By B.K. Chum
After the Modi government’s honeymoon period prematurely ended within six months of its assuming office on May 26, 2014, now signs of anti-incumbency have started emerging. Different sections of people are protesting against the government’s failure to fulfil its election promises. Thousands of farmers are holding demonstrations against the government’s land acquisition policy. The promised reforms are in a state of limbo. One can hear dissenting voices in the ruling NDA against centralisation of power by the Modi-Amit Shah duo.
Modi’s supporters can describe the controversies as birth pangs of a new government. But the atmosphere of hate and hostility being created by the proponents of Hindu Rashtra against the religious minorities can certainly not be explained as a berth pang. It is a matter of great concern and the self-acclaimed champions of India’s unity should realise that their attempts to communalise the polity will prove counter-productive for the country’s integrity.
In his telling comments J.F. Ribeiro, a Christian who as Punjab DGP helped the nation win the battle against terrorism in the state has said: “What is frightening me is that majority communalism and extremism can bring our nation to the same situation that Pakistan is facing today…..Today, in my 86th year, I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger….I am not an Indian anymore, at least in the eyes of the proponents of the Hindu Rashtra”.
A brief account of the happenings during the nine months of Modi government’s rule justifies what Ribeiro has said.
It began with the hard-liners of the RSS and its affiliate outfits kick-starting the hatred campaign against the minorities. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s divisive “Hindustan is Hindu Rashtra” remarks caused widespread concern. The RSS chief should not forget that India’s is a multi-cultural plural society with followers of different faiths including, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs inhabiting it.
After Bhagwat’s Hindu Rashtra comments, a number of BJP MPs and RSSs affiliates started making hate speeches against Muslims and Christians. One of them even said that there would be no Muslims and Christians in India by 2021. ‘Ghar wapsi’ campaign to convert Christians and Muslims as Hindus was launched. Their hardliners like Subramanium Swami and Pravin Togadia made provocative utterances. Subramaniam Swamy even said that mosques are not religious places. These are only buildings and can be demolished. Not to lag behind, some Muslim leaders including Owaisi, head of a right wing Muslim organisation also made statements like “all people are born Muslims and have later been converted into other religions.”
The utterances of all such leaders need to be seen in the context of what the ancient Greek Philosopher Plato had said: “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
The situation also reminds of the happenings during the mid-fifties Punjabi Subi agitation. The hate and provocative speeches of Punjabi Suba agitators and Dr. Kali Charan Sharma, chief of the Ludhiana-based extremist Hindu body Maha Punjab Front matching those of the Togadia and Subramanium Swami-like hotheads had then generated communal tension and clashes between Hindus and Sikhs leading to imposition of curfew in Punjabi Suba agitation’s nerve centre Ludhiana.
The opposition to land acquisition move and the hate speeches by the Hindutva protagonists are changing India’s political scenario. The land acquisition issue has provided unity platform to the Opposition. A significant aspect of their first joint action undertaken last week is the proactive role the Congress president Sonia Gandhi has started playing. Under her leadership the entire opposition held march against land acquisition’s proposed law. One does not rule out the possibility of the unity platform being used for Opposition’s jointly launching future campaigns on common issues against the Modi government.
Situations never remain static. It is the law of nature. Modi’s political career has hitherto been on the ascendancy. But now ominous stars seem to have started eyeing it. This is reflected in his doublespeak and hypocritical actions. Modi in his elections speeches at Kathua and Kishtwar in November last had said “…..Will only one father-son and father-daughter run the government in Jammu and Kashmir?……Don’t look at these father-son, father-daughter duos…….Dynastic politics can never become the voice of the people”. But later his party formed an alliance with the father-daughter duo for power. Facing criticism, Amit Shah last week told the RSS meeting at Nagpur “Move to form J&K alliance was in a hurry, but there is no need to snap ties”.
Given his past record, Modi’s stand on the atmosphere of hate and hostility created by Hindu Rashtra’s proponents against the religious minorities has been blatantly hypocritical. His stance, however, witnessed ‘soft’ change after USA President Barack Obama during his Indian visit in January publicly warned India against the danger of being splintered along lines of religious faith. “Our (India and USA) diversity is our strength and we have to guard against any efforts to divide ourselves along sectarian lines,” Obama said.
For eight months Modi kept silent on the hate speeches being made by his party leaders against the minorities. After Obama’s warning he cautioned the fringe elements against making hate speeches. The latter not only persisted with their hostile utterances, some of the extremist elements also attacked and desecrated churches at some places.
Modi was forced to take exception against such attacks after some countries made critical comments against the attacks on churches. Modi must have felt that his global image he had so assiduously, built was getting tarnished. He told the Christians religious function in New Delhi in February “My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly. Mine will be a government that gives equal respect all religions and protect the right of every individual to adopt and retain the religion of their choice”. A welcome assertion.
One hopes the warning will stop desecration of churches which, however, still continues, the latest being demolition of a church in BJP-ruled Haryana. But the question is: Does Modi’s latest stance reflect a genuine change in his attitude towards the minorities? (IPA Service)