SANGH PARIVAR WORKING ON ‘HINDU RASHTRA’ THOUGH NRC
By Arun Srivastava
The NRC is part of the BJP’s attempt to redefine India’s identity. A closer look would make it imperative that it is simply the part of the saffron strategy to convert India into a Hindu Rashtra. The element of political confusion and fragility about the India’s identity at this stage for our secular, democratic and socialist founding principles is deeply worrying
Amit Shah’s systematic harping on this issue provides an insight into the evil design drawn by the RSS and Sangh brigade. There is no doubt it that some Muslim migration had taken to Assam and Bengal in the wake of Bangladesh war. But the situation has completely changed during the last fifty years of Bangladesh liberation. The Bengali Muslims who came to India during war have now completely assimilated with the Indian population.
But what is really intriguing is he has been conspiring to throw all kind of Muslims from the entire country. This certainly gives rise to element of suspicion about his real intentions. The Sangh has chalked out the most dreaded policy to eliminate the Muslims.
It is really sad that the ordinary common Hindus are unable to comprehend this strategy of RSS. The man army of the BJP has clearly chalked out strategy. While Narendra Modi will present the façade of liberal policy, Amit will implement the RSS agenda of Hindutva. Modi doing this invited wide ranging attention. But in the case of Amit it would not be the case. It is worth mentioning that Amit has made it crystal clear that Muslims are unwelcome. But he is agreeable to accept all other minority groups who even came to India by 2014. It obviously implied that Amit does not see them as potential threat to the Hindus and Hindutva.
There is a general feeling in the people that Amit can terrorise the common people which Modi cannot do. Moreover by adopting a liberal stance he can assuage the feeling of the common people. After becoming prime minister in 2014 he started spitting venom against Nehru. He used nasty words for him. He blamed him for all the malaises. Now the same Modi has started eulogising him as Mahapurush. It would be naïve to interpret it as change of heart. Instead it is strategic shift.
Shah’s announcement last week that the National Register of Citizens will be carried out throughout the country, including Assam in the ‘natural course of events’ is ominous. It is a known fact that NRC was a part of Assam’s political history: Obviously question arises why is it being extended to other states? Most of the states do not have problems with cross-border migrants. There is no denying the fact Amit Shah has been hiding his real intentions.
It is worth mentioning that home minister’s announcement came just a day after the retirement of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who was seen as the driving force behind the Assam NRC. Though Gogoi was hearing the NRC petition he did not refrain from making public observation on it. It is unusual for an incumbent Chief Justice to publicly declare his views on highly politically fraught matters. He described the NRC as “a base document for the future”, which musters the facts about “illegal immigration”, in order to end the “turbulence whose effects changed the course of life of not only individuals but of communities and cultures across the region.”
The possibility that a huge number of Hindus have been left out is thought to be the reason why the Centre is keen on quickly pushing through the Citizenship Amendment Bill that will allow Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after seven years of residence in the country, even if they do not possess any documents. This is the first major step towards consolidating Hindu population. The only people left out of the bill are Muslims.
Though the saffron brigade would never like to accept the design behind its move, the fact is the country will stand at the brink of tragic human suffering and injustice in case the desire of Amit Shah is fulfilled. One thing is absolutely clear it will ultimately destroy India’s secular democratic Constitution.
Assam’s experience with National Register of Citizens is a trailer for the massive turmoil that India will experience if the NRC is implemented in every state. It is sad that nearly two million residents have been left off the NRC’s rolls. It was indeed shocking for BJP and RSS. They were nursing the impression that NRC would witness removal of Muslims from the state. But unfortunately for Sangh, over half the people who didn’t have the paperwork to prove their citizenship turned out to be Hindus. This is the reason that the BJP finance minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has rejected the NRC in its present form and demanded a new nationwide NRC under which Assam would be surveyed again.
This desperation of RSS and Sangh ought to be realised. Incidentally formation of the government coalition government under Uddhav Thackeray has provided with the correct perspective to analyse the emerging situation and evolve an alternate mechanism to counter the Sangh machination. Mamata Banerjee has already launched the crusade what is needed at this critical juncture is to join the crusade and launch a sustained battle. (IPA Service)