France is burning in the aftermath of point blank shooting of seventeen years old Nahel by a policeman for jumping traffic signal, a minor offence in every country of the world including France. It was a heinous crime by all standards and the guilty must be brought to book. At the same time, the spontaneous breakout of riots and the speed, scale and expanse of violence across France is alarming and speaks of deeper malady which must be addressed carefully.
The refugees have become a big problem for every nation whichever has provided them shelter and succour. The case of France is no different. France gave the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity to the world which became the guiding gospels of modern era. It won't be an exaggeration to say that Paris is the intellectual capital of the world and different principles left, right, left of the centre and right of the centre flourished there. It welcomed every refugee with open arms and gave him all the facilities and privileges of an egalitarian society. Doing so was the need of the hour because of the dwindling workforce in the country. So, it was a complex mix of compassion and necessity.
So far so good. Then why has the honeymoon gone sour ? The fundamental reason is that a refugee is expected to assimilate its culture with the culture of the country he takes refuge in. He is also expected to recalibrate and readjust its belief system with the new country. The refugees of France have failed on both the accounts. On the contrary, they try to impose their norms, values and belief system on the French society. Herein lies the explanation for the mindless and brutal shooting of the young lad and the massive violence in retaliation. If the shooting is symptomatic of a deeper disease, the violence of this scale reflects the well planned preparation on behalf of the immigrants to take on the establishment as and when the situation arose. The rioters burned libraries which is an assault on the intellectual capital of France. It is not a matter of law and order, it is a reflection of the most intense cultural conflict.
France and for that matter the western world need to understand and admit this problem and only then they would be able to treat it properly. It is in this backdrop that Yogi Adityanath and his model of governance is relevant. A French tweeted that Yogi Adityanath is needed to contain the riots in France. Yogi Adityanath has shown how these elements can be effectively handled within the constitutional framework of democracy. Those who champion the causes of these elements keep away from Uttar Pradesh because they know that Yogiji means business. This is the reason that he has been successful in maintaining law and order and punishing the dreaded mafia. The demand for Yogiji keeps coming from different parts of India where state governments fail to deliver on the front of law and order. In this age of social media, the fragrance of good governance spreads far and wide. This is the reason of growing popularity of Yogiji in the world. This is a clarion call to all heads of the states that their voters watch them closely and no ideological cover can shield their mistakes. Get up and act tough against those who try to subvert constitutional obligations whether he is an errant policeman or a powerful group of people who have no respect for the law of the land. It is the duty of the state to enforce the provisions of law as per the procedure of law without any bias of race and religion. It is also the duty of the state not to allow any powerful pressure group to have a field day.
The writer is a noted academician and political commentator. Views expressed in the article are personal