E-Paper
Tripura: Act firmly against the trouble-makers
The Tripura government must crack down on any elements disturbing communal peace because this majority versus minority violence can lead to an unending cycle of attacks and counter-attacks.
North Tripura district authorities imposed Section 144 in the Panisagar and Dharmanagar subdivisions on Wednesday to maintain “peace and harmony” after clashes erupted during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally on Tuesday. The VHP rally was organised to protest the recent violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. The decision to impose Section 144 was taken after a mosque was allegedly vandalised and several shops, reportedly owned by Muslims, were set ablaze in the district. On Thursday, the police said that fake social media accounts are being used to spread fake news and communally sensitive rumours, and action will be taken against those spreading rumours.
The National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India 2020 report puts Tripura on top of all states in the Northeast in terms of political conflicts with 0.5% crimes per lakh people in the category against 0.1% in Arunachal Pradesh and zero cases of political conflict in the other states. Tripura, however, fared well in terms of communal and religious violence. The administration needs to keep a strict vigil so that this record remains untarnished.
What happened in Bangladesh — temple vandalism and torching of Hindu homes — is unacceptable. But extremism of one kind must not lead to extremism of another kind. It is the duty of the Bangladesh government to crack down on violence and terror, and to its credit, the Sheikh Hasina government is taking strong steps to contain such violence. Similarly, the Tripura government must crack down on any elements disturbing communal peace because this majority versus minority violence can lead to an unending cycle of attacks and counter-attacks.
