Shaheen Bagh has seen two incidents of firing in last few days. Frankly something like this had to happen at some point of time. Delhi was fortunate that it occurred after nearly seven weeks and not earlier. Whenever a protest or a demand, is taken too far without caring for others, something has to give. These two incidents were manifestation of an obvious frustration that seems to have taken root in people who are outside of these protests. While the nearly harmless incidents at Shaheen Bagh have been overplayed by one and all, the brutal killing of a pro CAA Hindu protester on 23 January 2020 by Muslim mob has barely got a mention. This is the sad reality of majority in India today.

It is pure frustration that had driven these two young men to this stage where they came to the protest site brandishing weapons. Both were common citizens who were either fed up with the protesters holding lakhs to ransom on a daily basis or because they thought that it was time to show the protesters that their protest was unjustified. Both knew they would be arrested. It is obvious they had no intention to kill anyone. If they had come with the intention of killing some protestors, all they had to do was to fire at the protesters and some bullets would have found their mark. They did nothing of that sort. It is possible that they wished to display their individual Hindu pride to convey a message to the protesters. But any talk of their being part of a wider conspiracy is hogwash. In fact, if there is any sinister conspiracy, it is being played by protest organisers who are hiding behind women and children and using CAA as an excuse.

There is a growing resentment that is surfacing in the public against these protesters. By default, it comes from Hindu majority. Apart from millions of commuters, residents of Sarita Vihar and other adjoining colonies are facing hardships due to closure of Kalindi link road to NOIDA and Greater NOIDA. It may not be long before they hold counter protests to demand eviction of Shaheen Bagh protesters. If that happens, it will be difficult to prevent clashes between the two groups. The onus for any such development will lie squarely on the shoulders of Muslim community. Perhaps Shaheen Bagh protest organisers want that to happen as it suits their long-term sinister agenda. They want Hindu Muslim divide to come out in the open and hope for attitudes to harden so that violence ensues. The involvement of radical PFI in organising and funding the protests lends credence to this theory.

Any claim that these protests are peaceful is untenable since the very start of protests was accompanied by violence and incendiary speeches. Many in the nation are asking questions as to why government is not taking any action. Frankly government is playing this smartly. Any police action against women and children would show police and authorities in bad light, hence the inaction for the present. It is quite likely that protesters are actually digging their own grave as their unreasonable protest is slowly becoming a reason for majority community to unite. That perhaps is precisely what the government wants but finds it so hard to do. It may not be wrong to say that protesters are being taken for a ride by their organisers on one hand while they are helping to unite the majority on the other. It is also a given that at an opportune time, the government will evict the protesters once it feels that the protests have outlived their utility.

There has been a lot of talk on the subject of communalism and communal divide in last few years. It is time to acknowledge that this divide and mistrust was there for centuries. The warped secular drama that has been enacted since 1947 ensured that this mistrust and divide became more pronounced. Fortunately for the nation it remained subdued in the majority community because of their proven ability and belief to coexist with others. On the other hand, Muslim community graduated to adopting an ‘in your face’ approach that became overtly pronounced over last three decades. The presumption for this change was that Hindus, being weak and meek, will never raise their voice. However, it was becoming increasingly clear in last few years that many in the majority were losing patience. A few whose patience seemed to have run out fully, used the rise of BJP in national politics as an excuse to vent their feelings and were termed as ‘Hindu Fringe’. As far as Muslim community is concerned, there was no need for any fringe since it has always been part of their mainstream to be communal that prevents them from coexisting with people of other faiths.

There is a definite change in Hindu mindset today. It may not be very widespread but it is certainly not restricted to any one or a few parts of the country. These small pockets have the ability to act as catalyst and it may not be long before the change spreads deeper and wider within the community. The fact that 85% of country’s population did nothing when nearly five lakhs Hindu Pundits were forced from their ancestral homes in Kashmir by state’s Muslim population has now come to haunt a lot of Hindus. Today the plight of Kashmiri Pundits stands out like a black mark on all Hindus of the nation. Given this scenario, if Muslim community pushes the majority too far, the backlash may be severe. Ideally it should be avoided and it is imperative for Muslim community to act and set its house in order. It is time Muslim community appreciates the fact that if India opted to be secular, it was primarily because 100 crore Hindus agreed to do so.

A cause-effect relationship is a relationship in which one event (cause) makes another event (effect) happen. Sometimes one cause may result in several effects. The changing Hindu mindset, frustration and resentment are effects while anti-CAA protest by Muslims is the cause. It is common knowledge that the cause in this case is devoid of logic as CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens nor does it threaten any existing citizen in any way. Unfortunately, in our country we have a habit of delving on the effect while ignoring the cause. The current protests too seem to be following the same script where the effect is being questioned but the cause is being taken as fait accompli.

It is time Shaheen Bagh protesters think about their fellow Delhi citizens and shift the protest site to an area where there is no direct hinderance to other people. They can protest as long as they like, that is their right. But holding millions of other Delhi citizens to ransom for weeks is not their right by any stretch of imagination. One hopes better sense will prevail and protesters can see through the games that their own leaders are playing with them. If they do not, the end to these protests may be very bitter and the nation may have to pay a very heavy price for the same.

(An earlier version of this post inadvertently mentioned that a pro-CAA protester was killed in Chhattisgarh. The incident had happened in Jharkhand and not Chhattisgarh.)