Lessons in politics

In India, secularism is at stake

January 30 is the day when Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu fanatic for partition of India. Nathu Ram Godse who killed him remained unrepentant and said in his defence in the Punjab High Court, where the case was heard: “Gandhi was a hypocrite. Even after the massacre of the Hindus by the Muslims, he was happy. The more the massacres of Hindus, the taller (he raised) his flag of secularism.” India paid a heavy price to uphold the values of pluralism. Yet a similar kind of incipient group has crept up, with the same ideas of eliminating those who are of different religion or who have stuck to the ideal of secularism. This group is attacking India’s polity relentlessly and adding to its followers in the name of religion.

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said that “reports have come during the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe that BJP and RSS conduct terror training camps to spread terrorism”. He further said: “Bombs were planted in Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and also a blast was carried out in Malegaon. We will have to think about it seriously…”

The statement may be a bit sensational and I wish Shinde had not made it at this time when there is a fallout in India on what is happening at the border. And the facts he used at the Congress conclave at Jaipur raise doubts about his intent. He looked as if he was out to defame the BJP and the RSS. I have no quarrel with him because both bodies are out of step with the principles of secularism we pursue. What Shinde should have done is to produce evidence on which he has based his disclosures. A white paper before the next session of parliament in February is an appropriate measure. At a time when Islamist terrorism has already become a nightmare for the authorities, Hindu terrorism can be a greater threat because it will contaminate the majority community. Communalism by the minority community can be tackled. But when it embraces the majority community, it can become fascism.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has alleged again at the same conclave that Hindu nationalist terrorism is the answer to Muslim one that comes reportedly from Pakistan. This may be correct but it does not help the situation developing in the country.

A Muslim intellectual from Pakistan has emailed his comment: “While there is no denial that there is a Pakistani connection in some of the terrorist attacks in India such as 26 November, there should also be no doubt about the equally true fact that Indian Muslims themselves have many reasons to fight back on the Indian state that is treating them unfairly for now more than 60 years in India, just keeping in view the Babri Masjid attack and the murder of Muslims in Gujarat.”

He further says, “In an increasingly violent world where the West is waging war for colonisation of natural resources and political influence everywhere, one should not be surprised to find out that violence creates new violence. Every action has a reaction as we have seen in French misadventure in Mali and Algiers.”

The response of the BJP is understandably hostile. It has demanded an apology from the prime minister and has threatened a bandh throughout the country. Yet after readmitting Kalyan Singh, who was chief minister when the Babri Masjid was demolished to the last brick, the BJP’s anger has lost sting. It should be defensive in its approach. Nonetheless, Shinde’s disclosures have lessened the sheen of Rahul Gandhi’s anointment as number two in the Congress. But this has not mattered with the party men who have suddenly begun calling Rahul, not Mr but Ji, the nomenclature the party uses for respect and acceptability.

By elevating Rahul from the position of secretary-general to that of vice-president of the party does not declare if he is its nominee for the prime ministership in the 2014 general elections. He says he will build up the party. It looks rather odd that his mother, Sonia Gandhi, the president and he the vice-president, should be together building the party. But then the Congress, engripped by the dynastic politics, cannot help. It has to carry out Sonia Gandhi’s wishes, even though Manmohan Singh has lost importance and has become a lame duck prime minister.

True, Rahul made a good, emotional speech at Jaipur. But what did it say, even if it is assumed that he wrote it himself? The observations like overhauling the system or fighting against corruption are empty words. How can he be taken seriously when he knows that his brother-in-law Robert Vadra has dishonestly acquired lands in Haryana? People in India and abroad want to know Rahul’s views on the burning problems facing the country, not a goody-goody speech. He has never uttered a word on the international scene. Ordinarily, it may not be necessary to comment on such subjects. But since he is a candidate for prime ministership he has to allow a peep into his mind on these topics.

My hunch is that Rahul may not be the Congress candidate for the prime ministerial position in the next election. Sonia Gandhi, who reportedly wept on his elevation fearing that power was like poison, may carry on with Manmohan Singh as long as he lasts, if the Congress heads the post-election government. Rahul may step in after Manmohan Singh.

Some other person may also be a possibility. Already Finance Minister P Chidambaram has engaged a tutor to learn Hindi. Sonia Gandhi is herself giving prominence to Parliamentary Minister Kamal Nath and has nominated him to lead the delegation at Davos. Commerce Ministrer Anand Sharma is only a delegate, although in the past the commerce minister has headed such delegations.

The 2014 election may turn out to be a contest between secular and non-secular forces. However, the BJP will think twice before nominating Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. One, he will polarise the country; and two, the BJP will find it difficult to organise allies if he is projected as prime minister. The party should recall how the Vajpayee’s first government had to resign after 13 days in office because no other party was willing to join hands with it. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist.