The Politics of Hate, Divisiveness and Sectarianism
- Fr. Cedric Prakash sj *
Varun Gandhi has today become a symbol of the disease, that has stealthily
crept into several sections of Indian society : Politics which is hateful,
divisive and sectarian ! Whilst he will definitely attain the "halo" of
martyrdom, and become an icon for the right-wing elements, it is also important
for civil society across the board to do all it can to contain the deadly
poison that continues to permeate several sections of our society.
Lalu Prasad with his revengeful response and several other political parties
are also guilty of this brand of polities. However, the BJP and its cronies of
the Sangh Parivar must take full responsibility for this vicious agenda that
divides people across the board. Ever since its inception, they have never
abandoned their core doctrine of treating all minorities as "alien". This is
borne by their constant posturings, their meticulous propaganda, their violent
attacks on minorities and the way they rake up issues in order to defocus from
the grim realities which the country faces.
This divisive campaign over the years has indeed done well for them in terms
of "political gains", be it in Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka or elsewhere. For
want of any other substantial agenda, their slogan remains the very
same....."Muslims are Terrorists", "Christians are Converters". Very
mischievously, in a subsection entitled "Religious Conversions", they have once
again raised, in their Election Manifesto, their bogey against the Christians.
Instead of defending the rights of dalits to embrace Buddhism, or for an
Adivasi to embrace Hinduism or any other citizen to embrace the religion of
their 'choice'.... (as guaranteed by the Constitution of India and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights), they very conveniently put the onus
only on the Christians and call for a "dialogue", and ofcourse, some Christian
leaders will very naively fall into their well set trap !
The draconian Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act 2003 (which finally became Law
on April 1st 2008, full five years after it was promulgated) was recently
challenged in the Gujarat High Court by the Gujarat United Christian Forum for
Human Rights and other co-Petitioners. In a major step forward, the Gujarat
High Court has sent a notice to the Government of Gujarat on this matter and
the judgment is now eagerly awaited by the Petitioners.
In Karnataka, after bashing up the Christians, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa has
promised an anti-Conversion law. In Orissa, after partnering the BJP for
several years and presiding over the death of several Christians and the
destruction of their property, Naveen Patnaik, in a totally opportunistic move,
now seeks to distance himself from the misdoings of the BJP instead of
acknowledging his responsibility as the Chief Minister.
Civil Society therefore has to come out in large numbers to ensure that the
communal politics of hate, divisiveness and sectarianism is quelled once and
for all. The ballot box has to be our decisive answer to stop the juggernaut
from destroying what is left of the harmony, the diversity and the pluralism
of our country.
