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Its better to light a candle…

Though it is just a few weeks since CC’s millennium issue, so much seems to have  happened. During the last week of December, the nation was agog with the events at  Kandahar. The terrorists’ hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane with 155 passengers  deserves to be condemned in no uncertain terms. But thanks to saffron politics it also  unleashed yet another set of reactions, reminiscent of India during and post-Kargil. 

While the Vajpayee government could usher in the New Year with a sigh of relief, the  high priests of Hindutva decried the “capitulation” of its own political wing in the government as it allegedly reinforced the “Hindus are cowards” perception. A similar sentiment articulated by its ideological cousin, the Hindu Mahasabha, had led to the assassination of Gandhi by Nathuram Godse six months after independence and partition. In the midst of the tautness and tension that events like Kandahar generate, Lalitha Ramdas’ piece written after her experience on the streets of Hyderabad on New Year’s eve, helps redeem faith.

In sharp contrast are the deeds of the BJP-led government at the Centre and in UP and Gujarat that clearly show that Hindutva means serious business. NDA or no NDA, allies or no allies, the central human resources ministry headed by RSS hard-liner Murli Manohar Joshi is busy charting the course for future generations with a narrow, sectarian mindset. Meanwhile, Union home minister, L.K. Advani single-mindedly pursues his ‘hidden agenda’ that includes significant amendments to the Indian Constitution. 

Our special report this month re-visits Dang where for the second successive year Christmas for the small minority of Christians was on occasion for fear and anxiety instead of joy and peace. In the city of Ahmedabad a prominent Christian institution involved in social service was visited by a senior inspector of police on Christmas day demanding to know how many persons had attended Christmas mass! 

Gujarat is a “model state” for the sangh parivar with its vision of Hindu Rashtra. In that state, executive measures continue to be taken that openly defy the Indian Constitution. After a spate of attacks against Christians and Muslims over two years, the Keshubhai Patel government attempted to terrorise religious minorities in the state last year with a selective census directed at them. Faced with a public outcry, the census circular was withdrawn. But the state’s police continues with an operative cell who’s mandate it is to “examine all cases of inter-religious marriage.” Whither the mandate of the Indian Constitution? 

Emboldened by the divisions it has successfully helped to wedge in Gujarat, the BJP government recently gave its bureaucracy the green signal to join the RSS! In UP, the newly appointed chief minister, Ram Prakash Gupta, has introduced a legislation that places restrictions on the construction of religious places. The new law, he openly claimed, is especially to curtail new mosques on the Indo-Nepal border as they encourage “ISI-influenced terrorist activities.” Are Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan listening?

Human rights of individuals within India continue to be violated with impunity. The recent killing of an innocent young woman in an “encounter death” in UP highlights, once again, how trigger-happy the Indian police is. The issue of the violation of human rights and civil liberties for all sections demands concentrated attention. Apart from introducing a section on human rights in CC every month, we are also involved in a broader initiative to re-vitalise the human rights’ movement in the country. A national convention on the issue has been called by some individuals and groups in Mumbai, next month, to discuss the issue. 

A journal like ours cannot achieve the success it hopes to without being responsive to its readers. This month’s cover story is a response to the suggestion from one of our readers in conflict-ridden J & K. He wants CC to highlight stories and initiatives that give hope, in addition to highlighting the misadventures of the communalists. 

Ever since our work on mainstream Indian textbooks was published (CC, October 1999), the campaign for a Citizens’ Charter Against Hate Preaching has gained momentum. We believe it is possible for this issue to grow into a vibrant national campaign if parents, teachers and concerned citizens agitate over the issue. We are happy at the role our cover story of October 1999 played in making the issue of bias in education a matter of widespread concern. We hope that, similarly, this issue of CC will open the way for a successful campaign against hate teaching.