Travesty of Indian Secularism

On January 3rd nearly 2,50,000 Muslims assembled at Kaliachak protesting a  derogatory comment allegedly made by Hindu Mahasabha activist Kamlesh Tiwari on Prophet Mohammed in response to UP Muslim leader Azam Khan’s tweet. In response to the comment made on Dec 2^nd, Edara-e- Shariyah called for a protest march. The incensed mob besides demanding a death penalty for the Hindu activist eventually in a rather pre-planned attack turned violent. They gutted public infrastructure, burnt buses, deliberately vandalized Kaliachak police station destroying valuable documents and attacked houses of dozens of Hindus. Hindu temples too were attacked. Tiwari was arrested in Lucknow despite non-existence of any blasphemy law in India. Interestingly, the over enthusiastic Indian media too was tight-lipped. It smartly escaped public censure for hardly covering the incident with riots striking the state at a time when country was reeling under treacherous Pathankot attacks. Post-attacks, entry of politicians from other parties was restricted and the details of the attack are largely kept under wraps. Latest reports now indicate that intelligence agencies warned state police of an impending attack but district machinery wasn’t alerted. In fact, Mamata Banerjee government held BSF responsible for the violence.

This massive carnage stirred up huge demonstrations in places like Bhopal, Purnea, Bengaluru and Rampur in support of Malda protests. These series of events were largely unreported. Meanwhile, self-acclaimed liberals thronging debates on various platforms downplayed the protests. Civil Rights organization, Association for Democratic Rights simply dismissed the unprecedented violence as a “symptom of lawlessness in state”. The riots of Malda are truly grievous in nature considering its strategic geographical location. Malda district shares border with Bihar and Jharkhand and also shares an international border with Bangladesh. Kaliachak is under NIA scanner for  the burgeoning anti-social activities including bomb making, illegal drug trafficking, smuggling of arms and routing fake Indian currency. It is reported that 8000 bighas of land is under Poppy cultivation in the district. Malda known for its succulent mangoes and raw silk is now hot seat for poppy farming. The region having suffered utter neglect fell from state government fell into the trap of the organized international criminals across the porous border. According to Census 2011 reports, Malda district recorded an unusual increase in Muslim population, drastically altering demographic composition and making its Muslim-dominated region. It is unfortunate despite ruthless display of violence by an organized congregation of agitated masses the State government refuses to act. State administration managed to arrest nine accused of them six are already out on bail. Sadly, even many media houses refuses to run stories of the targeted communal attacks. With assembly slated for 2017, the incident is now gaining much traction and reports for investigation agencies alerted that Malda will be Afghanistan of India.

On contrary, no contemporary Indian political enthusiast could ever forget the torrent of intolerance debates, fury of outrage and exemplary solidarity displayed by political outfits in lambasting the Dadri incident. While the incident was heinous, the cacophony it created, drew the attention of international media. Newspapers like Guardian carried a scurrilous attack on intolerance of the current dispensation. It is no overstatement that Dadri was instrumental in sculpting a massive electoral victory. Major political parties augured by proactive media drew enough mileage from the unfortunate incident. Disparagingly, the violent rampage at Kaliachak in the Muslim dominated district of Malda in West Bengal hasn’t received any political condemnation leave aside the relief, which seeped in generously to the Dadri victims.

While the selective outrage displayed by political outfits is bound to draw a comparison between Malda and Dadri, but the problem plaguing India for the past six decades needs to be rectified. Since independence India is a pluralist state and there used to be one Muslim for every ten Indians then. Constitutional experts in a bid empower minorities enshrined special provisions for them through article 29 and 30. But the constituent assembly while trying to protect minorities failed to define what constitutes minority. Post-partition elitists presumed that if at all any rights can be threatened it will be of minorities, thus began mollycoddling of minorities and the advent of jingoistic secularism. Over the period of time, politicians began appeasing the minorities. Incidentally, courts have defined minorities as groups that are smaller in state. By this definition, Muslims are no longer minorities in Jammu Kashmir while Hindus are minorities in Nagaland and Meghalaya. Kerala is starring at a new possibility of having no majority since Hindus are no longer 50% of the population. Contemptuously, majority bashing and minority appeasement has become unwritten golden rule of secular India. While the world secular was never part of the preamble, a disguised form of the minority appeasing continued to exist. Through the 42^nd amendment of constitution enacted in 1976 India has become a secular nation. While the state had no religion, secularism in India entails equal treatment to all religions by state. Thus, acceptance of religious laws has become a binding on state in India. In contrast the western definition of secularism advocates a separation of religion and state.

In other words, while Muslims are entitled to have Sharia based Muslim personal law, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities are bound by a common law. Currently according to Pew research report, one in every seven Indians is a Muslim. With stark change in the demographic composition, the old perception that Muslims would eventually march towards secularism discarding obscurantist ideas like blasphemy is now going to be an onerous task. Meanwhile political parties are unabashedly warming up to the whims and fancies of the minorities for assured vote-banks. Leaders of major political parties are at the beck and call of the Muslim clergies whose dictum can change the electoral fate. Ugly insinuations by leaders implicating Hindus extremists is tearing the society along communal lines. This phenomenon has propelled the emergence of Muslim leaders solely committed to defending Muslim personal law. In the process, the streak of extremism which is inconspicuous in Indian Muslim majority may rise new concerns.

Moreover, World is now battling to overcome the veracity of the Islamic terror rooted in jihadi ideology. In fact, our western neighbor which was in the safe hand of the modernists in its inception is dominated by hardliners who have steered the country away in a new direction turning it into a den of terrorists. For the fast six decades, India has been expending its critical resources, personnel and energy to fight the menace. Excessive pandering to the fundamentalist elements in Indian society would cause abrasion to the communal fabric of Indian society. A clear distinction should be made between the cases where Muslims were truly the victimizers and should be sympathized when they are victims. In Bengal, as ground reports indicate situation is turning from bad to worse. It is a border state and shares porous international borders with Bangladesh where avowed Indian enemies have clandestinely implanted active terror networks. Putting aside the electoral advantages, the state government must act sternly to extricate the terror elements operating on Indian soil.  Investigation agents have expressed severe concerns about operatives active in the border districts of Birbhum, Malda, Murshidabad. Bengal has been riot prone and consecutive governments have failed to stem the growing menace.

While World nations enthusiastically revel marvel of technological advancements and steadily march ahead unraveling mysteries of the Universe, India is bogged down by bouts of episodic communal unrest, intolerance and lately hit by caste bias too. The enormity of public tirade and pandemonium created by gusty Indian youth requisites serious introspection. 21^st century was widely projected to be dominated by Asia. Indeed several South East Asian nations, liberated from the cudgels of colonialism around 1950’s and 60’s proved their mettle emerging as Tiger Economies. China, too overcame the encumbrances of class divide and inequalities by religiously pursuing economic reforms in 1980’s. Though India made a humble beginning to revive its stuttering economy, the periodic resurgence of simmering class bias/communal drives India back into the swamp of inequality, prejudice and the feudal mindset resurfaces. Recent spate of events and the subsequent escalation of tensions across the society raises serious doubts about the prospects of a modern and competitive India.

It is time that power mongering politicians refrain from appeasing minority communities and crucially focus on the law and order situation. Irrespective of religion, fundamentalists in any form who threaten to violate the pluralism of the country shouldn’t be treated with kid’s gloves. India should learn to call a spade a spade. Every community must be extended similar treatment and government should critically refrain from extending preferential treatment. Finally it should now bell the cat and consolidate grounds for implementation of uniform civil code. India was pluralistic nation and has to remain so to make steady progress.

 

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