Incredible or Intolerant India - which nation will the Australian couple remember?

On June 16, 2015, Narendra Modi asked people to share their travel experiences from across India using the hash tag #IncredibleIndia on social media in a bid to promote India’s tourism industry. Narendra Modi retweeted some of his favourite pictures and also used it to compile an album on his Facebook page.  However, on Monday an Australian man found out the other side of India, the brutal, intolerant one where a man can be lynched for what he eats based on rumours or which is unsafe for women.

In a sign of the times we live in, Matt Gordon a 21-year-old Australian and his girlfriend Emily Kassianou, 20, were accused of 'hurting religious sentiments'. Now the irony is that Matt is here on a spiritual journey to understand Hinduism. He has a tattoo of Ganesha on his back and Yellamma on his shin. Sadly, Matthew would learn the dark path of intolerance that Hinduism is on as he was assaulted by a local BJP leader and then detained by the local police and made to apologise the group for hurting their religious sentiments. (Read: Pranab Mukherjee hits out at rising intolerance)

Gordon told the Hindu: “One of them came to me and confronted me about my tattoo. Soon, they surrounded us and threatened to skin my leg and remove the tattoo.”

The leader involved in this incident, BJP’s RV Ramesh Yadav told the Hindu: “It is insulting the Hindu goddess and also provocative. When we came to know that it was a permanent tattoo, we only asked him to wear a pair of trousers and cover it, for his own safety. We noticed it fine. But if he was roaming on the streets of Austin Town and other areas in Shantinagar, when most of these areas are celebrating Durga Puja putting up pandals, his safety itself is at stake if some mob notices and takes objection to it. It is for his own good that we told him and convinced him about this.”

Reacting to the incident, Matt Keith wrote on Facebook: "My forced letter of apology that I had to write before I could leave the police station at Ashok Nagar. I should not have to apologise for what is on my skin and be put in a traumatising situation where it is apparently acceptable to be harassed, threatened and mobbed. Tolerance, understanding and equality is what we we live by I respect India and Hinduism completely. That's why I spent 35 hours getting a massive Ganesha put on my back and 4 hours getting the Goddess of the lowest rung of Indian society (Yellamma) on the only bit of space I had left on my body." 

"Because my spiritual journey is my decision, as are the markings on my body. I do not deserve to be victimised and have to physically defend myself and my girlfriend every day. She does not deserve sexual abuse both physical and verbal. We support equality for all, tolerance of everyone and especially for the women in this country. Please support us as we try to bring awareness to crimes of injustice." 

No matter how many countries Narendra Modi visits, selling the idea of Incredible India and Digital India, the questions about India's rising tide of right-wing nationalism won't go away. What does it tell the world, when they hear stories about the internet being turned off for days or women being harassed (while documentaries about them are banned). If Matt returns to Australia and has a good story to tell, it will be remarkable but the only story I would've in mind, if I was in his place,  is the one where he was threatened for having a tattoo.

Now like he said about Dadri, Narendra Modi is completely right to say that the BJP doesn’t control law and order in Bengaluru (one of the few states under Congress rule) nor can he control the behaviour of each and every partyman, but there’s no denying that the man who accused Matt and his girlfriend was a BJP leader.

His now-characteristic silence, only seeks to embolden the likes of Ramesh who seem to think that they’re upholders of religious sentiment in this country.

Modi needs to take a leaf from the President, who also spoke about Dadri, he said on the occasion of Durga Puja:  “Remember teachings of Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa ‘Jato Mat Tato Path’ As there are a number of beliefs, there are a number of ways. Humanism and pluralism should not be abandoned under any circumstance.  Assimilation through receiving is a characteristic of Indian society."  He said: “Our collective strength must to be harnessed to resist evil powers in society.  Indian civilization has survived for 5000 years because of its tolerance. We have a Constitution that accommodates all these differences. Hope Mahamaya - the combination of all positive forces would eliminate the Asuras or divisive forces.” 

Hopefully, Narendra Modi will find it in his heart to remind his party-men and comrades about the tolerance that has helped Indian civilisation survive for over 5000 years.