Just imagine if what happened in Dharmasthala had taken place in a place of worship belonging to another religion.
Would the media have remained this quiet? Would the politicians have kept such a calculated silence? Would social media influencers have brushed it under the carpet so effortlessly?
Let’s not pretend we don’t know the answer.
If the incident — whatever form of violence, injustice, or violation it was — had happened in a mosque or a church, the entire national discourse would have been ablaze. There would have been hashtags, prime-time debates, and political blame games. Candle marches would line the streets. Statements of solidarity and outrage would flow like monsoon rivers.
But because it happened in a Hindu pilgrimage centre — in Dharmasthala — the silence is deafening. No arrests. No resignations. No accountability. Just silence, coated in spiritual spin and protected by political indifference.
This is not about pitting one religion against another. This is about equal outrage for equal injustice. It’s about holding all institutions to the same moral standards. Because justice, if selective, becomes just another word for propaganda.
The question is simple:
Why are we okay with this hypocrisy?
Or worse — have we normalized it?