Naqvi | Journalist
Updated Jun 09, 2019 | 20:43 IST

Aligarh murder case: If a Hindu child is killed by Muslim men, as they were in Aligarh, it’ll be big news only because it fits in with the stereotype of Muslims being beasts and therefore worthy of hate.

 A two and a half year old girl year old girl child in Aligarh was killed on June 2
A two-and-a-half-year-old girl child in Aligarh was killed on June 2  |  Photo Credit: BCCL

Aligarh: The murder of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl child in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, whose body was found on June 2, reveals a lot about how even crime is now segregated in our minds communally. If a Muslim child is killed by Muslim men it will be a small news story that would escape the attention of human beings who now take pride in being called Netizens. If a Hindu child is killed by Hindu men that too would be news as on any other day as it indeed is: a small single column agency story in our newspapers, detailing the sad story of a terrible end.

But if the child is a Hindu and the killers Muslim, Zahid and Aslam as they were in Aligarh, it’ll be big news only because it fits in with the stereotype of Muslims being beasts and therefore worthy of hate. After all, one of the simple rules of mass psychology is to reinforce prejudice and we continue to do that with great energy.

We could actually note the high numbers of horrendous crimes against children in India, and run a campaign on it. Day in and out a child is murdered, raped, abducted, mutilated and no, the religious denomination killers are born into has nothing to do with it. But no, we do not demand any high decibel campaign on why our children are so unsafe.

Forget a public campaign, have readers ever seen an in-depth story examining the minds and psyche behind the frequency of child rape and murder in India? Who are these men who pick up children in slums and take them to a corner, rape them and then bash their heads in? Why are there so many of them out there, luring the most innocent children of poor working parents?

The fine citizens of India only apparently respond collectively if they can inject or spot a communal angle to child murder. Then we can ask questions about the “Muslim killers”, social media can start trending the name of the child (inappropriate) and the venue of the attack, in this case, #Aligarh.

Since social media operates on a herd mentality, many fine Netizens (citizens who think they matter because they tweet) started their day’s work last week with online blogs and tweets that brought focus on the religion of the accused as much as the terrible end of the child in Aligarh. Some famous personalities also spread misinformation about the child being raped, her eyes being gouged out and her being covered in acid. According to police statements, this did not happen. But who cares about facts when the aim is clearly to make a point that Muslims are savages who kill children. And savages could have raped, gouged the eyes out, poured acid and so on, couldn’t they? That’s the subliminal messaging here.

There are several reasons for the communal out-pourings after the death of a child. First, we are a communalised society now where the knee jerk response is to react in such ways. Second, there is an organised group of trolls on social media, some paid, others just believers, who are in any case committed to putting out messages about Muslims, Islam and so on. This is par for the course for them and has been for several years. Third, there are some famous personalities and Netizens who resent being described as bigots and by implication people who look the other way when hate crimes target minorities as they have indeed in the mood of triumphalism after the May 23 election mandate.

The psychology of these people operates like this: they love talking about victimhood as if it’s a disease or a fake posture as they suggest there are no real victims and it is all misinformation spread by liberals, the second most hated category after Muslims. These Netizens keep tagging other individuals who do not agree with their orientation with their messages on social media. This is designed to get their ideological community of bhakts active in retweeting and thereby amplifying the social media standing of those who began the process anyway. A side reward would be to intimidate those whom they tag and target.

Yes, that is how some people, the good Netizens of India actually operate and seek validation. Their days are spent purposefully (and apparently happily) doing this.

Highlighting the religious identity of murderers in this instance was their way of getting attention, something they have a compulsive need for. Plus they are also engaged in what they consider their yeoman duty to counter the narrative that one section of society is being targeted by hate crimes and they do so by simultaneously suggesting that Muslims are brutes anyway so why shed tears over them. The same individuals have not considered it prudent to tweet about several other child murders (and indeed rapes) that were brought to their attention after the Aligarh instance. They did not see the opportunity for some Muslim bashing so it was not something that apparently outraged them.

Saba Naqvi is a guest contributor. Views expressed are personal.

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