We are Indians: CRPF slams report on caste of martyrs
What's the story
Slamming an atrocious media report which put caste stamps on martyrs of the February 14 attack, CRPF spokesperson on Friday said soldiers identified themselves as Indians and weren't confined to the decisiveness of caste, color, and religion.
The story published in The Caravan dissected the castes of the martyrs at a time when the entire country mourned their deaths.
The criticism was obvious.
Article
Context: While nation wept, someone "investigated" caste of fallen
The divisive article was published just days after Jaish-e-Mohammed attacked a CRPF convoy in J&K's Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were martyred.
Pushing the emotions of grief aside, the publication went ahead and did a story on the caste of soldiers.
The motive was to show those from oppressed castes laid down their lives while the privileged ones didn't do much.
Quote
Writer backs article with numbers
"I tracked the caste background of the 40 CRPF jawans whose deaths were confirmed immediately after the attack. (So) only five out of the 40 jawans, or 12.5 percent, came from Hindu upper-caste backgrounds," the article read.
Twitter Post
Mehbooba Mufti was unamused with the story
In a surcharged atmosphere with a fervent desire for war, this is callous.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) February 21, 2019
When a jawan sacrifices his life to secure yours, do you think he cares about your caste, creed, religion, etc? He fights for India not for a hindu , muslim or sikh. Rise above this petty mindset. https://t.co/AI6rBlZIKn
Reaction
Martyrs are not your statistics: CRPF criticizes publication
The piece didn't age well and was soon slammed by everyone, including CRPF's chief spokesperson Moses Dhinakaran.
On Twitter, Dhinakaran asked the publication to not "insult the martyrs".
"You should strictly refrain from insulting all the martyrs. They are not statistics for your demeaning and meaningless write-up," he tweeted, echoing the emotions of hundreds of others who slammed the article.
Twitter Post
We in CRPF are Indians: Dhinakaran
We in CRPF identify ourself as Indians. Not more, not less. This pathetic divisiveness of caste, color, and religion doesn't exist in our blood. You should strictly refrain from insulting all the martyrs. They are not statistics for your demeaning and meaningless write-up. https://t.co/SOlRUwF878
— Moses dhinakaran (@dhinakaran1464) February 22, 2019
Pak's response
Notably, Pakistan used article to speak about "motive"
It is also important to note that the article was used as a reference by Major General Asif Ghafoor, Pakistan armed forces official spokesperson, and DG Inter-Services Public Relations.
At a time when Pakistan has claimed it wasn't involved in the attack and wants India to furnish proofs, the article gave the neighboring country an opportunity to berate us.
Information
Caste composition shows "motive", claimed Ghafoor
Ghafoor, reportedly, said the caste composition of the convoy showed the "motive" behind the attack. He added during election season, such attacks are fairly common. However, Ghafoor failed to reveal the "actual motive".
Political turn
Separately, BJP said Congress sponsored the caste analysis
Notably, controversy stoked by the article also took political hues.
Sambit Patra of the BJP claimed that Congress "sponsored" caste analysis of the fallen.
"It feels devastated to see that the Congress sponsored a report on castes analysis of our soldiers. Does the Army have any religion or caste? The Army is of India. The Army has no caste," Patra said according to ANI.