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The ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston was an eye-catcher for more reasons than one. While Modi was saying ‘All Is Well’ in India, thousands of protestors outside were showing a mirror to the real state of affairs in India. At the same event, the US President, Donald Trump, due to face impeachment proceedings, was trying to promote his electoral prospects in the next US elections. He flatters visiting dignitariesto achieve his goals of diplomacy. Here, too, he went on to praise Modi to the sky, calling him a great leader and saying, “I remember, India before was very torn. There was a lot of dissension; fighting and he (Modi) brought it all together. Like a father would. Maybe he is the ‘father of India’.”

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Right within the US, there are many views about Modi. The last time a similar debate cropped up was just before the Indian general elections of 2019. On the eve of the elections,the US premier magazine, Time, came out with a cover story, “Modi: the Divider in Chief’. Of course, in another article in the same issue of the magazine, he was presented as the one who is central to the process of economic reforms in India. What we see here in India, and what the lead article of Time magazine presented, was on the dot – the divisive role of Modi. The observation here has been that Modi’s coming to power has strengthened the divisive forces, the forces who want a Hindu nation. It is precisely these forces, who have gone on a rampage to unleash their agenda around cow-beef. Communal divisions have been deepened and identity issues have come to the fore like never before.

Minorities are being alienated and dalits and adivasis are being marginalized. Even language-wise,there is talk of making Hindi the national language. Identity issues, which create an emotional atmosphere and divide the people,have come to the fore. While Trump is talking in one tone, the Democratic hopeful in the last Presidential elections in America, Bernie Sanders, in a tweet, hinted that Trump is emboldening authoritarian leaders like Modi – leaders who are presiding over religious persecution, repression and brutality against minorities.

Till a few years ago,Modi himself spoke a very divisive language. Now, this job has been passed down to his associates. Yogi Adityanath’s anti-Muslim utterances abound. Anant Krishna Hegde, like many of his ilk,has been openly talking of a Hindu nation. To add to the list,SadhviPragya Singh Thakur, the accused in Malegaon blast, out on bail, has been praising Gandhi’s killer Godse, among other things. Lately, the way Article 370 has been abrogated has increased the alienation of the people of Kashmir tremendously.

In a way, Time magazine’s cover story did capture the state of things prevalent here. Trump is no scholar of history, ignorant of the reason as to why India regards Mahatma Gandhi as the ‘father of the nation’. Trump’s considerations are driven by his political contingency of gradually shifting America closer to India. Earlier, the US favoured Pakistan due to the compulsions of the Cold War era. Later, it kept siding with Pakistan as the US had designs on the oil wealth of West Asia and Pakistan was a part of these designs. Now, with the emergence of China as a major power, and China being close to Pakistan, US gradually wants to come close to India. These may be some of the factors due to which Trump is making such statements. But that’s not all. The US is also maintaining its Pakistan relationship on some scale and very shrewdly, Trump said that Modi had made aggressive remarks in the Houston rally. He seems to be buttering his bread on both the sides, at present.

Reactions to Trump’s formulations pointed out his hollowness. Gandhi’s grandson, Tushar tweeted if Trump will like to replace George Washington as one of the founding fathers of America?

What Trump has stated has pained those for whom Gandhi is the ‘father of the nation’. Anyway, the followers of Modi’s ideology do not regard Gandhi as the father of the nation. Their argument is that India, the Hindu nation; has existed since time immemorial and so, how can Gandhi be its father? Gandhi being the father of the nation also relates to the concept of nationalism. All those who were part of ‘India-as-a-nation-in-the-making’ see Gandhi as the central uniting figure. During the freedom struggle in the anti-colonial movement, it was Gandhi who played the role of uniting the country, which was scattered along the lines of religion, region, caste and language. The communalists, like the followers of Muslim League, saw Gandhi as a Hindu leader and Hindu communalists saw Gandhi as the appeaser of Muslims. Through a very profound and complex process, India emerged as a nation with principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Surely the likes of Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar, Nehru and Patel played a great role in the making of modern India. The process had multiple components, anti-colonialism being the core, where the likes of Bhagat Singh inspired the idea and Gandhi led the greatest ever mass movement, the movement directed against the British Empire.

It is due to this that Subhash Chandra Bose, on July 6 1944, in a broadcast from Singapore Radio, sought the blessings of Gandhi, addressing him as the Father of the Nation. Sarojini Naidu, on April 6, 1947, on the eve of Independence, addressed Gandhi as Rashtrapita (Father of the Nation). So where do we go from here? The Hindu nationalists are euphoric about what Trump said, while all those, who identify with India’s struggle for Independence and uphold democratic values, are in anguish due to this statement from the US President. Trump’s superficial observation is neither sound in the history of India nor in the knowledge of what is happening in India. It is a mere diplomatic ploy to please the visiting leader.

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While it is true that South Asia and West Asia have been suffering the cancer of terror, what is forgotten in the hysteria created in the name of ‘Islamic terrorism’ is the fact that the seeds of this terrorism were sown by the American policy. It not only designed the syllabus for brain washing Muslim youth, using the retrograde version of Islam, but the whole exercise was also funded by America to the tune of $8000 million and 7,000 tons of armament. The dreaded operation was programmed to fight the Russian army, which was occupying Afghanistan. America, in a shrewd manner, deployed the products of terror training to its benefit and, now, is trying to wash its hands off the whole thing. As Hillary Clinton had pointed out “let them come from Saudi Arabia and other countries, importing their Wahabi brand of Islam, so that we can go beat the Soviet Union.” 

There are many sidelights of the gala event. The media is full of the massive response to the Modi event, while what was equally important has been hidden. The protests by different groups, protests against the policies of Modi in India have been ignored by media. In America, while a substantial number of those from Indian origin are supporters of Hindu nationalism, and many are ModiBhaktstoo, there is a good number of those who are concerned about the state of human rights and the health of democracy back home. Right from America, Bernie Sanders, the Democrat leader, tweeted about Trump endorsing Modi, overlooking the violations of the norms of freedom of religion and of human rights here in India. Sanders, in a tweet, said, “When Donald Trump stays silent in the face of religious persecution, repression and brutality, the dangerous message this sends to autocratic leaders around the world is: “Go ahead, you can get away with it.”In his long speech, thecentral point of what Modi said was that ‘all is well’ in India.

Modi can say so despite the gross violations of the basic citizen’s rights of a large number of Indians, including those in Kashmir. His primary constituency is away from the ‘last man’, to focus on whom the ‘father of our nation’, Gandhi had suggested to us.
While a large section in the audience lapped everything which Modi said, a large number of protesters outside the stadium did draw attention to the reality of the Indian situation under Modi’s rule.

From among the protestors, the most apt comment came from the coalition of groups ‘Alliance for Justice and Accountability’. Sunita Vishwanathan, part of the alliance and a member of ‘Hindus for Human Rights’, hit the nail on the head, when she stated, “We are horrified that our religion, which teaches Vasudaiva Kutumbakam, (whole world is my family) is being hijacked by extremists and nationalists, who are lynching Muslims, trampling democracy and law and order and arresting, if not murdering, those who are speaking out,…We are especially appalled by the most recent nightmare of the Kashmiri people and the situation of 1.9 million people in India, who are rendered stateless due to the imposition of the travesty called the National Register of Citizens.”

One is at loss to understand the direction which India as a nation is taking at present, more so forthe last few years. While our Prime Minster is celebrating and addressing rallies in America, the Indian economy is taking a nose dive. Lakhs of workers are being retrenched; the average people are feeling the pinch of the policies being pursued by the Government in power. These policies do not want to solve the problems of the average people of the country. As such,the last few years have seen a total change in the pattern of issues being brought to the fore by the BJP-led government. It has gone on to give importance to issues like the abolition of triple talaq, the abrogation of Article 370, focussing on NRC in Assam while there is talk in the air that NRC will be extended to the whole of the country and that the Uniform Civil Code will be implemented.

The central focus of policy making and the concerns of the ruling Government has seen a drastic change. In the initial years of the republic, solid foundations of industries, universities and irrigation systems were laid. The idea was thatthis is what the nation needs – focus on issues related to livelihood. There were many weaknesses in the planning and implementation of these policies, but the direction was right. This did lead to improvement in levels of literacy, health related indices, economic growth, agricultural production, milk production, to list a few.

Identity issues like the Ram Temple or the holy cow and-beef, conversions, love jihad were on the margins, not influencing the direction of policy making. With such a focus on infrastructure, India became a global economic power. Now, the nation’s outlook has been shifted away from India as a guardian state, focusing on basic issues of its people, to one which just makes claims to have welfare schemes, but in reality is withdrawing from its responsibility in areas which are the dire need of the vast sections of its society.

After the launch of the Ram Temple campaign, BJP started coming up and claimed that it is ‘a party with a difference’. It is true. This is the party guided by the agenda of Hindu nationalism. Such religious nationalism thrives on issues related to identity and hatred for religious minorities. It creates violence and polarization. It is this polarization which gives electoral strength to religious nationalist parties all over the world, and BJP, in the case of India. In the din of the hysteria created by ‘Howdy,Modi!’ type events, how should one bring the national focus back to the problems faced by the average people of the society, is the question staring us in our face.
 
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Now, Shrikant Sharma, a Minister in the Yogi Cabinet in UP, has announced a scheme whereby those tending to stray cattle will be paid Rs 30 per day and the Government has budgeted Rs. 110 crores for the same. This has been necessitated as the stray cattle, particularly Cows, have increased tremendously in number due to the vicious atmosphere created by the Cow vigilantes. These cattle are attacking the fields of the farmers, causing a huge loss to the already sagging agrarian economy. Many an accidents are taking place due to the large number of stray cattle.

Another point, which most of us missed, was the one mentioned in the Election Manifesto of BJP (2019). It promised the formation of ‘National Cow Commission’ (Rashtriya Kamdehenu Aayog) with a budget of Rs 500 cores. This commission will plan to set up Kamdhenu Chairs in Universities, for the study of and increasing awareness about the virtues of the Cow. This commission has the task of setting up housing colonies around cowsheds and medical shops for Cow products, among others. While one needs to welcome the development of rural economy, where the cattle find more organized and scientific utilization, singling out the Cow for this honour is a purely political ploy.

One more fallout of Cow vigilantism has been the coming up of many groups involved in extortion from the cattle traders and transporters. Niranjan Takle, an investigative journalist, found out that the going rate for transporting trucks with Cows is Rs 15000 per truck and for buffaloes, it is Rs 6500 per truck. This is for half the part of the travel. He could find this out by posing as a cattle trader called Rafiq Qureshi.

This extortion is related to leather trade as he points out that after the slaughter the leather is to be given to the middle men. These vigilante groups also resort to intermittent violence to keep up the pressure, which keeps the regular extortion racket going.
 
The other interesting point is that, while on the one hand, India is inching towards the top of the table in lynching incidents, on the other hand, it is also emerging as the top exporter of beef. Contrary to the popular notion, the major people profiting from this trade are not Muslims but Hindus/Jains. Look at some of these companies which lead in beef export – Al Kabeer, Arabian Exports, MKR Frozen Food, Al Noor, etc. Their names give an impression that they are owned by Muslims. The fact is, most of them are owned by Hindus or Jains.
 
This Cow/beef issue has been brought up mainly for the agenda of polarization. There are claims that there have been no major riots during BJP rule. The fact is that, while no spectacular riots have been orchestrated, low intensity violence and lynching around the Cow/beef issue have been marshalled to achieve this purpose of polarization to a greater effect. We know that Cows were sacrificed during the Vedic period and beef was consumed. Apart from the scholarly works of Dr. Ambedkar (‘Who were the Shudras’) and Prof D. N Jha (‘Myth of Holy Cow’), Swami Vivekananda draws our attention to the same fact. He points out that Cow meat was consumed during the Vedic period. It was also the object of sacrifice in the Vedic rituals. While speaking to a large gathering in USA, he said: “You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it.” (Vivekananda, cited in Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol 3 (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1997), p. 536.)
 
While the currently prevalent Hindu nationalism draws mainly from the RSS stock, the other main Hindu nationalist stream has been that of the Hindu Mahasabha, to which Savarkar belonged. He is a great inspirational figure for the RSS combine, but had a different opinion on the Cow. He said that the Cow is the mother of bulls not of humans. Also, that it is a useful animal and should be treated as such. In Vigyan Nishta Nibandh (Pro Science Essays), he writes that Cows should be protected because they are useful to humans, not because they are divine. Among the two streams of Hindu nationalism, RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, RSS is the one ruling the roost, and is using Cow as an identity issue to divide the society.
 
Interestingly, the same BJP, which is creating such mayhem in the name of the Cow in large parts of North India, is quiet on this issue in Kerala, Goa and the North East. On the eve of Independence, Dr. Rajendra Prasad approached Mahatma with an appeal to get Cow slaughter banned. Gandhi’s reply is an ideal which should guide our plural society. “In India, no law can be made to ban cow slaughter. I do not doubt that Hindus are forbidden the slaughter of cows. I have long pledged to serve the cow, but how can my religion also be the religion of the rest of the Indians? It will mean coercion against those Indians who are not Hindus…. It is not as if there were only Hindus in the Indian Union. There are Muslims, Parsis, Christians, and other religious groups here. The assumption of the Hindus, that India has now become the land of the Hindus, is erroneous. India belongs to all who live here.”

So, while the country waits for welfare measures to raise the indices of our social life, the BJP rulers are more focused on allocating budget on Cow tending or promotionor pseudo research, which, in no way, serves the purpose of much needed social welfare.
 

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Write, Write Down,
I am a Miya, My serial number in the NRC is 200543, I have two children
Another is coming Next summer. Will you hate him, As you hate me?

Many of these poems reflect the anguish of Muslims, who are labelled as Bangladeshis and face the ignominy of being called foreigners. Most of these poems are in different local dialects, some in Assamese and some in English. The FIR states, “By these lines, the accused persons are creating an image of our state as a barbarian state in the eyes of the world, which is a threat to the security of the Nation in general and Assam in particular…”

Some critics said that this poetry, since it used local dialects, was an insult to the Assamese language. In the face of this criticism, Ahmed apologized. He also stated that he has been a part of the Assamese language promotion movement, so there was no question of his being against the Assamese language.

The whole episode raises multiple issues. To begin with, all this is taking place against the backdrop of the issue of citizenship in Assam. Assam had a significant Muslim population at the time of partition, to the extent that Mr. Jinnah wanted Assam to be a part of Pakistan. On top of that, Assam saw multiple migrations of Hindu and Muslims, both at the time of India’s partition in 1947 and later, with the formation of Bangladesh. There has been a continuous flux of population and the immigrants are both Hindus and Muslims.

With the NRC process going on in Assam, the threat of disenfranchisement has hit nearly 40 lakh people, as they do not possess the relevant documents and their names are missing in the first list. As the agenda of Hindu nationalism is unfolding at a rapid pace; the Citizenship Amendment Bill talks of granting citizenship to Sikhs, Jains and Hindus but not to Muslims. As the final list of NRC is going to be out on August 31, the feeling all around is that from those excluded in the register, the Hindus will fit in with the Citizenship Amendment bill and gain citizenship while Muslims will have to suffer exclusion. The recent case of Md. Sanaullah, a retired army officer, being sent to the detention camp shows the possibility of very legitimate citizens being expelled and deprived of their fundamental rights. Mr. Amit Shah’s intent of extending the NRC exercise to the whole country is fraught with the possibility that citizenship would be linked to religion.

What does this Miyah Poetry, the poetry of protest, reflect? To begin with, it is very clear that it is not against Assam or the Assamese people. Mostly, it is an expression of the anguish and pain of Muslims. First, the whole exercise of ‘Doubtful voter’ (D Voter), then the Foreigners Tribunal pushing people into detention camps, and this exercise of National Register of Citizens – the citizenship of some people has been continuously questioned. While Bangla-speaking Hindus are also targeted, there is respite for them in the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which regards Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains as refugees and Muslims as infiltrators. As such, the Muslim community has been undergoing a process of constant labelling as foreigners, ‘Go to Pakistan’ being the constant threat to some Muslims leaders and prominent citizens who express their opinion or criticize the ruling dispensation.

During the last couple of decades, Islamophobia in the aftermath of 9/11, the consequent association of Islam with terror and the politics of control of oil being given a garb of religion have gone on at a global level. At a national level, with the massive riots of 1992-93, Gujarat 2002 and Muzzarfarnagar 2013, the popular perceptions about Muslim community have taken a nose dive. The Indian Muslim community, which shares with other religious communities the syncretic traditions of the land and has been the part of the social life here, has been portrayed to be a threat to the majority community. The responses of the targeted community come in various forms. I was first surprised around 2005-2006, when a major section of Indian Muslims, writers, social workers, scientist came together to discuss the theme ’What it means to be a Muslim in India today?’ The growing ghettoization is the major response of the current times. The rising hold of conservative elements within the community is directly proportional to the insecurity being perceived by this community.

The Miyah poetry, in a way, expresses the turmoil through which the Muslim community is passing, in Assam in particular. Many aspects of this turmoil are applicable in other parts of the country as well. The citizenship recognition is basic to the life of individuals. In Assam, Miyah, which is normally an honorific title; has come to mean Bangladeshi Muslim; an infiltrator; a foreigner. It is used as a derogatory term, in popular parlance. Those, who value democratic ethos, need also to look into the inner turmoil of the community, which is being targeted and is looked down upon.

The expressions of anguish are multi-layered. We saw the protest of dalits in the powerful poetry of the likes of Namdeo Dhasal, J V Pawar among others. The women’s movement has thrown up a rich literature in India, reflecting the travails of the ‘Half the sky’. All this needs to be received as the pain of fellow citizens, as we aspire to build a society with equality. The touching poems need to be honoured and respected. Attempts should be made to work towards an India where the values of our freedom movement, which united us into a single fraternity, are promoted and upheld.
 

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Nationalism has become a matter of National debate yet again. Since the past few years, we have seen individuals being labeled as ‘Anti- National’ for criticizing the ruling Government. We have also witnessed the attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), on grounds of it being a  breeding ground of Anti- Nationals. At the same time, those rooting for ‘Hindu nationalism’ have been presenting themselves as Nationalists. The shrewdness involved in this is that they have been attaching the prefix ‘Hindu’ to the word, Nation. It is this prefix, which shows that they, in no way, were part of the process of India becoming a nation. Indian Nation- building, has been a multi layered process. On one hand it was to oppose the colonial rule, while simultaneously, it was a journey towards democratic values.

This issue comes to the fore yet again, as Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University has brought in a damaging change in their second year Bachelor of Arts History (B.A. History) course. The former chapter in the book was on the Rise of Communalism in India. It has now been replaced with a chapter on, ‘History of RSS and its role in Nation building’. The university spokesperson put it,“Nationalist school of thoughts… is also part of the Indian history. Similarly, history of the Sangh is a part of the nationalist school. Hence, introduction to RSS was included in the course.” On the other hand the state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant disputes this by saying, “Where would Nagpur University find reference of RSS & Nation Building? It is most divisive force which collaborated with British, opposed freedom movement, didn’t hoist Tricolor for 52 years- calling it inauspicious, wanted Manusmriti in lieu of the constitution, spreads hatred.”

What have been the components of India becoming a Nation? The earlier kingdoms were replaced by the colonial rule. The colonial phase was marked by the introduction of major economic and social changes. These changes related to transport (railways), communication (Post and Telegraph), modern education (Schools and Universities), free press and modern judicial system among others. With these changes, the social relations began to take place. The process of breaking of the ‘iron frame of caste structure’ also began. The subordinate status of women was challenged by the likes of Savitribai Phule as she started schools for the education of girls. The new class of Industrialists, modern businessmen and educated classes, came up in the society. The political expression of these processes got reflected in multiple streams.

The major expression of this political phenomenon was the formation of Indian National Congress (INC). The movements for breaking caste inequality were inspired by Joti Rao Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar. The aspirations of workers got expressed in the unions led by Narayan Meghaji Lokhande and Singarvelu. Revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, stood against the colonial rule, with the dream of a socialist society. This process of nation building has two sides. One, was to express the social aspirations of these classes coming up in society; workers, women, educated classes, bureaucrats and industrialists in particular. The other, was the political expression; the struggle against British colonialists.

To oppose these socio-political changes, section of declining classes, the kings and landlords and their fellow travelers, threw up their organizations. These organizations had two aspects. One, to oppose the social changes related to caste and gender transformation and second, to harp on Nationalism in the name of Religion. They were the ones who were opposed to the anti-British national movement. These declining sections had religion as a prefix to their nationalism. Their aims were purely political. Their political agenda, was to preserve the birth based values of hierarchy, as manifested during feudal times.

Muslim League on one hand and Hindu Mahasabha- Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on the other, stood for Muslim and Hindu nationalism respectively. In case of Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, the religion is written on their sleeves, in case of RSS religion is the core part of their nationalism. Savarkar did work against the caste system in patches, however, these organizations were almost totally aloof from the social changes related to caste and gender transformation. As far as freedom movement is concerned; as organizations they were never a part of any anti- British movement. Individually, pre-Andaman Savarkar was anti British, but after his release, his was a changed man. Similarly Dr. K. B. Hedgewar, the founder of RSS, as an individual, did take part in the 1930 Civil disobedience movement, but with the goal of finding like-minded workers in jail. As far as RSS is concerned, the instructions were given by Golwalkar, to not disturb the peace of British.

During the Quit India Movement, the second Sarsanghchalak M.S. Golwalkar states, “In 1942 also there was a strong sentiment in the hearts of many. At that time too, routine work of Sangh continued. Sangh vowed not to do anything directly.” Defending his decision to keep aloof from the movement, he says, “We should remember that in our pledge we have talked of freedom of the country through defending religion and culture, there is no mention of departure of British from here.” (Shri Guruji Samagra Darshan, vol. IV, page 40) “

While Indian nationalism is inclusive and plural, as expressed in the Indian Constitution, RSS has been eulogizing the ancient laws, particularly those of the Manusmriti. Nationalism is not just about the state and it’s boundaries, it is about social relationships. In case of Indian nationalism, these values are Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. ‘Nationalism under the garb of religion’, regards these values of equality as Western, not suitable for this or that country. For example, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt promotes feudal hierarchical values under the garb of Islam. It labels democratic values of equality and liberty as being Western. The RSS, similarly regards the Indian Constitution, as being Western.

With these types of changes in our educational syllabus, the attempt is to present the RSS as a part of Indian nation building. This lie conceals the fact that the RSS neither struggled against the British rule, nor struggled for the democratic values of equality. The efforts like change in syllabus, are attempts to give legitimacy to the RSS as an Indian nation builder, which they are not.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

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We are living in times where the social norms, the values of Constitution have been violated over and over again. The increasing atrocities on Dalits, the lynchings of minorities in the name of cow-beef have changed the social equations in a drastic way during the last few years. This in a way is part of the ascendance of a politics of communalism which believes in a narrow, sectarian religious identity as its defining point. This may get further worsened with the big mandate for Modi in 2019 elections. In the aftermath of elections leading to his return to power, Modi in his victory speech made certain observations which are very disturbing on one hand and also give an idea of the shape of things to come.
 
He stated that this election campaign has unmasked the deceitful claims of secularists and that said that now they can’t mislead the country. As per him, secularism as a mask has been destroyed in these elections and that secularism was a cover for minority appeasement. He states that minorities have been deceived and cheated by the parties claiming to be secular.
 
This statement is not just in the euphoria of victory. For communalism, it has been a deeper agenda to do away with the practice of secularism. It is true that there had been aberrations and weaknesses in the practice of this concept, with fallacies like the reversal of Shah Bano judgment or opening the gates of Babri mosque for Shilanyas. The assertion that minorities have been appeased is a total lie. The reports of Gopal Singh Commission, Rangnath Mishra Commission and Sachar Committee tell us about the worsening plight of the Muslim minorities. Some fundamentalist elements within the Muslim community have been promoted but the Muslim community as a whole has on one hand been economically marginalized and on the other been subjected to social insecurity. Going beyond the obvious, one needs to understand as to why the shortfalls in the practice of secularism have dogged our nation?
 
Secularism has been defined and interpreted in various ways. In Indian context ‘Sarva Dharma Sambhave’ has been the major interpretation. Also, that state will not interfere in the matters of religion and religion (clergy) will not dictate and state policy has been the major understanding of this concept of secularism, which is the core and integral part of democracy. Some examples of this are in order. In the wake of demand for renovation of Somnath Temple, Gandhi said that Hindu community is capable of building its own temple. His disciple Nehru did follow Gandhi’s path in the times to come. The same Nehru later called the dams, industries and universities as the temples of Modern India.
 
Gandhi in his own way puts it up brilliantly when he says, “Religion and state will be separate. I swear by my religion, I will die for it. But it is my personal affair. The state has nothing to with it. The state will look after your secular welfare…”
 
Social scientist Rajiv Bhargava points out that secularism “…combats not just discrimination and other worse forms of inter-religious domination such as exclusion, oppression and humiliation. It is equally opposed to intra-religious domination, i.e. the domination (of women, Dalits, dissenters) within every religious community.”
 
Secularism did not have a smooth march in India. It came up with the rising classes during the colonial period. The classes which came up with the changes like industrialization, communication and modern education. They called the process of comprehensive change as ‘India as a nation in the making’. The streams like those represented by Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar and Gandhi made it the foundation of their political ideology and struggle for a better society. They stood for Indian nationalism.

The declining classes of landlords and kings shaken by the changes in social fabric and loss of their earlier hegemony came up with communal politics. These communal politics, in turn, had a bifurcation, Muslim communalism and Hindu communalism. They dreamt of Muslim Nation and Hindu nation respectively. As Professor Bipan Chandra points out, ‘communalism regards a community of one religion as a nation’. In India, it went through different phases of mild, moderate and extreme communalism. Its understanding is that people of one religion have similar interests, which in turn are different from those of other religion, and so the religious communities are made to pitch against each other. These politics regards the ‘other’ community as a threat to its’ own self. At the same time, the intra societal hierarchies are put under the carpet, as the deeper agenda of these groups is to maintain those hierarchies of caste and gender.
 
One of the weaknesses of the practice of secularism in India has been the tremendous opposition from communalism which has been on a rise. While in Pakistan, Muslim communalism was strong right from the beginning; in India, it has become stronger during the last four decades or so. Its strength has been founded on the polarization, which is an outcome of communal violence. Its issues are those of identity issues like Ram Temple, Love Jihad, Ghar wapsi and cow-beef.
 
It is this communalism which has stood as a counter to the secular ethos of the country; it is this which is the major obstacle for secularism being properly implemented. There are many factors which have been conducive to and helping in the promotion of divisive politics of communalism, one of them being the non-completion of secularization process, the process whereby the power of the landlord-clergy duo is abolished in a society marching towards democracy.
 
In India, due to colonial rule, the national movement had to direct its energy primarily against the colonial rulers, while the landlords-kings, to be later joined by some elite-middle classes, continued on the margins, giving the life to communalism, leading to the partition of the country among other negative phenomenon in society. Surely India’s plurality and diversity, though currently under a cloud, will not let the secular values being eclipsed by the sectarian politics which is currently on the prowl.
 

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After 2014 victory Modi, Prime Minister of India had promised that he will implement Sabka Sath; Sabka Vikas (Taking everybody along, development for all). To this slogan he has now added Sabka Vishwas (Every body’s Trust) Many prominent writers and activists from Muslim community in particular are trying to reassure themselves that he will keep his promise and not intimidate or oppress, religious minorities, Muslims and Christians. It’s always good to be optimistic and keep the hope alive, but the nagging experience in the recent past of Sabka Vikas raises many questions. The ideology of Hindu nationalism to which Modi belongs also gives rise to the doubts about such a promise. The goal of Hindu rashtra, the agenda of Hindu right pursued by Modi further dampens the chances of hopeful vision of inclusive peaceful India.

During last five years of Modi regime what was witnessed was the increasing sense of insecurity among the minorities. On the top of divisive campaigns like Ram Temple, Ghar Wapasi and love jihad was added the issue of ‘holy cow’-beef eating which took the identity related hysteria to the sky. This brought to the forefront the phenomenon of lynching of Muslims and beatings of Dalits. The atrocities heaped on these two communities in particular were frightening. What is called ‘fringe laments’, which are the core part of ‘division of labour’ of Hindu nationalist politics, became more aggressive during this period. Those in power not only turned a blind eye to doings of these aggressive elements but also gave the hints of appreciation of these cruel acts done by saffron robed, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chanting crowds. These elements were given the signals, that with this government in power, such acts are a new normal. The example of Mahesh Sharma, the Union minster draping the body of lynching accused with tri colour and Jayant Sinha another minister honouring the lynching accused, which got bail, were the permanent approval certificates to those who were to indulge in such barbarian acts. These acts intimidated and marginalized the Muslims to no end. While not to this horrible extent, even Christians had their own share of the woes, as their prayer meetings and Carol singing teams were attacked in the name of ‘attempts for conversion’.

With this background of ‘Sabka saath Sabka Vikas’, Mr. Modi has now come to power with increased vote share and more seats for BJP. The cause of this massive mandate are being debated, the failure of opposition to unite, the ultra nationalism created around the Pulwama attack and the role of EVM machines with partisan election commission are disturbing enough. Meanwhile what is being witnessed in the society during last few days of Modi-BJP victory is frightening enough.

Right during this little time space we painfully witnessed
 

• In Begusarai Bihar a Muslim youth Mohammad Qasim was shot at Bihar on Sunday (May 26).  Previous morning he was asked his name.
• Four unidentified youths assaulted a Muslim youth wearing traditional skull cap on May 26.
• An Adivasi professor was arrested over a Face book post (May 25). In the post he had mentioned the right to eat beef.
• In Raipur Chhattisgarh a group of self-styled gau rakshaks entered a dairy (May 26), and accused people in the shop of cow slaughter and the sale of beef. They vandalized the shop and assaulted them.
• In Mahuvad, Vadodara,  village (Gujarat), a house of dalit couple was allegedly attacked by a mob of 200-300 upper caste people, His crimes was that the husband had put up a face book post  saying that the government does not permit the village temple to be used for Dalit wedding ceremonies.
• As per Janata Ka Reporter in Assam a Muslim man, Ashraf Ali, believed to be in his early 90s, ended his life. He was fearful of the possibility of his being declared a foreigner and these by being sent to detention centre.  The victim’s body was found from a school campus, close to his hut in Sontoli in Boko, 70 kms west of Guwahati,

So many incidents in such a short duration of time just indicate as to how the atmosphere is being vitiated due to Modi coming to power again. On one hand the so called fringe is emboldened more than before and this is the signal of their unrestrained behaviour. On the other the people do know the portents of the policies which Modi pursued during last five years and may be pursued with intense vigour now. The BJP President called the Muslim refugees as termites. That in a way sums up what Muslims mean to the ruling dispensation.

Interestingly of the 303 MPs elected on the BJP ticket not a single one is from Muslim community. The overall representation of Muslims in Lok Sabha has come down and remains so. Muslim community has weathered many a storms in the past. Its’ reflection came in the Rangnath Mishra and Sachar commission reports. While the Congress and other semi secular parties have been blamed for Muslim appeasement, the socio economic and political conditions of Muslim community have worsened over a period of time. Many committed leaders from Muslim community are feeling totally left out in the democratic processes, which anyway are being undermined more so from last decade or so.

The core reason of violence being witnessed is the frightening rise of Hindu nationalist politics, the Hidnutva. Earlier RSS gave rise to different progenies, what they call collectively as Sangh Parivar. Now with the trappings of power, BJP being in majority in Center, the major expansion of RSS shakhas has taken place, which is further strengthening different offshoots of this organization.

One understands that the security of minorities is the reflection of strength of democracy. On that count also the index of democratic values in our country is something to be worried about!

Courtesy: Two Circle

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