Dr John Mohan Razu
December 11th of 2019, was the darkest day particularly to those who believe and cherish India’s democracy, secularism and civilization. In 2019 parliamentary elections, 40 per cent of the electorates preferred to vote for the Hindu fundamentalist party (BJP) and gave the mandate to take over the reins of the Government of India. The rest 60 percent of the electorates voted against the current dispensation. And yet 40 percent minority that voted for far-right Hindu nationalist political party swept the polls in great numbers; while the 60 per cent of the electorates—the majority had failed to garner the required numbers and thus lost. This is indeed parliamentary democracy entrenched with numbers—whoever plays with numbers shrewdly and strategically wins the game. We have been witnessing the number games since 2014.
Indian democracy works on sheer numbers and not on percentage points. With brute majority, BJP is playing with numbers and determined to translate its ultimate agenda transforming the country from secular India to Hindu Rashtra. On these lines, BJP had tabled Citizens Amendment Bill (CAB) in both the houses of Parliament and had a smooth passage that resulted in favor of the ruling party and thus awaits President’s assent—a formality which eventually become an act and subject to be contested in the court of law. Those who believe in the secularism and citizenry rights enshrined in the Constitution should be worried and anxious though CAB excludes Muslims but gradually trample those who subscribe to other religion.
This is the first step towards realizing Hindu Rashtra. Its smooth passage should be viewed as slicing the long-cherished Heart of India in the middle making it into two—Hindu majority and other religious minorities. In this way the Indian sub-continent in the near future would posit having dubious distinction of two-theocratic nation-states vis-à-vis Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. British used this to divide and rule, but now BJP-RSS has furthered it by dividing the country on religious lines/basis Hindu Rashtra based on majority Vs minority. Hindu nationalists cleverly devised a master plan using their narrative that one who supports CAB would be considered as the patriot and those who opposes anti-nationals. Over and above, CAB has been used as a tool to push the agenda of Hindu Rashtra by basing majoritarian matrix.
The entire project is based on the paradigm that State of Israel has employed and currently using wherein the Jews wherever they are can come and settle down in Israel and their citizenship is guaranteed. Though many countries of the world have been pushing the idea of two-nation theory (Jews and Palestinians co-existing side by side), Israel nowadays rejects that idea and gradually expanding and in the process occupying the areas belonging to the Palestinians. Though the ruling party—BJP assures the Indian Muslims that constitutes 200 Muslims not get scared, but in reality the political project of BJP can easily be perceived that revolves on the triune rubric—religion, citizenship and identity. BJP has welcomed other religious minorities from the Muslim dominated countries in South Asia to come to India, except the Muslims.
CAB has indeed been used and thus employed as a first step to flush out the Muslims and later the Indian Muslims, the largest minority religious community in India numbering more than 200 million and certainly spread its ambit to other communities. CAB and NRC are like two sides of the same coin. The Hindu fundamentalists as of now keep appeasing others by offering all sorts of promises, but CAB and NRC ought to be viewed as twin-edged swords. The ways with which the whole exercise was carried out by BJP and Hindu fundamentalists’ political parties casting their votes in favor of CAB in both the houses of Parliament conveys a clear message to their constituencies that the momentum has been set and it’s a matter of time and so their hopes and aspirations of India would soon become a reality which means Hindu Rashtra be actualized soon.
BJP and other Hindu fundamentalists did speak to their hard-core constituencies clearly and squarely assuring them not to worry and the process is moving in the right direction. India is known for its civilizational values—believed and practiced for hundreds of years. Idea of India is purely based on the plurality of values and multiple belief systems that respect diverse religions, cultures, customs and traditions. India has a big heart that accommodates and welcomes everyone irrespective of religion, language, ethnicity, caste and color. This is the beauty of India that everyone should be proud of. Converting the notion of India on religious basis and determining its citizenry on majority Vs minority are antithetical to India’s secular ideals, values and ethos.
Petty mind-sets are currently engaged in shrinking India on the basis of religious lines—Hindu Rashtra shall never be accepted as the idea of India for the majority because the notion of India is premised on secularism. Democracy needs citizens’ intervention all the time. People are at the center of democracy and our Constitution as part of fundamental principles assures our citizenry, which no one including the State can negate, deprive and nullify. If the State or its agency the Government enforces, the citizenry should employ democratic and constitutional means to defy the onslaughts.
