By Barnes Mawrie
The general Lok Sabha election is at the threshold and every political party is busy planning and scheming. The question that is uppermost in the elector’s mind is “what agenda will be foremost in this coming election?” It looks like the BJP and its allies are bent on making religion the principal agenda for this election. There are many factors that point to this political development. The Government has intelligently planned to have the inauguration and blessing of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in this election year. The event is scheduled for 22nd January and it is going to be a mega event with a lot of fanfare. Prime Minister Modi is going to be the hero of this event along with his party leaders. The leaders of the Opposition seem to have been relegated to the background. This is deliberately done in order to boost the image of the Government and belittle the opposition in the eyes of the public. It is evident that every TV channel today is full of advertisements on Ram Temple and stories from the Ramayana, as if this is more important than other issues which affect the lives of people like unemployment, inflation, poverty etc.
It looks like the BJP has run out of ideas and now it is playing the religion card. Can the Indian public be fooled again? It seems so, for religion as they say, runs thicker than blood in our veins. The vast population of Hindus in our country especially in the “cow belt” region, are easily motivated by issues related to religion. With the unprecedented religious sentiments running in the country through politicization of Ram Temple and other religious issues, it seems like a foregone conclusion that the BJP will come to power again in this coming election. Making Lord Ram (with all due respect for this great deity), the national hero, is the worst idea in any democratic country. Let us leave the gods and goddesses in the realm of religion alone and not tarnish their images with mundane ideologies. I do not yet know of any Christian country in the world which has made Jesus Christ the national hero. Individuals may take their deities as their personal heroes, but it is unbecoming for a nation to adopt deities as political or national heroes. That is an archaic idea which belonged to the ancient civilizations.
This is a dangerous trend that we see in our country since the coming to power of the BJP in 2014. Religion is being used as a political tool to further a party’s agenda and ideology. Constitutional institutions like the CBI or ED are being weaponized to target the opposition. Freedom of speech and expression is gradually being curtailed. It is becoming evident that India is being pulled towards a theocratic ideology. The Prime Minister will eventually become not merely a political head but a religious leader as well and the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and other Hindu radical groups are gradually assuming the role of enforcers of Hinduism and Hindu culture. This election of 2024 will prove to be the last straw in Indian democracy. It is a do or die election for the survival of our democratic system. Our country is at the mercy of the intelligent citizens who have the power to put an end to the rightist dominance and bring back democracy.
We pride ourselves in being the largest democracy in the world, but will that soon transform into being the largest theocracy? India used to be known as a very tolerant and accommodating country where Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and every religious group lived together as brothers and sisters. Mutual respect, support and concern used to be our nation’s age-old creed. Today this creed is being dismantled bit by bit as we witness the surge of religious intolerance and Hindu fundamentalism. Our forefathers fought for freedom and democracy and many of them laid down their lives for this. Finally, they achieved their dream and aspiration when in 1947 India got its independence from the British colonists. Since 1950, the beginning of our Republic, our country has been functioning as an exemplary democracy in the world. Many nations looked up to us for inspiration. The famous national cliché “unity in diversity” which is a typical democratic philosophy, was very much adhered to. All the earlier governments have been conscientious of preserving the democratic fabric of our beloved nation. However, from 2014 onward, this very fabric has been threatened and India is fast edging towards theocracy.
Today all Hindu fundamentalist groups are becoming bold in carrying out their Hindutva agenda. The cow vigilantes, the saffron hate speakers, the mosque and church demolishers and the oppressors of the minority groups, are flexing their muscles and they are taking the law in their own hands with impunity. With another term for this government, India is going to witness more and more persecution of the minorities and God forbid, we might be heading towards national disintegration.
To be candid about the present government, I would not deny the fact that the present BJP-led government is very efficient and a lot of development has taken place in these past few years. In comparison, there is much less corruption in governance today than before. But what is casting a slur on this government is its unholy marriage with religion which becomes a threat to democracy. We do not want to see India becoming another Iran or Afghanistan where religious rules become supreme and human rights and freedom are suppressed. Every right-minded citizen of India irrespective of race and religion, should therefore resist any attempt to destroy or belittle democracy in our great country. This election therefore is going to be either “bye bye BJP or bye bye democracy.”