The Girl From Kathua Book Review - Symptom of a Deep Malaise that Bharat Suffers from

Most of us would remember faintly, the story of a child of an 8-year-old being murdered, and allegedly raped, nay gang raped. It was four years back. If we can remember it, we will also recall the massive campaign to abuse, and insult Hindus and specifically Dogra Hindus of Jammu, bordering almost on hysteria. We would also remember “ashamed to be Hindu” placards, and posters pasted on SM by celebrities. It was such a Hindu bashing that no person dare defend the accused or protest against the mass shaming of Hindus. But trust Madhu Kishwar to go where none dares to go.

Madhu Kishwar ji was the first person to do a thorough investigation on her own about the Gujarat riots and present clear evidence about baseless Modi bashing at the risk of being blacklisted by the so-called elite academic and journalist circles nicknamed later as the Khan Market Gang. She fought for politically incorrect traditional Khap panchayats in the courts, when they were bashed and by the left illiberal gang and even the courts without hearing their side of the story.

In the case of Kathua again, she showed the gumption to trek her way to the scene of this ghastly incident and meet nearly all the characters involved in this sordid saga, recording them on video. She analyzed the charge sheets with microscopic eyes and presented the story of defamed supposed accused, the Dogras whose crime was that they were Hindus. Hers is not the first investigation. Sandhya Jain ji corrected me and told me that she had already done detailed programs on PGurus, a popular web portal, and YouTube channel. However, hers is such a massive on-field investigation on this issue.

It was a painstaking effort of two years that took another two years to see the light of the day as a book. It is not just the police case that had loopholes that were so big that an elephant could pass through them. She has gone onto bare the political conspiracy of the politicians, specifically the PDP, very boldly. She did it at the risk of cutting off her relations with Mehbooba Mufti with whom she had excellent equation earlier on. She has exposed the inept judge who did not even bother to go thoroughly through the documents pertaining to the case, the manipulation of the legal process by the police, the lawyers in cahoots making money, and politicians.

This book is depressing, disturbing, and alarming. A reader wonders if a famous case can be so brazenly cooked up, framing innocents and the judicial system manipulated what hope does one have in this entire process?

The book is divided into different sections that provide a detailed account of the case, witness accounts, the story of the accused with a point-by-point rebuttal and x-ray of the police files, the witnesses, and the political games. She does not stop here, she comes down heavily on the people who manipulated the case, and the politics behind the case and fiercely exposes the war on Hindu society by other means. She is unforgiving and does not spare any party or organization.

It is shocking how the evidence was manipulated, how the scene of crime was changed and stories manufactured. It is pathetic to see the state government of the time and the police manipulating or cooking up the story of a rape and then expanding it into to mass rape, that included an accused who was saved just because he was fortunate to have digital evidence of his absence from the scene of crime. You will be surprised to know that the forensic report did not confirm any rape! You will be shocked how politicians from the valley went into overdrive to create hatred not just across Bharat but also the world; and ‘fix’ the community that hindered a free movement of terrorists from across the border. This manipulation is so cynical and skilful that you will not believe it till you read about it.

The entire exercise to create a hate narrative was so skilfully built using the social media and feeding the main stream media that the case became global Hindu bashing occasion, using unsuspecting gullible or stupid celebrities. Not surprisingly, another similar case during the same time in Kashmir valley got buried with the help of politicians and obliging media, perhaps because it was not committed in a Hindu majority area.

The author admits in the beginning that this case opened her eyes to the character of Islamists, the jihadis and the threat they pose to other communities. It was as if blinds from her eyes had been removed. If an academic who has fought the left all her life and successfully presented a model of Indian feminism vis a vis the western feminism has been fooled or misled by the propaganda, one can imagine the situation of people of Bharat and the global community.

This book will open the eyes of Hindus to the manipulation of information, news and narrative to create Hinduphobia. Thus, this book is not just about the unfortunate child, but it is about a conspiracy to besmirch the reputation of a community that has treated all religions with respect and given asylum to all. Infact, the most forceful rise of Islam began when the Kashmiri Hindu king Suhadev gave asylum to a Muslim chieftain Shah Mir who had escaped to Kashmir after losing a battle. He snatched the kingdom from the king’s widowed warrior queen Kota Rani. His father was infamous Sikander Butshikan (breaker of buts – idols) who broke maximum mandirs and converted Kashmiri Hindus in thousands.

The book is laboriously researched and written. The reader may feel overwhelmed by the research and technical details and may give up with sheer depression. I wish that the book was tightly edited and was more readable. But I would the readers to carry on because it is for their own good to recognise the enemies within and what situation they might face if seculars have their way with the help of same jihadi elements that played havoc with many lives and besmirched entire community’s reputation, their places of faith and shame Hindus. One would be able to understand how certain politicians have been working hard to serve the interests of their masters across the borders and break India. It is worth your time and effort to read this book. It prepares you for the coming times that seem inevitable unless we learn the lessons from this episode. Reader will be able to see the pattern in similar cases being built on blatant falsehood and manipulation of the social media and mainstream media.

I generally don’t use words repeatedly in my writings. But, in this case I reaslised that I have used the word ‘manipulation’ repeatedly. There is no way I could think of a different word or write about this shameful incident. It is embarrassing to say that Hindus are under siege in a Hindu majority nation. But, if you look at various incidents of killings of Hindu activists in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu who were attacked only because they worked for Hindu cause though they attacked none; or Bengal where Hindus are being attacked and persecuted, or in places like Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir even Uttar Pradesh; you realise that it doesn’t matter a Hindu is in majority or minority in any area, he is targeted.

People from other communities can abuse and attack Hindus and become celebrities, but a Hindu talking of his/her right can be threatened with beheading, jailed, her/his liberty curtailed for talking of self-preservation or responding to hate mongers in their language. Biased police action, need for courts to give directions to the state governments to protect Hindus like in Bengal and Tamilnadu tells us that in the name of secularism, Hindus are facing the brunt of civilisational war. Kathua is symptom of this deeply embedded idea of one-eyed secularism. Who, but a thoroughly politically incorrect lady called Madhu Kishwar could talk about it authoritatively. I may not agree with her many observations, but as an honest researcher and social scientist she has right to her views.

Read The Girl From Kathua, ponder and talk about it. Future is here, it is now.