Lakhimpur Kheri is a nondescript town in the Terai belt of UP, hardly distinguishable from similar Terai towns say Pilibhit or Bahraich. So insignificant is Lakhimpur that if you omit mentioning the pin code or adding Kheri to Lakhimpur in the address, your letter is likely to end up in Lakhimpur, Assam. A primarily agricultural district, populated by gentle people who mind their own business, Lakhimpur Kheri was recently thrust into the national limelight, by eight violent murders on a single day.

Four of the murdered persons were farmers, returning from a demonstration against the Farming Acts, who were killed by being deliberately run over by a cavalcade of SUVs, allegedly belonging to the local MP’s son. A local TV journalist accompanying the farmers was also run over. Most of the occupants of the rogue vehicles were able to escape after the murder, but three occupants were caught by the enraged public and beaten to death. All vehicles involved in the dastardly crime were torched.

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The lead SUV was allegedly being driven by the local MP’s son, who is said to have fired from his gun at the crowd. A week after the unfortunate incident, post a reprimand by the Supreme Court, police apprehended the MP’s son, who denied his presence at the crime venue. Three weeks later, after basic facts have been ascertained and tempers have cooled somewhat, it is time that we ponder over the frightening insights in our national character and political and administrative system that emerge from the Lakhimpur tragedy.

It would appear that the most noticeable characteristic of us Indians is a do or die interest in politics. Starting from the time elections appear on the horizon but not necessarily ending with the elections, a lawless streak seems to take hold of all political activists, which results in thousands of crimes being registered by the Election Commission for violation of electoral rules. Unfortunately, after conclusion of elections, FIRs filed during election time are given a quiet burial.

Violence mars all elections, particularly on polling day. Postelection, when the Election Commission hands over administration to the elected Government, violence breaks out, as the winning side settles scores with its opponents. Sometimes, as in West Bengal, violence continues unabated long after elections are over, drawing the unwelcome attention of Courts.

Politics was responsible for the showdown between farmers and activists of the ruling party in Lakhimpur; while the farmers were stoutly opposed to the Farming Acts, defence of the Farming Acts was a matter of prestige for members of the ruling party. Tempers were surcharged on the date of the gory incident, because some days earlier, the local MP (who is a Central Minister), had promised to teach the farmers a lesson and his party workers were infuriated with the farmers, who were returning from a successful gherao of the helipad that had aborted the visit of the Deputy CM to Lakhimpur.

Not surprisingly, instead of engaging in discussion and debate, both sides resorted to violence. The first act in the Lakhimpur tragedy commenced with the Minister’s son assembling a cavalcade of three SUVs that drove at breakneck speed along a road closed to vehicular traffic, on which farmers were returning after demonstrating against the Farm Acts. In a bid to establish their superiority, instead of stopping or asking the farmers’ procession to give way, the SUVs deliberately ran over them, that too from behind.

The fact that each SUV had well-off and well-educated young men as drivers and passengers, enhances the gravity of the crime. The reaction of the crowd, five of whose members had been run over, was equally brutal. Three occupants of the SUVs, caught by the crowd, were beaten to death in broad daylight. The gruesome murders in Lakhimpur conclusively prove that we have degenerated into a brutal and insensitive society, for whom human life matters little.

At all stages, the UP Police covered itself with ignominy. For starters, police did not stop the SUV cavalcade that was hurtling down a road barred for vehicles. Then, it watched mutely while the SUVs made mincemeat of the processionists. Later on, the police, though out in force, did not try to protect the occupants of the SUVs from being lynched. No arrests were made from the accident site.

Arrests were made only after the Supreme Court reminded the police that persons named in a murder FIR were usually arrested. Later, during hearing, the Supreme Court pulled up the police for a lackadaisical investigation. However, the judiciary too is not blameless; despite clear directions of the Supreme Court to decide cases against politicians expeditiously, the High Court did not decide a murder case against the Lakhimpur MP for seventeen years, reserving its judgement since February 2020. The Lakhimpur incident has thoroughly exposed the low level to which contemporary politics has descended.

Initially, fearing loss of face, the UP Government did not permit any opposition politician to visit Lakhimpur. After being permitted into Lakhimpur, except for a few opposition politicians who provided emotional and monetary support to the relatives of the dead and injured, most indulged only in abrasive rhetoric. Ignoring healthy precedents, the MoS (Home) has failed to resign or even apologise after the police disbelieved his oft-repeated claim that his son was not present at the accident site.

Also, so far, the UP administration has not deigned to offer any explanation for the failure of its various agencies in handling the Lakhimpur tragedy. Social media, as usual, had tried to fudge facts and create an alternative narrative. But its worst sin was to communalise the Lakhimpur incident, pitching one community against another. The protesting farmers, who were mostly Sikhs, were portrayed as outsiders despite the fact that they had been farming in the Terai region since Independence, and had been instrumental in converting forest land into the rice and sugar bowl of the State.

Thankfully, due to the reduced credibility of the social media, few people believed its twisted narrative. Lastly, the role of the Press and electronic media calls for dishonourable mention. Few, if any, portrayed the Lakhimpur incident as a human tragedy. Most commentators wrote about the political ramifications of the incident, omitting any mention of the trauma of the families of the murdered young men. Much of the reporting was one sided, with a view to exonerate the SUV people of their crime.

A columnist in a pink paper, donning the robes of judge, jury, defence consul and prosecuting advocate all at once, pronounced judgement in the Lakhimpur Kheri case ~ even before a charge sheet had been filed by the police ~ holding the farmers guilty of murder and the SUV driver guilty only of culpable homicide.

However, a more serious study of the facts of the case would lead to a diametrically opposite conclusion viz. the farmers had acted under grave provocation, so in all probability they could only be held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while the SUV driver would probably be guilty of murder because section 300 of the Indian Penal Code states that a person is guilty of murder if he knowingly and without excuse commits an act, which in all probability would cause death, or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.

The immediate priority of the Government and society should be to prevent tragedies of the Lakhimpur kind. This is indeed a tall order because our society has become completely communalised and politicised. Elections to Panchayats, Zilla Parishads, Local Bodies, State Assemblies and Parliament keep the political cauldron boiling at all times. Completing all elections within a window of one month, every five years, would leave the rest of the time free for governance and would also bring down the political temperature.

The second problem is the existence of a vast army of unemployed young men (and some women also) who survive on political largesse ~ by taking loans that they do not return, taking money for contracts they do not perform and acting as cannon fodder in the shenanigans of their political masters. If these young persons are provided gainful employment, politics would lose much of its violent nature and sharp edges.

However, this feat, which would smoothen the deep fault lines of Indian politics, can be achieved only by a person with the sagacity of a Sardar Patel and the managerial skills of a Lee Kuan Yew.

(The writer is a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)