For quite some time, it has been evident that Shaheen Bagh would be the site of a heartbreaking tragedy. When women and children are used for the purpose of Islamic zealotry, historically, the results have not been too pretty. And now, OpIndia has confirmed that the first real tragedy at Shaheen Bagh has occurred. A two-month-old child has become a victim to the delusions of her parents at Shaheen Bagh. She has succumbed to poor health due to the harsh weather conditions during winter in Delhi.

A little infant has passed away due to the negligence of her parents but the protests at Shaheen Bagh haven’t stopped yet. The life of a baby was snuffed out by delusions and uninhibited political ambitions of a few and yet, hardly anyone seems to care. Sharjeel Imam, the mastermind of these protests, is in prison now and he is surely not aware of recent developments. Would he shed a tear for the life that was claimed by the monster he unleashed? Unlikely; after all, to an Islamist, what is the life of a baby compared to the glory of the Ummah? What is the life of a baby compared to the joy he would feel when he has succeeded in rubbing the nose of the Kaafirs in the dirt? Why should Sharjeel Imam, the bright scholar of JNU, bother about the life of some inconsequential little child that has been lost? The life of a little baby is a small price to pay for Jihad after all.

Unfortunately, it is the same mentality that appears to be driving the protesters at Shaheen Bagh. One of the protesters said, “Humne thodi maara hai usko? Allah ki bacchi thi, Allah ne apne paas bula liya. (We didn’t kill her. She was Allah’s child and she has gone back to Allah’)”. She further added, “Yahan par to bado par bhi goli maari jaa rahi hai, woh to bhala bachhi thi, qurban ho gayi (here even grown-up people are shot at, she was after all a child. She has sacrificed her life).”

Read: “Allah ki bachchi thi, Allah ne bula liya”: How the anti-CAA protests in Delhi killed a 2 month old baby

There doesn’t appear to be any remorse over the death of the child. Not a shred of guilt is to be found. If only they had accepted the CAA and NRC as Allah’s will, that little baby would still have been alive. An endless ocean of possibilities has been extinguished because her parents prioritized their opposition to Narendra Modi and the CAA and NRC over the life of their daughter. And now, she is gone.

Let it not be said that there wasn’t any warning leading up to this. A complaint was filed with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in January against the use of children during the anti-CAA protests. However, no one paid any heed to it. Everyone ignored it and it is understandable why; because they could afford to do so.

The mainstream media, too, has contributed greatly to the demise of the little girl. They glorified her presence in the protests because it suited their agenda. They couldn’t care for her welfare when she was alive and now that she is dead, they are trying to bury the news because it will hurt their agenda. The Radical Muslim is willing to sacrifice children at the altar of Jihad and the Liberal is willing to sacrifice children at the altar of liberalism. There is a reason why liberals and Radical Muslims get along so well with each other. For both these parties, the end justifies the means.

Read: “More than enough grounds for strong reaction from Muslims across India”: Police unravels shocking details from Sharjeel Imam’s phone

In an ideal world, the parents of the little girl would be tried for criminal negligence. They would be prosecuted, if they have any other minor children, they would be stripped of their custody and strict punishment would be enforced upon them. But in the world we live, the negligent parents wouldn’t have to pay any price for their negligence. However, one could argue that the pain of losing one’s daughter is punishment enough for them.

One is forced to wonder at this point where does this madness end? If the death of a two-month-old baby isn’t enough to knock some sense into the head of the protesters, what possibly could? The CAA does not even affect Indian Muslims in any manner. The NRC hasn’t even been officially announced yet, nor have the rules for it been set. They have been repeatedly assured that the NRC would not affect one single Indian Muslim and yet, here we are.

Some people would obviously try to blame Narendra Modi and the BJP for this. They would claim that the innocent baby is a martyr for the cause of justice. It can be safely said only the most horrid of people, whose hearts have been eaten hollow from the inside by the hatred that festers in them, whose brains have been rendered dysfunctional by delusions of grandeur, could ever make such assertions. The little baby did not want any part in their protests, the baby could not care less for the conspiracies hatched by maniacs around her, the baby wasn’t aware at all of the circus of malice she was made a part of against her will.

Yet, there will inevitably be some people who would paint her as a martyr of their personal Jihad. She will be painted as a martyr not because it suits the agenda of those responsible for her death in the first place. All that she wanted was food for her belly and the warmth of a hearth. And it was denied to her by the very people who brought her into this world. There couldn’t ever be a greater travesty than this. Make no mistake, the infant is not a martyr. She did not have a choice in any of this. She will be portrayed as one only by those people who seek to rid the guilt of their conscience by painting her as one.

There will also be certain people who would try to minimize the tragedy of her death by pointing their fingers towards the children who lose their lives every day. Yes, it is true, it is a horrible world that we live in. Some infants do become a victim of the unfortunate circumstances they were born into. The least we could do is not add to the misery that already surrounds us. The death of every child, avoidable or otherwise, is a tragedy and a great travesty. And the death of the little baby from Shaheen Bagh is a million times worse because she was failed by the very people she depended on and counted on the most. She was failed by her parents, the people an infant considers the incarnation of the Gods themselves on this earth.

Due to the zealotry of the protesters and the unfounded fears that were injected into the minds of her parents by malicious individuals, a little baby was robbed of her life. At this sombre moment, we must all recognize the fact that this is what we are up against. This is the hatred we must overcome collectively as a nation if we are to see India occupy its rightful place in the world. We can afford to ignore this but we do so at our own peril and we risk the future of our own children in the process.

If we do not confront this vile hatred now, then we leave it to our children to combat it after it has strengthened manifold. This is where we must make our stand. Today, we have come to know that the hatred has consumed the life of a little child. If we refuse to combat the hatred now, then tomorrow, it will be our children. As a country, we owe it to the little babe of Shaheen Bagh to put an end to this hatred here and now so that we do not lose another child to this madness.

Everyone who is responsible for her death, and they very well know who they are, must reconsider their actions in light of recent events. If they do not, they will only reveal further the extent of their wretchedness. It is time for everyone to see reason. It is time for people to realize that the path they have chosen to tread does not have a light at the end of the tunnel. And should they carry on nary a thought, as they have all this while, they will only provide further evidence of the fact that their hearts have turned to stone.