Secularism in India is a creed and an article of faith. The Constitution guarantees freedom and rights to all citizens in equal measure. The societies in India have an eminent desire to co-exist. Riots happened, but they were aberrations and not a norm. Hinduism, which is both a religion and a way of life, is tolerant about other faiths and saw the world as one, as is also evident from the message it held aloft — Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam, World is one Family.
The thought arises in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call on Saturday to reach out to minorities, in an acceptance speech he made in Delhi after being elected for a second time as leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). When Modi took over as PM for the first time in 2014, he made an attempt to keep aside the past – read the Gujarat riots of February, 2002 which happened under his chief ministerial watch – and declare to the world that the Indian Constitution would guide him in his actions in as much that it would be his Holy Gita in governmental performance. To be fair to Modi, he did not act in a different manner. In fact, no PM can.
Yet, the fact also remains that streams in the Sangh Parivar of which Modi is a part had repeatedly gone hammer and tongs at Muslims as also hapless Dalits. Modi as PM did not do enough to rein them in. His silence as leader of the nation in such situations meant he failed to outgrow his RSS moorings. This is due to the fact that his political base was built on that controversial edifice. RSS is changing for the better in many ways. Both RSS and Modi are now keeping hate-mongers like Pravin Togadia under “some” control.
Modi’s call to MPs of BJP/NDA to reach out to the minorities and help open a new chapter is appreciable. True, there are those who create an atmosphere of scare among them so as to fish in troubled waters. They need be stopped in their tracks. Minorities everywhere face problems, but less in India thanks to the great Indian traditions; and no thanks to our politicians, many of whom turned secularism into nothing more than a slogan for vote-fetching. Modi, as PM again, would do well to translate his words into deeds. It will be a good start.