January  2003 
Year 9    No.83
Editorial


No alternative to secularism

The death sentence pronounced against secularism and secularists by manic hate–mongers of the saffron brigade following the results of the Gujarat polls has, unfortunately, pushed many hitherto committed to the secular ideal on the defensive. Some have quickly repositioned themselves to assume more ‘acceptable’ identities such as, ‘Hindu protestant’, ‘Hindu progressive’. That such hasty ideological hara–kiri itself signifies a victory for those who have sounded the death knell is a point worth noting. The other is the response, or lack of it, of the entire political class to the charge, ‘pseudo–secular’, ingeniously devised by LK Advani in the late eighties, which has since been wielded by the sangh parivar as a weapon to bludgeon the ‘secular’ Opposition with. The latter’s failure in providing substance and fresh emotive charge to the word ‘secular’ has culminated in the present situation where ‘secular’ appears devoid of meaning even to erstwhile secularists.

Instead of shrinking in retreat, we believe it is time that we reiterate our commitment to secular ideals but in a language that is not devoid of meaning and which resonates with the lived values of the vast majority of Indians. To be a secularist is not necessarily to be anti–religion, or even personally a-religious. It is simply to be clear that while faith has a private and special place in the life of many, its injection in the political or public sphere is a recipe for disaster. The history of all the great faiths of the world has taught us this and Hinduism can be no exception to this basic principle.

Fifty-three years ago, for the founders of our Republic, it was pragmatic wisdom as much as political principle that guided their choice of fashioning India into a secular, democratic republic, the trauma of Partition notwithstanding. It is for us today to recognise that without a renewed commitment to secularism, India as a nation will find it impossible to stick together.

We need to remember December 15, 2002, for other reasons too. Fifty–one per cent of the electorate gave chief minister, Narendra Modi, a mass murderer, a thumping electoral mandate. In the process, they reversed the electoral trends in the state — before Godhra and the Genocide that followed, the Congress(I) had been on a winning spree in Gujarat, winning in local elections and by–elections in the state. Are the Gujarat results, then, an endorsement of Hindutva or did the Congress commit suicide by choosing to enter the electoral fray as the ‘B’ team of the BJP? Is the Gujarat victory to be seen as the success of hate ideology per se, or does it have more to do with assiduous planning and painstaking organisation–building in 10,000 of Gujarat’s 18,000 villages, as the sangh parivar proudly proclaims?

We will revert to detailed coverage of the political and social scenario in Gujarat from the next issue. But for this first issue in the new year, we thought of situating India within the broader canvas of what is happening in the region. Sadly, intolerance, hate and violence – religious, casteist, gender, ethnic – appear to be the dominant theme across South Asia today. The contributions to the cover story examine both the situation prevailing in individual countries as well as growing militarisation in the entire region. As disturbing is the attempt of the governments in several states to muzzle the free press and silence all voices of dissent. The entirely unwarranted recent incarceration of Iftikhar Gilani in India, and Pricilla Raj, Muntasir Mamun, Shahriar Kabir and Saleem Samad in Bangladesh, and the treatment given to them are disturbing pointers in the same direction.

The continuing demonisation of the Muslim minority in India is in step with developments in the United States, where over 3,000 immigrants have been illegally detained post–September 11. Most of them have little against them except the fact that they are Muslim and male. This puts on each one of us engaged in the battle for a plural and peaceful India, a painful and onerous double burden of speaking out against the targeting of an entire religious community even as we simultaneously unequivocally condemn the terrorism that targets innocents in the name of Islam. We must seek out, support and reinforce moderate and liberal Muslim opinion. Until that happens, the calculated demonising will not only continue but gain acceptance among ordinary people confronted with daily images of Muslims as inherently ‘violent’ and ‘fanatical.’

In India, post–Gujarat polls, among secularists there is a renewed sense of purpose and an acutely felt need to close ranks and consolidate our numbers. We begin the new year in the hope that this yearning becomes a reality, very soon.

— Editors


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