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| Vector courtesy: pixabay.com |
British Prime Minister Boris Jhonson, while on a two-day tour to India, said, “India is a very different country from autocracies around the world. It’s a great democracy. It’s a stunning, shining fact that 1.35 billion people live under a democracy. That is something we should celebrate as it offers us an opportunity for closer cooperation and partnership.” Mr Jhonson was speaking at a press conference on 22 April 2022.
With an age-old democratic system, India is now the world’s biggest democracy. With its elaborate and foolproof electoral system, it is robust and deep-rooted. However, there is a thorn in the flesh harmful to a harmonious society. Three-quarters of a century ago, the world saw that the people of a great country break the shackles of slavery to become a free nation in 1947. India was a free nation but wounded, profusely bleeding and vivisected. Staggering initially, the nation started to become strong and determined to walk on the road to success. The journey was bumpy but the people did it. There are still bumps, potholes and challenges but the pleasure is to conquer them all and achieve the goal.
One such challenge, the cancerous rot of communalism, is yet to be treated effectively. Without going into the past, the recent incidence of communal flares would satisfactorily meet the requirement of this discussion. There had been a series of conflagrations in various parts of India, especially in the Northern part. The spark was ignited on 02nd April 2022 from Karauli, Rajasthan where on the onset of Vikram Samvat, a procession, organised with prior government permission, was pelted with stones followed by a rapid spread of arson and riot. The magnitude was such that numerous shops were gutted, vehicles torched and a curfew was imposed. This was followed by the incidence of riots, arson, stone-pelting and mayhem on festive occasions across the country.
The unfortunate incidents including organized and planned riots broke out simultaneously in about twelve places encapsulating Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Gujrat, Uttarakhand and Delhi on the occasion of Ram Navami (10th April 2022) and Hanuman Jayanti (16th April 2022). The modus operandi of each was similar, indicating meticulous planning. Reports indicated that the sinister plan to malign India was conceived on the soil of a hostile neighbouring country. It was made operational and spread using social media platforms plus sleeper cells.
The worst clashes started in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh on 10th April 2022. It was alleged that the procession (Shobha Yatra) while passing through the communally charged Talab Chowk area, was pelted upon from the roof-tops of houses and places of worship. Police personnel were hurt, and an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police received a gunshot injury while trying to stop a rioter brandishing a sword in the crowd. The other side, however, has a different story. It was counter-alleged that provocation came from the procession that led to the untoward incident. Who instigated the violence and how is a question of enquiry, but it left many innocents in a lurch. It sent a shock wave across the country. The government took stern and timely action. “No one would be spared”, thundered Shivraj Singh Chauhan the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. With the help of video footage, the rioters and hooligans were spotted and arrested. Houses started bulldozing. Ironically, the violence went on deaf ears until the demolition of houses started. Obdurate factionist political leaders, whose survival leaned on hate-mongering and communal politics came onto the central stage. With the parochial divisive agenda of playing the victim card, scathing and painting the government actions with communal hues started. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalmeen (AIMIM) chief Mr Assaduddin Owaisi claimed it was a “State complicit violence”, selectively targeted towards Muslims. He also alleged that the selective demolition of Muslim houses was “Illegal and against Geneva Convention”. He conveniently ignored the stark fact of stone-pelting on the procession and rioting. Owaisi in his tweet (22 April 2022), said:
“ “For...Muslims, living in India today effectively means being at the mercy” of a Hindutva govt. Things are unlikely to get better
We must not give in to hopelessness but also not become complacent. Inshallah, these dark clouds will pass”
Following suit, leaders like Shafiqur Rahaman Barq and others were seen blatantly flouting the social norms, spreading hate and fear among the communities. The atmosphere was being charged and drenched with inflammatory hate speeches that rant in the air. The political and self-proclaimed messiah of religious cause also contributed their bits. Social media was brimmed with canards of fiery concocted speeches. A rat race started to appease and polarize communities to win votes.
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| Council House, Uttar Pradesh Photo: by author |
The whole pantomime, staged by anti-nationals and quislings, was for maligning India’s image in general and Prime Minister Modi in particular. Ostensibly it was done to chip off the meticulously created monolith through the hard work of the people to present a towering image on the international forum. TV reports and a plethora of videos testify to organized hooliganism, arson and stone-pelting. It did not appear spontaneous even considering ‘provocation’ a cause of ignition, as devil’s advocate. It left no doubt about the malicious intention of those who used petrol bombs and brickbats that were pre-piled up for ready availability on the rooftops, besides intimidatingly crowd gathering of hooligans and rioters.
After a lull, the incidence of violence and arson, conflagrations and riots are becoming an order of the day. Society appears to be sitting on a heap of gunpowder. For the last seventy and five years, the people are feeling the brunt of serious riots even after the vivisection of the country and the creation of the “Islamic Republic of Pakistan” based on the “Two Nation Theory”. Jinnah used to put it that Hindus and Muslims were poles apart that could not live together. This stubborn attitude resulted in the religious divide and is continuing to do so. Addressing the Lahore session of the Muslim League on 22nd March 1940, Jinnah said:
“[[23]] It is extremely difficult to appreciate why our Hindu friends fail to understand the real nature of Islam and Hinduism. They are not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are, in fact, different and distinct social orders; and it is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality; and this misconception of one Indian nation has gone far beyond the limits and is the cause of more of our troubles and will lead India to destruction if we fail to revise our notions in time. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, and literature[s]. They neither intermarry nor interdine together, and indeed they belong to two different civilisations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspects [=perspectives?] on life, and of life, are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Mussalmans derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, their heroes are different, and different episode[s]. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other, and likewise their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent, and final. destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state.”
They wanted and had it. Pakistan is a reality. The religious division, however, failed to cement the two wings of Pakistan which, within about a quarter-century, were torn apart. Bangladesh emerged as a new country on the world map consequence of the civil war in 1971. The politics caused the vivisection, large-scale genocide and exodus way back in 1947. Paradoxically, most of those who instrumentalized the formation of Pakistan did not migrate there.
It is being repeated in the same token. Politicians, who accepted division during the freedom movement, superficially tried to bandage the wounds of carnage. India opted for a secular system, though the word “Secular” was introduced in the Preamble of the Constitution by way of the 42nd Constitution Amendment in 1976. However, there had been no serious effort to bridge the gap between the two communities instead, the Indian polity adopted a policy of appeasement to garner minority support, ignoring the majority sentiments.
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| Mosque in 'Bara Imambara'. Photo by the author |
The psyche that the two communities were poles apart is rearing its ferocious head once again. It suits the parochial agenda for votes. Communal frenzies were used to terrify the minority Muslim community and hate-mongering against the majority Hindu population. This is the gravest fallout of the electoral politics in India that acts as a fertilizer, augmenting the harmful weeds and choking the healthy growth. No wonder why a section of politicians is seen involved in encouraging, pampering and appeasing a section of society. This has helped the hardening of their approach and therefore, the minorities become aggressively defensive to protect their ‘right’.
The political parties, self-proclaimed champions of human rights, leftists and liberals were mum on the unfortunate happenings at the time riots erupted. However, they sprang to action and started howling the moment houses started bulldozing. It all started when in Jahangirpuri of Delhi, slated to be cleared of heavy encroachment, authorities started demolishing illegal constructions and encroachments. Ironically, they were seen crying hoarse in favour of those who were found guilty of illegal construction and encroachments. Confabulations started on the legality of the action. The questions were being asked about the rule of law and the law of the land. The justification was sought for the validity of the government’s action. Victim cards were played, portraying the guilties as poor and oppressed. The ‘progressives’ rushed to the Supreme Court to stop the demolition drive and the Hon'ble Court did not disappoint them. Within no time the stay was granted and the work had to be stopped.
The government’s action may seem arbitrary and ruthless but it needs to be seen from the proper perspective as well. Communal violence is a blot on a civilized society that adversely affects the social fabric and economic activities. The threads of the working class and the traders are intertwined. They work together and live together. The daily wages are the lifeline of the working class while on the other hand, the traders need a regular supply of products. In such a condition, common people do not like to be involved in rioting. Despite this, the riots are an ugly reality. In a written reply to a question, the government told the parliament that 3400 riots took place in the country from 2016 to 2020 (Click here for details). Besides causing loss of life and property, the riots leave a trail of destruction and damage in terms of harmony, social relations and mutual trust. The causes of conflagrations need serious cogitation.
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| Imposing dome of Council House, UP Photo: by author |
The democratic setup in India is leaned heavily on the arithmetics of votes. The public vote count determines the fate of a party or a candidate. During the 2019 general elections, out of ninety-one crore twenty lakh eligible voters, 67% cast their votes. The huge voter turnout lures the political parties to attract voters in their favour. Religion, community, caste and creed are used to garner support. Polarized minority votes have attracted politicians for a long. It has been the decisive factor to win an election. A fragmented society thus becomes a philosopher’s stone, a dire necessity for parochial political gains. Suspicion, mistrust and terror are the building blocks of communal frenzy. An unseen but effective system has sprung up to operate, rule and mastermind the communal frenzy. It is terrifying and damaging to society.
Instead of canvassing about the developmental work and assurance about the future, the thrust on divisive politics appears more convenient to political parties, hence division and conflagrations. A ‘philosopher-king’ is a utopia and absolute is impossible. Good and bad, evil and virtue are the two aspects of the same coin. A good balance is a need for time to have a healthy and sustainable society with minimal outlaws.
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| Lotus flower Photo: by author |
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