Photo of Awanish Kumar, HR Manager at Maruti's Manesar plant, who was killed on July 19
On Wednesday morning, Awanish left his home promising his wife Suparna and his 16-year-old son that he will be back home. The two of them waited for him to return for a full 48 hours. He returned mutilated and charred and left Suparna and her son devastated. So were we, his batch mates from the 5th batch HAL Management trainees.
We have been told that he is a victim of a spontaneous mob violence, which no one planned, organised and directed. 3000 people organised themselves, armed themselves, they knew where to go, where their prey was and not one of these pack of 3000 is injured. We believe this absurd fiction and legitimise this as, a horror induced by the social inequity and the impatient new generation young workers. We have been told that he was not the target and yet he was the only one killed. The workers, we are told accidentally and out of the deep rage created due to the social divide, decided to break both his legs, set fire to the place, let him suffocate and burn alive to death.
When this story is told to us about a communal violence ala the 'Best Bakery' we do not believe it. We call it murder. Our camera crew and lead journos visit the spot and take up the cause, bring to book the perpetrators. However, in a violence where a middle class manager is beaten and burnt to death, we believe that mobs operate without leadership. We want the political leaders in a communal and caste violence to be held responsible, correctly so. However in this case, 91 foot soldiers have been held, the Union leader who allegedly ignited the fire and flamed the rage and murdered Awanish and grievously injured 40, is still at large. There is no one doing an investigation and naming him in the media. Not even the Maruti management. No one is taking the camera to this Union leader's home or his political patrons, who threateningly offer condolence on camera. They justify this with the classical "Yes...but" trick. Every "Yes...but" is a clever justification of the criminal act. The equanimity of my fellow panelists on NDTV on Friday infuriated me no end.
Even if we accept this nonsense, can someone tell us, how a mild mannered, shy, wage earning employee, can be responsible for the ills of Maruti. He was doing his job as a well-intentioned mediator, trying very hard to bring rapprochement between the feuding groups. Even in war and in mafia violence, the mediators are never targeted. What beasts will feed on this mad rage?
We go into frenzy, when a politician or a collector or a police officer is abducted by the Naxals. Why is Awanish's duty conscience any less important? Is this because he has a fancy title called General Manager? We even dignify the death of a person killed in a terrorist encounter and seek justice, to ensure that this was not a custodial killing or a false encounter. Why are we so calm and matter of fact to this murder at mid-day?
What makes us buy the stupid social divide theory articulated to justify every murder of a middle class professional? This is not an owner or the fat capitalist. He is not even his agent. This is a wage earning employee, who went to work in the company uniform, for a fair day's living to be earned. Awanish is one of us, yet we see his killing not connected to us. We see this as some inevitable sacrifice for the so-called inequity in the society. Will we be so glib, if we are the target and made to live with the fear of murder, to whet the vengeful mob fury, to settle score for the social inequity?
What blindness makes us accept this? Why is there no campaign for justice for Awanish? Is it because we sympathise with the Union leader, who allegedly planned it and used his foot soldiers, to put the fear of god into all Maruti senior managers and a generation of middle class managers? Don't we see this as the return of the bloody 70s and the 80s? How is this different to the terror stricken Calcutta and Datta Samant Bombay of the 70s and 80s? The lynch mobs are back.
Where are the Industry bodies, CII and FICCI? Where is the National HRD network and the NIPM? Where are the human rights activists and the industry leaders? Why is there this deafening silence? Don't we see that this rage, is set to devour the middle class, wage earning, fancy titled, defenseless all of us - Awanishs'. Make no mistake, the more we let this go unpunished, the more we sow the seeds for more such murders. The next one could be you or your loved one. Pray if you are a believer, for no one is interested to stand up and be counted. A few lone voices will soon be consigned to wilderness.
Is there any one listening? Will there ever be justice for Awanish?