By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
UK is a Christian country was a pre-Easter comment of Prime Minister David Cameron which got highlighted in an article he wrote later. The running headline was quickly criticized by many leading and prominent individuals of that country accusing him of instigating differences in a largely celebrated multicultural country – a matter of national pride. Individual freedom is fine but is it appropriate for a state functionary of an important office (an executive head) to make such statements? What has religion which one professes in his individual capacity, got to do with the politics of the country or the world? Cameron’s assertion may have triggered intensive parleys in the UK where religion hardly matters in politics unlike India where religion is a political statement to garner electoral votes.
India takes pride in the supremacy of the Constitution which promises to each one of us the fulfillment of one’s aspiration in all sphere of life. That India is a secular state is enshrined as the soul of the Constitution but the spirit of it is widely missing. The current parliamentary election underlines religion based politics as part of a political aspiration which is a dominant factor that would decide the outcome of the exercise. True, corruption and development seems to have caught the attention of an urban centric crowd but one only has to go to the outskirts and beyond where India actually lives to get a sense of how much religion is embedded in political rhetoric to create a frenzied herd behavior.
If we crunch the numbers of 2011 those proclaiming to be Hindus comprises 80% of the 1 billion plus population. India is the country with the largest Hindu population and is also the country with the 3rd largest Muslim population in the world besides other religious group. We perceive secularism as a binding force for all the religious group which ought to guarantee the unity of the country. Institutions have been secularized as most communities have had representation in the country’s top post (the PM and the Presidency) while there are many from other communities holding important position in other areas of Defense and administration etc. A concerted effort to represent all the communities is supposed to make Indian secularism robust without any restriction to profess faiths, beliefs and practices. This contradicts secularization theory which predicts the demise of religion in human affairs. Undoubtedly there is a religious flavor which runs secularism and the democratic ethos we all subscribed. Moreover Secularism is signed and sealed according to what a particular political party perceives it to be.
India of these times is confronted with a perceived danger which is rightist driven politics (read BJP) helmed by a divisive (sic) figure in the current elections. Narendra Modi has mellowed remarkably as he prepares for his coronation with many critics and cynics warming up to him much to the discomfiture of others. This moderation of Modi’s image however is questionable so long as the RSS and VHP remain close to the party. Recently VHP leader Ashok Singhal expressed his hope that Nepal would go back to becoming a Hindu state once Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. Nepal often hailed as a Hindu state during the days of the Monarchy was declared a secular state after the revolution (the end of Monarchy) led by the Maoists much to the disappointment of the right wing group in India. How would Modi convert Nepal back as a Hindu state is something that begets many questions which may have ramifications on India as a secular state. Unfortunately the PM in- waiting has not reprimanded the VHP leader for this out of place statement leaving open the matter in which such foul mouthed individuals go about to foment unnecessary trouble which need not exist given the theory that the country is all set to vote the NDA to power.
One of the two parliamentary seats in Meghalaya witnessed unprecedented campaigning which is religion centric. Religion was the running theme for the Shillong Parliamentary seat. Arguments and counter arguments bordered around the merits and demerits of the case. The majority of Christian votes consolidated mostly behind the exiled Reverend while other votes were split between other parties. Not getting embroiled in the controversy of how the regional parties unwittingly decided to commit suicide and shoot each other point blank I do take offense at the assertion that only the Reverend can safeguard the Christians of the state as expressed by the present CEM of KHADC in one of the election campaigns. What of the marginalized non-Christian votes in the State in case PBM Basaiawmoit wins? Protect from what? Are the other candidates not capable of protecting unforeseen dangers (or apparitions) that are anti-Christians? Whipping a religious recipe to consolidate voting behavior is a dangerous game even for scoring political brownie points. Strangely not a single individual or group has panned the manner in which the Christian votes have been made the sacrificial lamb to ensure a particular candidate’s victory in this largely Christian dominated state.
To quote a controversial statement made by AAP candidate Shazia Ilmi a community should not remain secular if other communities are communal and therefore it is important to consolidate the communal votes, this statement never felt so true for the Shillong parliamentary constituency despite the context in which it was uttered by Ilmi. Communal votes speak a universal language which is to protect and shield the community’s interest from (un)foreseeable threats
We cannot treat such histrionics with disdain though the realities may present a different picture. A leader speaks according to what he sees or experiences on the ground and his views which reflects the interest of the community (or jaidbynriew) is sometime construed as communal though he may not embody the same. It assures him both votes and victory or it may be a concerted attempt to deflect from his failures (as attributed to Cameron for failing to address national issues). At the end it is not just about voting as dutiful citizens but the larger question is whether we are voting to be more secular or more communal. The result on the 16th would manifest this dilemma.
(The author teaches at Shillong College)