India - Incredible to Intolerant.

Since Class 5, all my NCERT texts books started with the preamble of the constitution. It declares that we, the people of India have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.  To me then, these were random words I was forced to by heart at the beginning of the academic year. Years later, when I finally make sense of this piece of document that is described as the soul of the constitution that holds the Indian state together, the rest of the nation, or at least a very large group, seems to have wilfully forgotten them. For them, let me at least explain the concept of Secularism which is and should be a topic of interest these days.

Secularism is the basic structure of the Indian constitution. The government respects all religions. It does not uplift or degrade any particular religion. This means that there is no such thing as a state religion for India. It stands for the right to freedom of religion for all citizens.

I have prided myself to be an Indian and I still do. I clapped just as hard as any other Indian when Kabir Khan and his girls beat Australia to win the World cup in Chak De! India, cried just as hard when DJ, Karan, Aslam, Sukhi and Pandey sacrificed their lives to avenge the corrupted system awakening patriotism in Rang De Basanti, my heart races when I listen to a beautiful rendition of our national anthem or the national song, I eagerly keep a track of events with Indian participants during International sports meets especially Olympics, Asian Games and Common wealth, I find it hard to stop smiling when I see republic day parades showcasing how a country of such diversity co exists so peacefully. In short, I’m just another Indian, thankful for the blessing of being born in this country and for all that it has given me. I have not done much for my country and this article might be the best I can do for her right now. 

I am not a Hindu, neither am I a Muslim, nor a Christian. I fall under the category of people who tick the “not applicable” column in official documents for which I am incredibly grateful to my parents’ inter caste marriage. I respect all of them, celebrate all the festivals and I have friends of each faith. This introduction is to establish that I have no ulterior motives against or towards any group when I speak against any.

“Muslims can continue to live in this country but they will have to give up eating beef because cow is an article of faith here. “ These precious words have been spoken by the respected Mr. Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar. A few months back I would’ve laughed at the idiocy and let the statement pass as I knew that people were way ahead of the primitive politicians and that no one ever really listens to ravings of such unimportant people. But now it sends shivers across my spine knowing this followed the lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri who was “accused” of eating beef. There is a certain authoritarian nature in the statement where Khattar tries to represent the religious majority i.e., Hindu community as the self-proclaimed law enforcing or decisive authority with no regards to the constitution and is of an evident threatening nature. He puts it out there openly and arrogantly that the minority community that he addresses doesn’t belong to the Nation and that they are outsiders who could be thrown out any moment if they don’t conform to his rules. 

Believe it or not, accept it or ignore it, India is at unrest. There is growing intolerance. People are scared to practice the same right to liberty guaranteed to them by the constitution of India 65 years ago in the fear of some insensible, blind, thoughtless thugs who have sworn to control the lives of people around, so India can become just another society long devoid of the same cultural harmony and of diversity accommodation that it has been praised for for so long. 

Before you dismiss off the above incident as solitary, let us take a look at the amount of communal upheavals of the majority against non-conformists, particularly after the BJP government acquired power. 

• Govind Pansare, a left wing Indian politician and writer. He authored books like "Who was Shivaji?" that contradicted preachings of right wing extremists . He encouraged intercaste marriages, opposed putrakameshti yajna (that supposedly results in male children), and criticised the glorification of Nathuram Godse, murderer of M.K. Gandhi. He was shot on February 20th, 2015 following a series a threats by extremists.  

• M.M. Kalburgi, Indian scholar of Vachana literature and academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University, was shot dead on 30th August 2015 following expression of his beliefs on the Lingayat community history and idol worship that did not sit well with the Hindu community. 

•  Rumours of cow slaughter led to violence in Karhal town of Mainpuri on October 9th. It actually turned out that the cow had died a day earlier and sold to the butchers who had the licence of removing the skin of the dead cattle and were merely doing their job. This was just a day after Dadri lynching.

• Independent MLA Engineer Rashid was attacked by BJP MLA Ravinder Raina inside the J&K assembly for holding a beef party in Srinagar on 8th October. Less than a fortnight later he was again attacked by Hindu Sena activists who blackened his face with ink and Mobil oil in Delhi. 

• Sudheendra Kulkarni, organiser of book launch of Pakistan’s former external affairs minister Mr. Kasuri in India was attacked on October 12th and his face was smeared with black paint for going ahead with the event despite Sena threats.  A few days prior to this, organisers of a concert featuring Pakistan Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali in Mumbai called off the event after similar threats from the Sena, which has said events featuring Pakistan-based dignitaries and artists will not be allowed when Indian soldiers are being killed on the border.    

• In Mumbai, policemen thrashed Muslim youth on October 18th and told them to go back to Pakistan.

• A Dalit family was burnt alive in Haryana on October 20th. A minister compared the family to a stray dog.

• A young writer was accused of being Anti – Hindutva for writing against the caste system and attacked in Central Karnataka on October 23rd. 

• Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on October 23rd demanded that the Centre declare India a Hindu Rashtra and implement Uniform Civil Code. (proposal to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the country with a common set governing every citizen. These laws are distinguished from public law and cover marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance.)

These are a few out of the many incidents that have been taking place all over India. This growing non acceptance of other’s fundamental right to equality, right to freedom, right to freedom of religion is being called intolerance here. 

Apart from widespread communal violence that has occurred periodically in India since partition, we have had isolated issues of conflicts. But these were never openly applauded by religious extremists, especially those involved in the national politics, as it is being done now. The continued silence by the government entrusted by the people (for being the best out of the available lot, sadly) is just being fuel to the flame, and if left to rage on, can burn the future of the emerging economic super power. The very people who claim to be the ”true Indians” with unabashed patriotism for the country is on the way to making the largest democracy an international laughing stock. 

Some might argue that these religious extremists are also merely trying to practice their religion. This is where the difference between religious fundamentalism and communalism becomes relevant. 

To throw light on these incidents and to take a stand that would persuade the government to accept that there in fact is intolerance on the rise in the country and that these are not merely law and order issues, eminent personalities especially writers, film-makers, scientists and even war veterans have been returning prestigious awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award, top government awards like Padma Shri, War medals and Film Awards and prominent scientists have signed petitions against rising communal polarisation and attacks on free speech

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Some people see this as an act of disrespect, a stunt for publicity and condemn it while others see it as a tool to draw attention to an issue that has to be addressed at the earliest before India succumbs to the very diseases that took down Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. Does the country wish to go down the path of Taliban who used religious sentiments and later the weapon of fear to get to the people? That wouldn't be a wise choice. History has proved.  

There is yet another group of people who claim that no such issue persists in India. This includes especially the political party currently in power, the one that uses the very same divisive politics to get to the top (It being the short cut to obtain political power. Since, in a democracy, what counts is numbers, rousing the feelings of the majority as well as pitting the minority against the majority, is the easiest and effortless way to seats of power. These are the very people who practice and endorse intolerance which is a much deeper subject for discussion for some other day), and a portion of the general public who is blissful being ignorant to what is happening to the country and his/her fellow countrymen as long as their current interests are being protected or have been brainwashed to think that the heinous act of attacking somebody’s personal choice that doesn't affect anybody but oneself is okay, again, as long as you are not at the receiving end.  

Whoever it maybe, they have the right to express. But some lash outs I came across recently against a few celebrities who spoke of their concern for the same are just appalling. Especially when these celebrities in question turn out to not be from the majority community. Recently, actors Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, Muslims by faith, Indians by nationality and heart just like any one of us or more, opened  up to the media about how the country has acquired a climate of intolerance.  Hate comments and tweets soared through social media. “Shah Rukh Khan is an agent of neighbouring country Pakistan as he reflects their (Pakistan’s) ideology. Such a man should go to Pakistan”. This was what Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachi had to say. A large number of people on Twitter and Facebook invited Aamir Khan to leave the country and social media sites bombarded with hateful comments like “we are letting you live with us, be thankful” and  “Go to Saudi, may be your wife will feel safe there in an Abaya” were  all re-tweeted and liked by hundreds, when Aamir Khan revealed that the rising intolerance has left his wife so scared for the surroundings her child would grow up in, she even considered moving out of the country. His position as the Incredible India Brand Ambassador is also widely being questioned. Little do people try and understand that these men are trying to keep our concept of Incredible India intact by not letting it turn into Intolerant India?

It is ironic that these men the people are accusing of not being true Indians are the ones globally representing the country. And it is shameful that the first thing you do to offend somebody from a faith other than Hinduism is to call them an outsider and question their patriotism, or worse allege them to be agents and spies. I recently read a post about the same by a "patriotic" lady, who says she was an Aamir Khan fan who never missed any of his movies until then. She calls him a back stabber. I am not a fan of him as an actor neither do I have any feelings for him as a person. But if you read his statement without prejudice, it just has concern in it. A man questions the the way the government runs the country today and he is accused of being anti national further proving his point. Way to be tolerant, India!

Hinduism is a way of life people around the world have admired and practice. It is invariably about tolerance. It is about being the bigger person. Religious extremist groups in India, regardless of whatever their modus operandi and slogans may be, have spread hate among communities for the sole purpose of practising the “divide and rule” policy of the British. We all know it and have been proved right about the same over and over again. What we need to remember as the people of this strong country is that the fall is not when someone tricks you, but when you know you are being tricked but you still fall into it.