DNA Edit: Law and order failure in Ram Rahim case

The events of the past couple of days preceding Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction on Friday at a special CBI court in Panchkula, and the violence following the judgement reveal an unflattering side of India. A godman with a cult-following can hold a state and its citizens to ransom, and intimidate the government. The Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s shameless display of strength — through his devotees, who had gathered in lakhs, and a huge motorcade which accompanied him on his journey to the court — couldn’t have been possible but for the complicity of the state administration. The lack of political will to reign in blind, belligerent supporters who had virtually laid siege to both Haryana and Punjab makes a mockery of law and order. Had the ‘Messenger of God’ gone scot-free on Friday, it would have dealt a body blow to the belief that the principle of ‘equality before law’ is sacrosanct.

According to one estimate, around 15,000 paramilitary personnel were patrolling the streets along with the police while the Army was on standby, but the scenes on Tuesday spoke of a devil-may-care attitude of a mammoth crowd which had gathered with the expressed intention of indulging in violence in the name of faith. In the age of 24X7 media, Singh is sly enough to cash in on the spectacle surrounding his conviction. In just a couple of days, he has catapulted himself to international stardom. So what if his movies have met with resounding failure, his publicity graph, thanks to his disciples, has shot to dizzying heights. His notoriety will ensure that he keeps hogging the limelight for days to come.

It’s clear that Singh’s social engineering, aimed at giving voice to the oppressed, was but a ruse to consolidate his empire, and run a parallel system outside the purview of law. His enormous popularity was his biggest strength that had made political parties extremely wary of taking him head-on. Over the years as Singh’s clout increased exponentially, he made no bones about the fact that the law of the land is too feeble to throw a challenge at him. When the law finally caught up, he took the martyr route to impress upon his followers that an innocent man had been framed for crimes he didn’t commit. Faith, like love, can be blind as a bat. The light of reason often fails to pierce the darkness of wilful ignorance.