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How secular is India today?
By Asghar Ali Engineer
THERE is
always a big gap between theory and practice, theology and history.
Indian constitution, no doubt, is one of the best in the world. It
is truly secular in spirit so much so it was secular even when word
secular was not added to it until 1975 i.e. during emergency. If it
were truly implemented India would be an ideal country to live in
especially for minorities, both religious as well as linguistic.
However, as we all know there is big gap between theory and
practice, constitution and governance of the country. India was far
more peaceful after independence for a number of reasons. Firstly,
nationalist leaders who had participated in freedom struggle and
were instrumental in framing the constitution were still around and
despite various pressures, stuck to their ideals and values to a
great extent.
Secondly, due to idealism and nearness to the spirit of freedom,
national identity was of great importance and often caste,
linguistic and religious divisions mattered less. Thirdly, the
process of economic development had just begun and yet people's
demand for share in development on caste and communal lines was not
very articulate and loud.
Because of all this, identity politics was still subdued and Marathi
versus non-Marathi, Tamil versus non-Tamil sentiments were not so
prominent. Hindu versus Muslims feelings were not so subdued due to
memory of the 1947 partition but due to other factors communal
violence was still limited and had not assumed proportions of ethnic
cleansing or genocide the kind of which occurred in Gujarat in 2002.
It all began with a series of communal riots in sixties assuming
great proportions in Ahmedabad in 1969 and Bhivandi in 1970. In
Ahmedabad nearly 1,000 people were killed in 1969 and around 400 in
Bhivandi. But then communal violence remained in check until 1977
when again some major riots took place in several places like
Jamshedpur, Aligarh and Varanasi, etc.
Again the whole decade of eighties was full of communal violence
climaxing in Mumbai riots in 1992-93. The Ramjanam bhoomi movement
once again polarised the Indian society as had happened on the eve
of partition. Then, there was lull in communal disturbances from
1992-93 to 2002 when Gujarat massacre took place in 2002. These
riots once again made communal situation fragile and weakened
secular ethos in the country.
Now the identity politics soared quite high and national ethos
considerably weakened. Today, everyone gives priority to caste,
communal and religious identity over national one. National
rhetoric, as if, has almost disappeared and even Hindutva forces
talk more of Hindu religion than of patriotism or nation. For them,
too, Indian nationalism has been replaced by Hindu nationalism.
For Shiv Sena, of course, Maharashtra was always more important than
rashtra (nation) and those Hindus, too, who spoke Hindi the
rashtrabhasha (national language) came under attack. Several Hindus
from UP and Bihar were mauled by Marathi speaking zealots belonging
to Maharashtra Navniram Sena (MNS), a splinter group from Shiv Sena.
In recent days Christians who were never targeted before by the
Hindutva zealots have also come under attack. Christians, a mere 2.2
per cent minority and which has contributed so richly to the country
in the field of education and health services are being killed
ruthlessly. What is going on in Kandhmal district of Orissa and some
adjoining districts, is indeed horrible.
More than 40 Christians have been killed, a nun gang-raped, a woman
burnt beyond recognition, more than 400 houses burnt and looted and
35,000 have fled from their villages to relief camps. And what for?
A myth has been spread by the powerful machinery of Sangh Parivar
that all Christians must convert – remember RSS propaganda "All
Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims"?
Orissa is another Gujarat both in brutalities and terrorisation of
minorities. When Christians and Muslims are being so brutally
targeted the RSS Chief Sudarshan says that since Muslims want every
one to become a Muslim and Christians want all to follow Christ, so
Hindus must give an appropriate reply. And our rulers just look on.
When BJP was in power and the whole country was communalised we were
feeling suffocated. But we felt relieved when UPA coalition led by
the Congress took over after defeating the BJP-led combine at the
hustings. We celebrated UPA's victory specially because it was
supported by the left which is the only hope for Indian secularism.
However, the left has now withdrawn its support to the government on
the nuclear issue and once again we are feeling suffocated in the
communally surcharged atmosphere in India.
However, what is most worrisome is the fact that it is happening
under the government of a party which is supposed to be secular.
Perhaps today there is more suffocation than it was under the BJP-led
NDA government. The UPA has forgotten all its promises made to the
people and is betraying minorities and has forgotten its secular
commitment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is more occupied with his
pet nuclear pact with America than the communal explosion back home.
The communal forces are growing stronger and stronger everyday and
the ruling coalition of secular forces is quite indifferent. The
home ministry is functioning quite in a lackadaisical manner. It has
given complete liberty to the communal forces and they are riding
roughshod over our secular values and constitutional ethos. They
never got such a license to function freely.
The NDA government had liberally appointed pro-RSS elements in all
key positions and they captured important academic positions too.
Also, the RSS trained teachers and journalists also were also
recruited on large scale. It is because of this that we find
communally minded people in all walks of life. The media has also
been communalised to larger extent.
Today be it communal riots or terrorist attacks, most of the
newspapers and TV channels follow police version unabashedly as if
it is the ultimate truth. No questions are raised and it appears as
if investigative journalism has become a thing of the past. Media
plays the most important role in strengthening democratic values and
democracy cannot survive without a critical and alert media. But it
seems except for few papers and magazines media has been completely
communalised.
Even a reputed daily from south, known for its strong commitment to
secularism, appears to have developed, of late, subtle communal
slant. It is indeed a very critical phase India is passing through.
India is known as the largest secular democracy in the world. But
first Gujarat and now Orissa has dented its secular image, thanks to
Hindutva forces. Manmohan Singh was faced with the most embarrassing
situation abroad recently and he had to admit that what is happening
in Orissa is ‘shameful’.
But having described developments in Orissa shameful what has he
done to redeem it? He is quite hesitant to ban Bajrang Dal and
resisting demand of some of his own Congress party colleagues to ban
it saying we are watching and waiting for reports from chief
minister of Orissa. It is indeed more shameful than communal carnage
itself in Orissa. Any truly secular government would have dismissed
Navin Patnaik government for its complete inability to control
communal violence.
So far I never believed that Indian communalism could take form of
fascism as many leftists had been saying all along. Today we see the
footprints of fascism in India. The situation is very similar to
that of Germany in the thirties. The unemployed hordes of lower
middle classes have joined Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad in
large numbers and hailing Hindutva leaders. Some of the text books
in Rajasthan and Gujarat, both BJP ruled states, are praising
fascism and Hitler.
Also, the central government is appeasing these communal forces. It
appears though the government in New Delhi is of secular UPA, the
agenda is of Sangh Parivar. The police appear to be taking orders
from Sangh Parivar rather than from the ruling Congress or UPA. Riot
after riot, be it in Orissa or Digras, Pusad or Dhule, the policemen
just look on when mobs loot and burn even during curfew hours.
It is indeed a strange situation. The UPA government is assisting
the Sangh Parivar in every possible way. The police are riding
absolutely roughshod over minorities and the latest example is Batla
House 'encounter'. Though the print and electronic media abdicated
its responsibility the human rights groups raised questions and
pricked holes in the police claim of ‘encounter’ of dreaded
terrorists.
The situation is indeed very grave and unless secular forces unite
and play a determined role, things can get far more worse.
The writer is chairman of the Centre for Study of Society and
Secularism, Mumbai.
DAWN:Saturday, 18 Oct, 2008 |
