The comment made by Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah on Lt. Col. Sofia Qureshi is unforgivable. The government had put forward Lt. Col. Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to give information about Operation Sindoor. This trinity presented India's side in a very impressive manner. By putting these two women forward, India wanted to tell the world that women here are equally engaged in serving the country and there is no communal discrimination here. Especially the army is completely untouched by this. This commendable effort was spoiled by the shameful comment of this one person. Pakistan's media is propagating that see, what is the condition of Muslims in India that even a senior female military officer was not spared. Minister Vijay Shah's shameful statement was that 'Modi ji sent their own sisters to those people who destroyed the vermilion of our daughters and worsened their condition...they beat up our Hindus by removing their clothes...Modi ji could not remove their clothes so he sent the sister of his community so that...the sister of your community will come and strip you naked'.
Ordering action against the minister, the angry Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the language of the minister "promotes hatred and separatist feeling". It is a threat to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country." Associating someone with terrorism because of religious identity not only spreads hatred but is also against the Constitution. The Supreme Court also rebuked that Vijay Shah's statement is 'unacceptable' and insensitive'. The man apologized under heavy pressure, but there was not a trace of remorse on his smiling face. The higher court quashed such an apology.
Officers like Colonel Sophia Qureshi are not only the pride of the Army but also of the country. That in itself is a powerful message that in today's India, women can do anything, they can reach anywhere, but here a senior and distinguished officer was being called the sister of terrorists. Colonel Sophia Qureshi was the first woman officer to lead an Indian contingent in the United Nations Peace Keeping Force. She is an expert in Military Communications and Cyber Warfare. Decorated with many high military honors, the family of Colonel Sophia Qureshi is said to have been in the army of Rani Lakshmibai in the rebellion of 1857. His father and grandfather were also in the military. She calls herself the "daughter of the army." It was reported that displeasure was expressed at many levels in the BJP, even as President J.P. Singh was not present. Nadda also reprimanded. "The BJP leadership is very sensitive about such matters... No one has the right to disrespect Colonel Sophia Qureshi." But Sir, why was he not sacked and Raj Dharma followed? He was making a sinister attempt to divide the army on communal lines. To protect him, the FIR was kept soft, on which the High Court again had to intervene and termed it as 'weak' and 'unsatisfactory'. Vijay Shah holds significance for the BJP because he is an influential tribal leader. The tribal population in Madhya Pradesh is 20 percent.
One of the motives of the Pahalgam attack is to divide the country on communal lines. We have to foil this conspiracy and strengthen emotional unity. Prime Minister Modi has also said in his speech after the ceasefire that every citizen, every community, every political party has failed in a "despicable attempt to break the unity and cohesion of the country". People like Vijay Shah are denying the PM's message. It is true that the vote is very important in a democracy, but sometimes it is necessary to decide the right direction and give the right message. Here the BJP missed. A very correct message could have been sent by sacking Vijay Shah. Our country has become such that no matter what you do, no matter how brave and capable you are, if your religion and caste do not suit you, you can be targeted by a class. There is a need to rein in such people. The High Court has said that the army is perhaps the only institution that has escaped parochialism. Regrettably, the government and the party did not take a tough stand. The ball bounced in the court of the court. In many places, demonstrations by ex-servicemen in favor of Colonel Sophia Qureshi were also ignored.
Action against Vijay Shah should not be taken only because the opposition is demanding, it should be taken because it is necessary to establish the right tradition in the country. This is also important because a lot of dirt is being thrown on social media. Whoever says the right thing is against it. The picture of newlywed Himanshi Narwal sitting helpless with the body of her husband killed by terrorists in Pahalgam has gone viral in the world, but she was also badly trolled, because she said that people should not oppose Kashmiris and Muslims. The attack on her by the social warriors was so brutal that her loyalty to her husband was doubted. Then it was Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's turn. He is a senior and experienced officer. He has been an ambassador in many places. He had briefings very intelligently. His fault was that he announced in the briefing that India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire. It was a decision taken by the Government of India, Vikram Misri was only giving information. But after this, he was trolled badly, even threatened to harm his daughter.
It is also regrettable, as former Foreign Secretary Vivek Katju has complained, that no politician has stood in support of Vikram Misri. Only the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee praised him and condemned what was said to be offensive towards him and his family. Hatred is crossing boundaries in our society. Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was trolled for inviting Pakistani player Arshad Nadeem to the competition in Bangalore. The invitation was sent before the Pahalgam incident. But he and his family members were brutally trolled. Meanwhile, the good news has come that the army has brought them in. He has also been given the honorary title of Colonel. That is, the army has sent its message that it does not like radical antics. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has gone to the extent of saying that "the Supreme Court is taking the country towards anarchy" and it is "pushing the country towards communal civil war".
I don't think the BJP leadership likes such unruly comments, but I am compelled to carry them along. It is difficult to get off the tiger of fundamentalism. These are hard-core voters. This section is already upset with the ceasefire with Pakistan. He wanted a "final solution." They won't even know what it is. At least they had hoped to capture PoK, but the government adopted the right strategy and taught a lesson and accepted Pakistan's offer of ceasefire. Senior BJP leader Swapan Das Gupta wrote that "the country did not like it". Some other leaders denounced the ceasefire, saying it was a step taken under pressure from the West. He says that "Hindu society wants a final solution to Jihadism". What this 'solution' is and how to reach it is not specified. It is also interesting that this gentleman who is talking of a 'final settlement' with Pakistan lives several hundred miles away from the border and war zone. None of the BJP leaders living near the border criticised the ceasefire as they have seen drones flying in the sky. War seems fascinating from afar. Regrettably, a rude and stupid army has been created in the country which can toss anyone's turban. Neither army officers, civil servants nor judges are safe. Those who consider themselves safe today may become their targets tomorrow.
These social media warriors pose a grave threat to the harmony of the country. India is an emerging power. We are going to become a 5 trillion dollar economy by beating Japan. Not the enemy can derail us, but internal tensions. Therefore, this Hindu-Muslim should be stopped. These so-called 'nationalist' warriors need to be stopped.