Is it true that Indian Democracy is weathering?

Whither India: Qualitative change in Polity

 

Ram Puniyani

 

Last six months have been most disturbing on the Indian political scene. As far as the values of integration are concerned they are being attacked very severely by terrorist-communal forces. First, we saw the series of bomb blasts, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Malegaon. It was projected by the authorities that all these acts are due to Jehadi Muslim groups that police have succeeded in cracking the network. One outcome of this was the Batla house encounter in which police, bravely killed the terrorists. It put out a version that now the terror ring has been busted and kingpins have been arrested. It is another matter that later the relevant-uncomfortable questions were raised and satisfactory answers to these were not forthcoming. On the top of this the claim that Malegaon blasts were done by SIMI proved to be false as the investigation showed the possibility of ABVP/Bajrang Dal being involved in same.

 

During the same time two Bajrang dal Activists got killed while making bomb in Kanpur, two activists of Hindu Jagran Samiti were involved in placing the bombs in Thane due to which seven people got injured. During this time again in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, the bombs went off near RSS office and as usual the cry of wolf was made, but the wolf here had different shades than what RSS wanted to propagate, as most of those planting the bombs turned out to be Hindus, with affiliation, which are not difficult to guess.

 

During the same time the anti Christian violence was orchestrated and launched in Orissa to begin with, later on spilling to Karnataka. The pretext first was that Christians have beaten Swami Laxmananand (December 2007) and later that Christians have killed the swami. Interestingly a Maoist group claimed to have killed him but the RSS combine stated that they don't believe in the claim of Maoists, meaning there by that they have the right to decide who the culprit is!

 

The third tragedy related to the Hindu Muslim violence in Burhanpur, Dhulia and few other places on the slightest pretext of tearing a banner or some such. What is disturbing is the way things are shaping in the country. The anti Muslim hate propaganda, which has been sustained on various myths have gradually been taking the shape of deep rooted perceptions. Earlier lot of planning and bigger pretext was needed to unleash the violence, now even a small pretext suffices to initiate the mayhem. Some of the properties are well marked in advance for destroying. The loss of lives of minorities is many times more than their presence in population.

 

The stereotyping of Muslim community through reporting of acts of terror has boosted the negative perception of the community in a serious way. At the same time the there is a realization that there are two set of laws, that they will not get justice and that their feeling of insecurity in the society is going up by leaps and bounds. One does not know whether this disturbs the ruling coalition or not. For Muslim minorities to keep faith in the Governement in such circumstances is not difficult, it is impossible.

 

Christian minority was not the target till quite late. As the hate propaganda based on make believe forcible conversions, allurement, insult of our gods, foreign money keep percolating in the society, and a silent sanction for attacking them started building up. Now even a slightest pretext is sufficient to undertake the despicable violence against the community.

 

This is a clear case as to how already a social mind set has been created, through word of mouth propaganda and media where by the minorities have been demonized and now the violence against them has become the order of the day. Even the global phenomenon of terrorism and local phenomenon has added on to the same and in this case Islamic terrorism, and 'all terrorists are Muslims' has been made the fodder of social thinking. As such, starting from Golwalkar, RSS's formulation that Muslims and Christians are threats to Hindu nation, to the present day, there is a consistent worsening of the level of demonization of minorities.

 

These entire social phenomenons are raising a deeper question related to our democracy. Democracy not only ensures that are citizens are treated equally it also stands for giving affirmative action for weaker sections of society. As such the litmus test of democracy is the welfare and security of minorities. Here we see that as to how the marginal stream which came up during freedom movement and kept aloof from it, the Hindutva vehicle, RSS, has been successfully working, using the democratic space to abolish, precisely the democratic values which gave it a space to stand. While totally defamed after Gandhi murder by one of its followers, its acceptability began with Jayapraksh Narayan letting it run the movement, which led to emergency and later formation of Janata Party. RSS began by spreading hate against Muslims and Christians, formulated by its founders and penned by its ideologue, M.S. Golwalkar. Golwalkar instructed that Muslims, Christians and Communists are the threat to Hindu nation. The RSS shakhhas kept spreading this ceaselessly and it became a part of social common sense over a period of time.

 

RSS also planted its swayamsevaks in different walks of social and political life, education, media, police, bureaucracy etc. Once its political child, Jana Sangh became part of Janata party, it ensured that large number of swaymsevaks become part of media establishment. And later during NDA regime, this game of theirs' had a field day. Capping these efforts through Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, social engineering got intensified in Adivasi areas. With US administration coining the word 'Islamic terrorism' and that propaganda that Madrassas are the dens of training terrorists; RSS completed its indoctrination module.

 

The deadly poison it spread against minorities first spread hate and created divides in the communities, leading to 'hate other', which in turn forms the base of communal violence. Communal violence in Indian context gets assistance from the communalized state apparatus, sections of police in particular leading to polarization of communities and rise to political power of the communal party. The conveyer belt begins from demonizing other and leads to the RSS's political child becoming politically strong. That's how a political party which managed two seats in parliament in1984 elections has become formidable electoral force today, knocking the democratic values and imposing the religion based nationalism.

 

Though not in power in center, its machinations are polarizing the society all over, creating divisions in the society, rampaging the rule of law and paving the way for creeping  fascism. What is happening today is reminder of how things happened in Germany, with Hitler leading the carnage. Beginning with hate Jews and then Christian minorities, then Communists and trade unionists paved the way for the stifling atmosphere of fascism, authoritarian state with social base. Today we seem to be helplessly watching a similar situation. While RSS combine is behaving like a rampaging bull, Bajrang Dal planting bombs, its workers carrying arms openly, distributing trishuls en masse, the state ruled by so called secular combine, UPA alliance seems to be a helpless observer, as the whole machinery itself seems to be affected by the communal virus.

 

Where do we go from here? Opposition to this fascist politics, fighting it tooth and nail cannot be postponed by a single minute. The time has come that all those believing in democracy and welfare of all need to come together and put and end to the politics of hate. Popular front at social and political level is the need of the day. The power seeker political formations may not look beyond their personal gains but the social movements need to put the pressure in the right direction for these political people to hang together before we are hanged separately. It is not just a question of opposition to one political formation. The question is can we let the RSS version of Hindusim destroy the Kabir and Gandhi version of Hinduism and religion? The question is can we let the innocent minorities be the scapegoats for the fascist politics to keep on going? Should we let the democratic space be usurped by those wanting to bring in a nation state in the name of religion?

 

Whether India will nurture the values of freedom movement and strive for human rights of all depends on us, as in no time in past the very concept of democracy has been stifled as much as we are witnessing today.

 

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Issues in Secular politics

 

October 2008 II

 

ram.puniyani@gmail.com

www.pluralindia.com

 

Can be circulated/published/translated etc.

 

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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

When the Atheists go to town--

When those atheists go to town

Riazat Butt

London: The first atheist advertising campaign in the United Kingdom has beaten its funding target in less than 24 hours, raising five times the amount needed to have its posters on city buses here.

Organisers of the campaign, which was launched on Tuesday, were seeking £5,500 to run advertisements in London saying "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" on 30 buses for four weeks. By Monday night, individuals and organisations had pledged more than £28,000.

Writer Ariane Sherine suggested the idea in a Guardian 'Comment is Free' blog, saying an atheist bus campaign would provide a reassuring counter-message to religious slogans threatening non-Christians with damnation.

She said: "Ours is a fun and light-hearted message but it does have a serious point to it: that atheists want a secular country, we want a secular school and a secular government. The strength of feeling has been shown with so many people willing to pay for this campaign."

Sherine said she was surprised by the level of support but was pleased with the extra money, which would finance a more ambitious campaign. "We could go national, we could have tube [subway] posters, different slogans, more buses, advertising inside buses. The sky's the limit — except, of course, there's nothing up there."

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, will donate a further £5,500. His contribution is not included in the sum featured on the Just Giving website, nor is the Gift Aid supplement, which will add at least £6,000 to the total. The British Humanist Association has agreed to administer all donations.

Churches have responded favourably. The British Methodist church welcomed Mr. Dawkins' "continued interest" in God, encouraging people to think about the issue. The Church of England said it would defend the right of any group representing a religious or philosophical position to promote that view through appropriate channels. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

Is there any difference between Hindutva Brigade of India &Jamaat-E-Islami of Bangladesh-Read following two Articles carefully---

[mukto-mona] Why Jamaat-e-Islami shouldn't be allowed to participate in the democratic process

Nasir
 

Jamaat's politics of hatemongering, discrimination and violence

 

Those who led the bleeding of innocent civilians, raping of women must be tried: we must compel the government to bring the collaborators to justice. The future of liberty, democracy, peace and stability in Bangladesh largely depends on the trial of the perpetrators of the genocide in 1971. We must resist any attempt by the government and/or any interest group to legitimise Jamaat's politics of hatred, violence, and discrimination in our democratic process, writes ABM Nasir

WHEN Karl Rueger, an ultranationalist renowned for his hatred against the ethnic and religious minority and abhorrence for individual liberty, won the mayoral election of Vienna, Austria in 1895, it shook the foundation of emerging liberty in Europe (Fareed Zakaria, 2003, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, p59-60). The emperor Franc Joseph I of Habsburg, fearing that Rueger's induction would jeopardise the future of liberty, refused to recognise him as the elected mayor. Despite his indignation, the emperor eventually had to submit to the choice of majority and recognise Rueger as the mayor. Much later the emperor's fear was vindicated. The emperor had rightly feared that Rueger's intention, as ingrained in his ideology, was not to promote the virtues of democracy and liberty but to exploit the democratic process to promote his ultra-nationalism. Rueger's induction later led to the ascent of the Fascists and the Nazis, respectively, to the Italian and German political powers as organised minority albeit through democratic election.
   The Fascists (1922-1943) and the Nazis' (1933-1945) ascent to the political powers can be attributed, inter alia, to three important factors: (i) the failure of the political establishments in Italy and Germany to live up to the expectation of the people; (ii) the rise of ultra-nationalism; and (iii) the activism of the extremely organised propaganda machines and dedicated foot soldiers deployed by both the Fascists and the Nazis to undermine the credibility of the politicians and dismantle the political establishments.
   Once ascended to power, both the Fascists and the Nazis continued their onslaught on individual liberty and democratic institutions. They unleashed the infamous Black Shirts and Gestapo to suppress the voices of freedom. About 20 years of Fascist rule in Italy and 12 years of Nazi rule in Germany ended up with the greatest human disaster in history, the World War II, which annihilated 50 million people across the world including the massacre of six million Jews by the Nazis.
   The turn of the event in the history now proves that Karl Rueger, who abhorred individual liberty, democratic values, religious harmony and diversity, should never have been allowed to participate in the democratic process in the first place.
   In Bangladesh, Jamaat-e-Islami is the reincarnation of the Fascists of Italy and the Nazis of Germany. Its antipathy like that of Karl Ruegar toward democracy and liberty, its penchant for organised violence similar to those of Black Shirts and Gestapo, and its discriminatory principles against religious minority like that of Nazis are causes for serious concern. The reasons that should have prohibited Karl Ruegar from participating in the democratic process equally apply to Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. At least four compelling reasons would justify why Jamaat must be rejected from participating in the democratic process. These reasons are as follows.
   First, Jamaat-e-Islami doesn't believe in democracy or any form of godless materialism. The excerpt 'Muslims who form the overwhelming majority will not tolerate secularism, socialism, capitalism or godless materialism' (Abbas Ali Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami's views on defence of Bangladesh, p4) bears testimony to this effect. A political party or any organization which doesn't believe in democracy must be cast out from the democratic process.
   Second, Jamaat's view on political participation is discriminatory. Once ascended to political power, Jamaat will not hesitate to restrict or even deny the rights of religious minorities and women, thereby degrading their status to second-class citizens. This fear is rightly justified when one reads the following passage extracted from the article 'An Introduction to the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh'. The passage reads: 'Any sane and adult person can become a Member of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh if he or she accepts the basic creed of the Jamaat-e-Islami as his or her own creed, accepts the aims and objects of the Jamaat-e-Islami as his or her own aims and objects, pledges to fulfil the demands of the constitution of the Jamaat-e-Islami, performs the obligatory duties ordained by Islam' (An Introduction to Jamaat-e-Islami; http ://www.jamaat-e-islami.org/ index.php?option=com_about&task= introduction, p2). Jamaat's creed being the belief in Islam, for any non-Muslim aspiring to hold political office under Jamaat's hegemony must submit to the creed of Jamaat-e-Islami. Such membership criterion is discriminatory, exclusive and unconstitutional. Any form of forced exclusion is anti-democratic. And, by requiring individuals to submit to the belief of any particular religion to be eligible to participate in the political process is against the country's constitution. Therefore, Jamaat is working against the constitution and must not be allowed to participate in the political process.
   Third, Jamaat's ultra-nationalistic view is anti-democratic and is a threat to the regional peace and stability. Jamaat's ultra-nationalistic view, similar to those of Karl Ruegar, Mussolini and Hitler, is reflected in the statement 'the psychology of the defence forces in Bangladesh must be anti-Indian' (Abbas Ali Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami's views on defence of Bangladesh, p4). Such jingoistic attitude is a serious threat to the regional peace and stability of South Asia.
   Fourth, in 1971, Jamaat not only opposed to the creation of Bangladesh, but it collaborated with the Pakistani army in perpetrating one of the worst genocides in the world history. Jamaat's crime against humanity led to the death of three million civilians and rape of more than 200,000 women and destruction of billions of dollars worth of properties. It's leadership including Golam Azam, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mujahidi, Kamaruzzam, Delawar Hossain Saidi have never been tried in the court of law for committing such a heinous crime. Nor have they ever apologised for their opposition to the creation of Bangladesh. In contrast, they are thriving and constantly resorting to shenanigans to rub their dirty and bloody hands off their complicity in the crime against humanity and treacherous acts against the creation of Bangladesh. On October 28, 2006, the way few hundred armed Jamaat cadres stood up against thousands of angry opposition activists can be reminiscent of the way a few members of the black shirts used to dismantle political rallies during the Fascist rule in Italy. The thousands of rounds of bullets that came out of the guns of Jamaat cadres on that day indicates how ferocious Jamaat's foot soldiers can get, even today, to protect their fervent belief from being strolled or discredited.
   All these indicate that hatemongering, discrimination, and violence have always been the principle strategies of Jamaat's politics to rise to political office. A political party whose strategy and politics is based on such principles is anti-democratic and must be rejected.
   If we are to learn any lessons from the consequences of the Fascist and Nazi rules, then, to protect democracy and liberty, we must stop the recurrence of the same in Bangladesh. We must constantly remind citizens of the country that Bangladesh is born out of the sacrifice of millions. Those who led the bleeding of innocent civilians, raping of women must be tried: we must compel the government to bring the collaborators to justice. The future of liberty, democracy, peace and stability in Bangladesh largely depends on the trial of the perpetrators of the genocide in 1971. We must resist any attempt by the government and/or any interest group to legitimise Jamaat's politics of hatred, violence, and discrimination in our democratic process. If we fail to resist the Jamaatification of the institutions of the country, Bangladesh will fall into the grip of the forces of darkness of middle age.
   

ABM Nasir teaches economics at North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. nasnc@yahoo.com

 

 

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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

Try to Understand-Hinduism -Rationally & dispassionately-

UNDERSTANDING HINDUTVA

-    Averthanus L. D�Souza.

 

 

 

Ramesh Rajaram Vispute, a former Secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) once remarked: �The enemies of the Hindus are the Muslims, the Christians, the Hindu intellectuals and the media.�   It is very significant as well as intriguing that Vispute included the Hindu intellectuals and the media in his category of the �enemies� of Hindus.   It does not take great intellectual acumen to interpret the meaning of this statement by a very prominent Hindutva promoter.   It is quite obvious that  Hindu intellectuals (nor any other reasonably educated person for that matter) will refuse to  swallow the confused gibberish  which is churned out by the Hindutva propagandists to arouse anger and hatred  against Muslims and Christians,  for which the VHP  is so notorious.   Any thinking person (including Hindu �intellectuals�) will see through the falsity of the arguments which the VHP advances in its hate campaigns.  It is precisely because the position of the Hindutva campaign is irrational  and untenable that the propagandists prefer to recruit uneducated and unthinking followers who can easily be manipulated to believe anything that is fed to them.    The Bajrang Dal,  which is considered to be the front-rank of the storm-troopers  of the VHP  is a good example of uneducated youth, with more passion than reason, who are willing to blindly follow orders without thinking, and who are conditioned to believe that heroism consists in slaughtering helpless women and children, and burning innocent people alive.   In this respect the Bajrang Dal is no different from the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany or the youth brigades of the other fascist movements in Europe who were used to terrorize the population into submission.   With their saffron head-bands and wielding �trishuls�, and screaming full-throated war-cries,   these rampaging gangs can cause terror anywhere � which is precisely what they are trained to do.  They are �programmed� to follow orders, irrespective of the morality of the orders or the consequences which follow.  B.S. Moonje, a prominent RSS leader, personally met  the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini in Rome on 19 March, 1931, visited some important military schools and educational institutions and became acquainted with the Balilla and the Avanguardisti organizations.   Moonje wrote in his diary that the keystone of the fascist system is the  �indoctrination� of youths, rather than education.  This is the foundation on which the Bajrang Dal is built.

 

While cultivated ignorance of the youth is one facet which is promoted by the Hindutva  ideologues,  deliberate falsification of current facts as well as of History is another method of indoctrination used.    Lal .Krishna. Advani  closely studied the system of propaganda developed by Nazi Germany.  He says:  �In Nazi Germany, fascism in action developed two other distinctive characteristics: firstly, adoption of propaganda as a key instrument of State policy; and secondly, the systematic  development of a demonology to keep the masses in a mood of perpetual tension and hysteria.� (L.K.Advani- �A Prisoner�s Scrap Book� )   Advani and his colleagues have tried hard to refine and improve upon the propaganda-cum-terror machinery  which was developed by Nazi Germany, specially by Hitler�s most trusted lieutenant Paul Joseph Goebbels, whose name has now become synonymous with high-voltage mendacious propaganda.    

 

One of the more prominent falsifications which the Hindutva protagonists are propagating is that Hindutva is an integral part of Hinduism.   No sensible person, (including thinking Hindus) accepts this claim.   In fact, the vast majority of Hindus are aghast at this identification of Hinduism with Hindutva.     Hinduism is a highly respected religion of long standing.  It is recognized (even by non-Hindus) as being, perhaps, one of the oldest religions in human history.  It outlived the ancient religions of the Sumerians, the Etruscans, the Mesopotamians the Greeks and the Egyptians.  Hinduism has always been associated with �sanatana�         which denotes timelessness or ancientness.   Hinduism has never been associated with any particular political system;  nor has it ever shown a preference for any particular cultural context.   In the broadest sense of the word, Hinduism is �heterodox�  and embraces a vast variety of rituals, beliefs, popular practices and dietary preferences.   In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna: �Through whatever path men come to me, I accept them through that very path.�

 

 In sharp contrast to Hinduism as a religion,  Hindutva is a clearly distinguishable �political� ideology which is straining to concoct a �national� identity  based on the Hindu religion.    Hindutva is a clearly fascist political movement, which has drawn much of its inspiration from European fascism and German Nazism.   The most prominent protagonists of Hindutva,  Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1902 � 1966),  Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906 � 1973) and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901 � 1953)  among others, have derived their ideologies from European fascism and modified it to suit Indian conditions.   In fact, Pravin Togadia the �International General Secretary� of the VHP explicitly says that India is a Hindu Rashtra since millennia, and that Hindutva is not a religion but a synonym for Hindu nationalism.   It should be quite clear, therefore, that the rejection of the claims of Hindutva cannot be construed as being anti-Hinduism.   In fact,  it is precisely because of the distortion of Hinduism by the Hindutva brigade that the Hindu intellectuals have rejected it.   The Hindutva fanatics thrive on spreading this confusion between Hindutva and Hinduism.   They have been able to increase their  popularity because they repeat the (false) propaganda that the promotion of Hindutva is the promotion of Hinduism

 

There are many distortions which the Hindutva fascists have wrought on Hinduism.   Suffice it to indicate only a few blatant contradictions in their propaganda.  

 

One:  Hindutva is supposedly  a movement to create a Hindu �Rashtra�.   The secularism enshrined in the Indian Constitution is violently rejected by the Hindutva protagonists.   At the same time they have made a conscious and vigorous effort to create an �international�  Hindu community.   The formation of the �World Hindu Council�  and the creation of the post of an �International General Secretary� of the VHP is a clear contradiction of the claim that Hindutva is limited to the objective of creating a Hindu �nation.�   This contradiction is obvious to every sane person, except, of course, the rabid Hindutva ideologues.

 

The claim made by Pravin Togadia that  Hindutva as a �Rashtra� has existed since millennia is patently false.  By all historical accounts, whether in ancient or mediaeval India,  there were several �kingdoms� or �empires.�   Among the more well-known ancient empires were the Mauryan empire of Chandragupta Maurya ( approx. 326 B.C. to 184 B.C.)  and the Asokan empire  (approx. 269 B.C. to 232 B.C.)  There were also other lesser kingdoms like those of Kushana.  In the south there were the numerous kingdoms of Adilshah, the Pandyan and Chola kingdoms, the Chalukyan dynasty and the Vijayanagaran kingdom (1336 to 1567 A.D.)  and the better known Maratha Kingdom whose best known figure is Shivaji.    In the course of history, all these kingdoms were in conflict with one or another with a view to expand their fiefdom or to retrieve lands which had been taken away by force.   There was never a �nation� called India.  Even after the gaining of political independence from  Britain in 1945,  it was left to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to consolidate the various major and minor kingdoms into a unified Nation.  It is indisputable that it was under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that the so-called �Princely States� were abolished and integrated into the State of India, which, for the first time in its entire history adopted a Constitution which was to govern the �Nation.�   The falsity of the VHP�s claim that India was always a Hindu �rashtra� is proven by the very fact that it is still seeking to �create� the Hindu Rashtra of its dream.     

 

Two:  the VHP claims that people who profess and practice other religions cannot be part of the Hindu Rashtra.   This is in stark contradiction to the repeated statements made by the Hindutva leaders that Hindutva is a �secular� concept.  In fact, they claim that they are secular precisely because they are Hindu.  They accuse non-Hindus of being �pseudo-secular.�   They continue to trumpet this obvious contradiction that only Hindus are secular and the followers of all other religions are not secular.   Yet, they also claim that Hindutva is a �composite� culture which embraces a variety of religions, cults, languages and ethnic cultures.   The Hindutva ideologues have never been able to reconcile  this glaring contradiction in their position.  If Hindutva �embraces�  other  ethnic cultures, why is it that they are systematically forcing tribals (who are not, and never have been,  Hindu) to �convert�  to Hinduism?   On the one hand they have sponsored so-called �Freedom of Religion� legislation in many States; because they are ostensibly opposed to conversions by force, fraud or inducements;  yet on the other hand, they themselves are forcibly �converting� tribals, members of scheduled castes and followers of other religions.  They offer the lame and unconvincing argument that they are only bringing back these people to the Hindu fold.  They have called this movement a �ghar vapasi.�   The fact is that the tribals have never been Hindu.  They have their own culture, religion and social practices.   �Ghar vapasi�  in their case simply does not make any sense.   Former Indian Prime Minister, V.P. Singh has rightly pointed out that �ultimately what they are aiming at is authoritarian  rule.  Then not only will the minorities be targeted, but also those who do not agree with them. You will be declared an anti-national and treated thus.�

 

One of the more prominent characteristics of any dictatorial political movement is the systematic  creation  of  confusion in the minds of the citizens so that they can never be sure of what the truth is. This is done in two ways.   One is to spread rumours through the cadres of grassroots level workers, and another is to simultaneously issue �official� statements �clarifying� the official position on any particular issue.   This is a very subtle psychological game which is being played by the top leadership of the  Hindutva brigade.   Citizens need to be aware of this and not fall into the trap which is deliberately created by the Hindutva ideologues.  A glaringly example of this �double-speak� is the fact that the Bajrang Dal leaders in Karnataka have openly stated on TV channels that they are responsible for the attacks against Christian churches, institutions and personnel.  At the same time, the BJP government in Karnataka and the VHP leadership insist that the Bajrang Dal had nothing to do with the attacks.  

 

There are too many contradictions in the propaganda arsenal of the Sangh Parivar to be treated at length in a brief essay,  but this short analysis will, perhaps, help to pinpoint the contradictions:

 

Hindu Nationalism v/s International Hindu Solidarity.

 

The entire Hindutva movement is grounded on the principle that India is a Hindu nation, and that only Hindus can enjoy rights of citizenship in India.   In this view, Muslims and Christians, in particular, but also Jews, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains, are viewed as non-Indian.   Each time a violent attack is carried out against Muslims or Christians, the Bajrang Dal terrorists shout that the Muslims and Christians should either become Hindus or leave the country.   Islam and Christianity are considered to be �impositions� by foreign Muslim conquerors or by Western Christian missionaries.  The teachings of V.D. Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar are very explicit about this.  According to them, non-Hindus cannot enjoy rights of citizenship.  The Muslims are constantly warned that their continued presence in India is entirely dependent on the �goodwill� of the Hindus and the Christians are �advised� to form an Indian Church under the complete control of the Indian Government, similar to the National Church in China.   The so-called principle is constantly repeated that only those who sever their links with any international community and become entirely Hindu will be tolerated in (an Hindutva ruled)  India.  

 

The stark contradiction in this position is the fact that Hindutva is Not confined to the geographical territory of India;  it is sought to be made an international religion.  Ever since the famous Parliament of Religions was addressed by Swami Vivekananda, in Chicago  the �missionary� dimension of Hinduism was begun with the formation of the Vedanta Society in 1893  in New York.   Today there are Hindu �missions�  all over the world, in the U.S.A., in Europe, in the Pacific Islands, in the West Indies, and in South Africa.   The claim that Hindutva is a movement to establish a Hindu �Rashtra,� is, therefore, patently false.   The comparison with the expansionist movement of Nazi Germany is too striking to be missed.  First it started with the unification of German speaking countries; then it was extended to include all people of Aryan ethnic stock.  Since racial characteristics could not be �assimilated�  the Nazis began a systematic extermination, first  of the Jewish people and then of other �tainted� races.   The Hindutva claim to form a Hindu Rashtra, is, on the face of it, a huge fraud perpetrated by the Hindutva ideologues.  From a close examination of the literature available, it is clear that the Hindutva brigade wants to establish a theocratic Hindu State in India, not dissimilar to the Islamic State of neighbouring Pakistan.

 

Tolerance v/s xenophobia.

 

Another myth which has been created by the Hindutva protagonists is the claim that Hindutva is a tolerant ideology and is based on secular values.   This is far from the truth.  Hindutva is a blatantly intolerant movement which thrives on spreading hatred and fear among people.  In fact it is so intolerant that it seeks to re-write history,  which, according to it, has been written by �pseudo-secularists.�    Its distortion of history is so blatant that it has even created the myth that Asoka  and Chandragupta Maurya were Hindu kings.  This is a blatant falsification of History.  All reliable sources tell us that Asoka ruled over a Buddhist kingdom, and that Chandragupta Maurya was strongly associated with the Jaina tradition.  The Hindutva view of history is not based on scientific research, but on an imagination running wild.   The Hindutva �historians� are worthy disciples of Goebbels who taught that if you repeat a lie over and over again,  people will soon begin to accept it as the truth.  

 

If Hindutva is a tolerant political ideology which respects secular values, why is it that in all the States which are ruled by the BJP there is a systematic attack against Christians and Muslims?    Why is it that tribals, who are not, and never have been, Hindu are being terrorized into converting to Hinduism?  

 

The Hindutva fanatics claim that they are against conversion by force, fraud or by material inducements.  In fact they accuse the Christians of having converted Hindus by offering such material inducements.   Yet, the duplicity of their claims is starkly evident in the fact that wherever they have attacked the Christians,  independent Commissions of Enquiry have not been able to confirm a single case of conversion by the use of fraud, force or material inducement.    The Laws in India are very clear about such conversions. If the Hindutva terrorists have any evidence of such conversions, they should have recourse to the Law.   Instead, they resort to violence and terror against helpless, innocent and weak communities.   They themselves use force to (re)convert people.

 

The Hindutva movement is  built on the foundations of falsehood, force and terror.   In times of natural calamities, like the earthquake in Gujarat,  they prevented anyone else from assisting the affected people.  They sought exclusive rights to dispense aid, but they distributed this aid in a highly reprehensible manner.   Muslim victims were carefully and deliberately excluded.   Others were given aid only on condition that they swore to remain or to become Hindu.   There is voluminous evidence of such discrimination even in times of dire affliction.   And these very people claim that Hindutva is a humanitarian and generous movement. 

 

Citizens need to be aware of the duplicity of the Hindutva movement.   They should examine all their claims critically;  and most of all, citizens should not be beguiled into believing that the Hindutva movement has any redeeming features.  It is an unmitigated evil.

 

The battle lines are very clear.  We Indians, of all faiths, varieties of cultures and  languages,  are facing a grave threat to the secular, democratic and pluri-cultural fabric of our society.   We need to join forces to defeat the evil forces of fascism and authoritarianism.   The fight is not between Hinduism and other religions.  The  fight is really between secularism and democracy, on the one hand, and fascism on the other.  

 

 

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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

The plight of Freddom in21st century--

How Long we have to fight for the Freedom of Speech & Expression!

Speaking all truth to the establishment

 

Md. Anwarul Kabir

 

Speaking all truth to the establishment, especially in public, is not that easy and some time it is risky too. Here the term establishment signifies people at the power centre who run the state machineries and their cohorts.

 

The establishment, since the ancient time seldom likes to embrace unpleasant truth voluntarily. If we probe into the ancient history, it will reveal that in 399 BC, the great philosopher Socrates had to face trial and subsequent execution when he was nearly 70 as he spoke the truth following his conscience to the establishment. His unconventional attitude and expressions towards divinity contrary to the established norm of Athens at that time angered the people at the power centre. The quote from 'The lives of Eminent Philosophers', authored by Diogenes Laertius of the 3 AD supports this assertion. He explicitly pointed out that "Socrates discussed moral questions in the workshops and the marketplace." Often his unpopular views expressed disdainfully and with an air of condescension, provoked his listeners' anger. Laertius further stated that "men set upon him with their fists or tore his hair out," but that Socrates "bore all this ill-usage patiently." Eventually Socrates was tried and convicted by the courts of democratic Athens. He was charged of corrupting the youth and disbelieving in the ancestral gods as he exposed his truth that went against the belief of the establishment.

 

The history of the Semitic religion has revealed that Jesus Christ (7–2 BC—26–36 AD) had to undergo Jewish and Roman trials and was sentenced to death by crucifixion as he introduced new truth concerning religion contradicting Judaism and pagan Roman beliefs which the establishment at that time followed. The prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (sm) (570-632 AD) also had to face much struggle and hardship as he attempted to introduce monotheistic belief replacing the prevailing pagan polytheistic religion despite the fact that he was born into the Koreish, the leading tribe of the establishment in Mecca of his time. Ironically, his preaching of Islam was not accepted even by many powerful members of his own tribe and so eventually he was forced to leave Mecca in 622 AD with his followers and had to take refuge in Medina until he along with his followers succeeded to conquer Mecca in 630 AD.

 

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), the great scientist also fell under the rage of the establishment of his time while he tried to reveal the truth of science observing physical reality by stating, "I hold that the Sun is located at the centre of the revolutions of the heavenly orbs and does not change place, and that the Earth rotates on itself and moves around it." In this context it is worthwhile to note that throughout Europe, the church still held the core power of the establishment during Galileo's time. And the new discovery of Galileo contradicts the biblical creed which holds the notion of earth centric universe. So, after his scientific write-up entitled "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World - Ptolemaic and Copernican" containing the new discovery discarding the divine quotes of the Bible was published, Galileo was condemned to lifelong imprisonment.

 

In ancient and medieval times, religions played crucial roles in establishments and so speaking the truth cost enormous suffering for those who following their conscience revealed the truth. However, in modern age too, due to fanatic opposition of religious bigots especially in the Muslim world including ours, many free thinkers undergo miserable sufferings in their lives. For instance, we can mention the name of Araz Ali Matabbar (1900-1985), an eminent self educated intellectual who tried to judge the religion rationally and asked unpleasant questions in his write-ups, became a victim of the establishment during the pre-independent period of Bangladesh. Even after the independence in 1973, poet Daud Haider was set upon by mullahs and their thugs for a poem in which he had raged at God for allowing the massacre of three million Bangladeshis during the liberation struggle and criticized leading religious leaders including Muhammed (SM). The Government of Bangabandhu, hailed for guiding Bangladesh to the path of secularism, imprisoned Daud for 'his own protection." Later in 1979, during Zia's regime after being released from the jail he had to flee to India for saving his life from fanatic groups as his passport was impounded and later, he took asylum in German.(Still he is in German). For viewing religion through their rational lens, litterateur Ahemed Sharif (1921-1999), Humayun Azad (1947-2004) and some others in our country had to face much struggle including death threat from the religious bigots. In all cases the establishment took least interest in protecting these freethinkers showing little respect to freedom of expression.

 

Perhaps the most heinous slap on freedom of expression in the world occurred in the case of the feminist writer Taslima Nasrin who wrote Taslima some columns that have exposed how the medieval traditions of Islam have become major obstacle on the way to women emancipation and empowerment in our contemporary society. The Islamic goons of the country did not tolerate and subsequently they started agitation. Portraying her as Murtad they declared bounty for her head as it was in the case of Salman Rushdi. Instead of protecting Taslima from the rage of the Mullahs, the then government banned her book 'Layjja' and in 1993, she was charged with blasphemy. An arrest warrant was issued and Taslima went into hiding. After two months she surrendered to the High Court and immediately after receiving bail left Bangladesh. Since 1994 she has lived in many countries in exile including France, Sweden and India. However, the acts of the government on Taslima's issue did not translate that the government did all the things due to its love for Islam. Rather, in our country, all governments patronize Islamic fanatics for political reasons—for safeguarding its vote bank.

 

Religion is a sensitive issue, especially in the contemporary Muslim world and so the establishments there do not take risk to give freedom for expression that goes against long practised religious culture and beliefs. But what is the freedom of expressions in democratic secular world? Are people there free to speak all truth to the establishment? Take USA , the most powerful 'democratic' country in this uni-polar country, as an example. Are Americans free to talk all truth to the establishment? To get the answer to this question first we need to unmask the reality in USA establishment. Who represent the US government? Either Democrat or Republic? But both the two major parties Republic and Democrat are patronised by the big multinational companies. As the other political parties who stand against capitalism and who campaign for the working class including 13% of the people who are under poverty line cannot succeed in the election, mainly due to crisis in party funds. It may be noted here, in the developed countries also money is the most powerful instrument in the national electoral process most like the practice in our country. So, this assertion becomes evidential when we see that over the half of presidents of the USA came from the wealthiest 3% of the Americans while at least a dozen sprang from the loins of elitists in the top of 1%. Statistics from 2005 shows that 143 of 435 US representatives and one in three senators were millionaire. These people, no doubt, were connected to the corporate world in one way or another. Presumably, recent statistics will reveal the similar pattern of representatives in the US government. So, in reality, deviated from Lincoln's philosophy, the USA has redefined its democracy as "government of the rich, for the rich and by the rich"

 

Due to their inherent background, the representatives of US government exert strong influence in formulating policies in favour of corporate interests. If we investigate then no doubt it will be revealed that the government of US itself follows the corporate structure. In this context, we may argue that US is leading towards fascism in line with Mussolini's fundamental definition of fascism: "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." The dangerous implication of this is corporatism of the mainstream media, the major tool for making public opinion. Presumably, speaking the truth that goes against corporate interest has no access to the mainstream media. So, when Bush administration imposed unjust war on Iraq, many humanitarian intellectuals who were against the war opposing the corporate interest got little access to mainstream media. Peace loving intellectuals at that time vastly relied on alternate media but due to its limitation they failed to create public opinion against fascist Bush and his cohorts. Due to this failure Bush could succeed to get elected for the second term to run the administration in a fascist manner.

 

Naomi Wolf, in her famous book 'The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (2007)', with concrete evidences revealed the fact how the US controls the press. Referring the Committee to Protect Journalists she points out that the arrest of US journalists is at an all-time high. Contemporary US historian Prof. Carolyn Baker in her book "US History Uncensored" (2006) has rightly argued that over the decades US has turned into a close society from an open one. In a close society, as we observed in the case of former communist USSR and its folds, speaking all truth to the establishment was quite impossible. So, Russian free thinkers like Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989), Boris Pasternek (1921-1999) and many other had to face much hurdles and pains for expressing truth to the establishment.

 

In contemporary West Europe, especially in the UK, the scenario of freedom of speech is relatively much better. Still the situation there in this context is not unquestionable. The Civitas, an independent think tank has expressed its observation (2006), "For centuries Britain has been a beacon of liberty of thought, belief and speech, but now the freedom of its intellectual and political life is being subjected to a subtle form of 'censorship'"

 

The world's largest democratic and our neighbouring country India although comparatively better than other sub-continental countries, restricts freedom of expression in many political and religious aspects. No political party there can boast of respecting the freedom of the press. There have been numerous instances of newspaper offices being vandalized and editors and journalists being roughed up by political flunkeys for publishing articles that were critical of their leaders. Banning of books is not uncommon by the central or state government. For instance the ban on Dwikhandito, a book written by Taslima Nasrin by the West Bengal Government can be cited.

 

Apart from the religious issue like many other countries, speaking truth on other secular issues that go against the interest of the establishment is also difficult in Bangladesh. So, for implicit reasons our writers/journalists dare not unveil the fact on Chittagong Hill Tracts turmoil or the much debated issue of 'cross fire.'

 

In conclusion, we can argue that the freedom of speech or right to speak to the establishment will not be translated into reality in this planet unless we work out for it. For this, we need to go a long way overcoming all hurdles and pains following the footstep of the free thinkers of the past. For this, we need to nurture the courage of our own conscience so that we can make our planet a place blessed with the freedom of expression.(BY Courtesy-Mukto Mona-Bangla Desh Humanist web site.)

 

 

 

 

--
Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

A Thought-Provoking Poetry-By omar

 

" If Madrasahs of those drunks
Became the educational institutes
Of teaching philosophy of
Epicures, Plato and Aristotle;

If Abode and Mazars of Peer and Drabesh
Is turned into research institutes,

If men instead of following blind faith of religion
Should have cultivated ethics,

If the abode of worships were turned into
Centers of learning of all academic activities,

If instead of studying religion, men
Would have devoted to develop mathematics - algebra,

If logic of science would have occupied the place of
Sufism, faith and superstition,

Religion that divides human beings
Would have replaced by humanism, ....

Then world would have turned into haven,
The world on other side then would have extinguished,
The world would then become full of
Love-affection-freedom-joy,

And there is no doubt about it."

Omar composed this poem long long time back, but it appears the environment that existed in his time is still prevailing in Bangladesh. I wish he revisit Bangladesh, we need him desperately- " Oh ! Omar, Come to Bangladesh, a land of superstition, blind faith and fotowabaz at least once, we need you much". 

 

BY Omar

With courtesy -Mukto Mona-Oct-Issue-08.
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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

Application of Sharia In Britain-rings a Death Bell for a secular British Society.-Article published in Mukto Mona-The Bangla Desh Humanist society.

Do not put Hands of Clock Back : Installation of the Sharia in UK.

Bipin Shroff

Published on October 13, 2008

 

Britain is known as the cradle of Democracy. The world owes for it to Britain. Now the same country does something which is totally against the very spirit of democracy. Who will save whom? Britain has decided to give Sharia-the Muslim Religion Legal system to have equal status & empowers this system to solve the secular problems of the Muslim society in the nation. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Williams is the man who has provided the ground for its smooth sailing. The logic & objective behind his arguments are that though Britain has its vibrant legal system, but society is governed by its religious customs & conventions. He has gone to the extent of arguing that it is necessary to create the social cohesion in the nation. There are different social immigrants religious groups like Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians etc who are wedded to their different religions. Their daily non- economic & non- educational lives are governed by their religious customs & conventions. So why not their social & marital disputes be decided by their religious legal codes? They had been evolved throughout the ages. How by giving Sharia the legal powers the British Muslims will be the part of main western culture? He failed to explain that. On the contrary this action will pave the way for creating the Muslim residents areas as 'no go areas'. Their localities (areas) will be ghettoized.

Our discussion is in relation to Muslim Personal Law-particularly the applications of SHARIA- in the life of British Muslim Citizens. Our simple question is; Is there any difference between the Muslim Personal Law Sharia & British Law? What is the difference between the Natural Law or Just Law & Revealed religious law like Sharia? The Natural Law is evolved on the basis of Human needs. Its basic assumption is to create such legal conditions in the society under which the human being can live happily & develop his human potentialities. It provides the congenital climate, atmosphere & the frame of legal structure under which each citizen feels secure, protected & live without any personal whims of the man or the religious dogmas and fatwas. According to Thomas Hobbes the Natural Law is the creation of the people among themselves for their mutual happiness and prosperity. He further argued that the origin and evolution of the natural law by the human beings have brought the human life from the brink of solitary, poor, brutish, short lives to the present human lives. Another important feature of the Natural Law is that it evolves according to the needs of the society. It is dynamic. There are possibilities of changes in the application of Natural Laws. It is impartial and publicly knowable. As for example laws regarding slavery, hours of working for the laborers, voting rights, marriageable age of man and woman, regarding the laws of inheritance, and reformative theory of criminal punishments .we find lot of changes from generations to generations in these laws. Here the law is known as the rule of law not the rule of man. All religious laws are supported by their religious books, customs & conventions. They are considered as sacrosanct and have revealed sanctions. They are the creation of Supernatural authority and or by the prophet himself. So laws like Sharia are not amenable to modifications or amendments. We cannot make any necessary changes according to the needs of the present social order. Sharia had been created by more than one thousand years before according to that age needs. Now if the country like Britain, tries to create conditions favorable for the application of Sharia to its Muslim citizens what will be the future of coming Muslim Generations? Let us see how Sharia punishes its followers for the criminal offences. These crimes are punished by specific penalties, such as death by stoning, lashes, the severing of a hand and head etc. For the crime as adultery the punishment is death by stoning, for the crime as the theft, cutting of the hand, eye for eye, ear for ear, and limb for limb etc. We do not know what compels the liberal country like Britain to go for the Sharia Laws for its Muslim Populations. When the demand or voice comes from the Christian Clergy like the archbishop of Canterbury we smell something serious. There is a world wide demand for the revival of religious faith. Logic of the situation compels us to think that all religious zealots want to reestablish their hegemony over the secular life of their believers. Adoption of the Sharia in Britain will pave the ways for Christians, Hindus and others to demand the same in their democratic nations. Then where they we will lead to the mankind? The legal sanctions to the Sharia Laws will give free way to the Political Islam to do whatever it thinks right. Just like the lesson of our childhood story when the man allows his camel to put its one leg inside the tent because of the shivering outside atmosphere, ultimately the camel throws the man outside the camel takes the possession of the tent. Those who fail to learn the lessons of the history they will commit the same mistake. Let sane voice prevails among the people of the Britain including its Muslim population.

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Bipin Shroff, rationalist and humanist writes from GA, USA. He can be reached at bipin_shroff@yahoo.com

                              

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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com

About Nanavati Commission-Provides fuel for Fascism-

In Truth, Dark Times The Nanavati report is another depressing sign of Indian democracy's continuing free-fall TARUN J TEJPAL Editor-in-Chief DICTATORSHIP WALKS in through the front door, often without a preamble, one sunlit morning. Fascism almost never rings the bell. It slips in through the backdoor, climbs in over window-sills, pads up the basement, locates a rotten rafter to make its covert entry. Dictatorship is showy. It lodges itself in the living room, confident it commands the house. Fascism is sneaky. It quietly settles into every room, knowing it runs the house. Dictatorships can be overthrown by the people. Fascism is the people. Of course we must not be alarmist. We are a great democracy. Look at our Constitution. Look at our Parliament. Look at our free and fair elections — well, okay, prolific elections. Look at our free and fair media — well, okay, prolific media. Look at our free and fair judiciary — well, okay, our judiciary. Let us not try and list the police and the bureaucracy: we have a consensus of unhappiness about them. In a great democracy — well, okay, a great democracy in the making — these are minor flaws. No doubt, evolution will make us perfect. This catalogue of virtues is only enumerated by those of us who live inside India's charmed circle. To whose privileged lives the soaring idea of democracy can provide a glittering embroidery. It's the banquet hall view of the state — cosy with good food and fine conversation. And it is articulated only by those of us who have somehow managed to grab a seat at the table, even if it is a low one. It's useful to remember, every ruling class from Caesar to Stalin has believed it was doing right by its people. Today to read the Indian state through the banquet hall is to read a crocodile through a handbag. Only those who confront the beast know its true nature. A thousand handbags cannot tell you how mercilessly the jaws of a crocodile clamp. But all around the country there are numberless Christians, Muslims, displaced tribals, turfed-out farmers, brutalised dalits, disputing citizens, who can give you a clear idea of its brutal force. Each of their accounts tears the heart out of the idea of India. Experience is a gift for anyone. Especially for journalists. Seven years ago some of us at TEHELKA were accorded a special opportunity by the Indian state. For blowing a sharp whistle we were dragged into the entrails of the beast. How fearsome its innards were — with not a hint of the beauty of the handbag! Among the many intimate journeys we were taken on was a special starring role in a commission of inquiry. This is a special trick of the beast — an invite to a lengthy palaver at the end of which, when no one is looking, the guest is eaten. For 19 months we participated, along with more than 15 lawyers including some of India's finest, in a burlesque of lies and immorality against us. It was a rare education. We were forever cured of the banquet hall view of the state IN GUJARAT last week, a commission of inquiry has just eaten up its guests. Justice Nanavati, mandated to inquire into the Godhra tragedy and its violent aftermath, has delivered an astonishing verdict. Flying in the face of all evidence, he has perilously declared that the bogey burning was the result of a local Muslim conspiracy. At the best of times such a conclusion would have called for caution. To do so in a time of ratcheting communal tensions, with all the facts suggesting otherwise, is nothing short of disastrous. The truth of Godhra is awful, but it's not a conspiracy. All the evidence indicates that neither the state nor the local Muslims played any premeditated role in the horrific assault on the train. Once the dastardly event was over, a sinister attempt began to give it a political colour. In the pages that follow, a six-month-long TEHELKA investigation reveals how the establishment and the police broke every rule in the book to manufacture a conspiracy theory. Nanavati was meant to snooker the state's unlawful conduct. Instead he has endorsed it! The chances are he will get away with it. As it is universally, India's secure classes have a charitable view of the system they run. Breathless with carving out the pie, they have little time for distant niceties. In a country of a billion people, a few hundred Muslims mouldering in jail can arouse only so much concern. Citizens move on slogans not on details. Politicians and policemen bank on that.Terrorism is a headline; individual innocence is a nuance. And anyway all those Muslim names sound the same after a while. As do the tribal. And the dalit. Fascism keeps padding in into our rooms on animal feet. We know the answers. Enforce the law. Ensure justice. Follow the Constitution. The beast knows them too. Only too well. It knows these are the very leash by which it should be bound. But the stake anchoring the leash — public will: as represented by media, intelligentsia, civil society — has come loose. It has badly splintered, lost its sense of anchorage, and it believes the beast will maraud elsewhere and never round on it. The fables of the world are full of such foolishness. Once, a few good men had a good idea. The idea of India. It resulted in the most magical political experiment of the 20th century. It allowed a complex, ancient, trampled civilisation an enviable entry into modernity. The experiment is still on. In truth, there are dark days — increasingly too many — when it seems to be sliding towards failure. In their roster of virtues, the original visionaries had a gift that made their grand experiments possible. Like the finest literary writers they had the gift of empathy. The ability to intimately imagine the life of another. It took them to a place beyond caste, community, and religion. It made the idea of India possible. It is a gift we need to rediscover again, at every level. To imagine once again the life of one man, one woman. One people.

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 40, Dated Oct 11, 2008

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Bipin Shroff

http://bipinshroff.blogspot.com/
shroffbipin@gmail.com