Present India is governed by Nathuram
Godse’s legacy. Hatred is its fundamental driving force. The organisation that
shaped the thoughts of Godse (and Modi as well) re-emerged on the centre stage since
Modi took charge in Delhi eight years ago. That is quite natural; cultures have
a tendency to revive themselves more strongly than in the original version.
The New
Yorker wrote on 5 Mar 2017 that since Modi became the Prime Minister, “the
militant group (RSS) has been legitimized and grown exponentially more
powerful.” The article titled ‘The
Violent Toll of Hindu Nationalism’ was written three years after
Modi strode on the red carpet to Sansad Bhavan, having made a grandiose display
of humility that he never had by falling prostrate at the entrance. Three years
and “nothing to show in terms of economy and development,” said the New
Yorker. Nothing worthwhile to show. So religious nationalism became Modi’s
only effective platform.
Modi’s hatred
of Muslims was already legendary when he became the Prime Minister. Therefore
his followers naturally assumed that attacking the Muslims and their places of
worship (and others like the Christians and the Dalits too) was their national
obligation and sanatan dharma.
The Muslims
in India were attacked systematically ever since Modi became PM. They were
lynched on waysides, thrown out of running trains, pulled out of homes and
beaten to death. With cries of Jai Sri Ram ringing in the background like the
theme music of an endless and bizarre TV serial. Even an MP was not left alone.
When Asaduddin Owaisi walked to take oath as MP in 2019, he was heckled by
India’s elected parliamentarians who also shouted ‘Jai Sri Ram’.
Modi had
allowed a Muslim MP to be hacked limb by limb when he was the Chief Minister of
his state and had allegedly lent his consent to a riot against the Muslims
after the Godhra train incident. Modi had made umpteen statement in public
ridiculing the Muslims and making them appear as mass traitors.
After
becoming the PM, Modi apparently handed over certain powers to the Jai Sri Ram (JSR)
gangs. Power to decide who will wear what dress (the hijab issue, for
instance), what foods are patriotic and what are not (the halal issue), who can
pray loud and how loud (loudspeaker issue), etc, the latest being the bulldozer
issues.
These people,
the JSR gangs, will also draft the archaeological history of the places of
worship in the country. The Babri Masjid came down and the Ayodhya Temple went
up. The Chief Justice who issued the verdict in favour of the temple was
accommodated in the Rajya Sabha after retirement. He had issued many other similar
verdicts for the sake of the Big Boss. The Judiciary had stooped to lick the dust
on the shoes of the Boss.
Article 370
went. Kashmir became a parade ground of Indian soldiers. The Citizenship Act
was passed. Hundreds of thousands of Indian Muslims became citizens of no
country. The benign Indian State, under the leadership of Modi, even went to
the extent of becoming the guardian angel of the Muslim women by forbidding the
triple talaq. (That and many other silly practices have/had to go, no doubt.
But how they go does speak volumes about motives.)
Now Gyanvapi
will make a ghar vapsi. Then the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura will transmute
into Krishna Janmabhoomi. The Teele Wali Masjid is waiting impatiently in
Lucknow to become some other Hindu god’s Janmabhoomi. The list is still being
made. Some say every mosque in India will be “reclaimed”. Wow!
It is not
only Muslims that are under attack. More than 300 cases of anti-Christian
violence were reported in the country in 2021 alone, most of them in Yogi’s UP.
Since the Christian population in the country is a meagre 2.4%, the attacks are
sporadic. The attackers may still be searching for potential victims. It doesn’t
take much time to move from Tabrez Ansari to Thomas Abraham.
That is how it happened in Hitler’s Germany. As Martin Niemoller put it:
***
Why do they do this, however?
What’s the point of creating a religious nation? There is ample evidence from
all around that theocracies are the worst governments. They are primitive in
outlook, savage in action, ignorant and superstitious. Do we really want that
sort of a nation?
PS. This is the
last part of a three-part series on discriminations in India written for Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteYou have taken a strong theme, yet again, and are making your mark upon it! An excellent article. The three together make good examples and arguments... oh if only such words could be seen/heard where they are needed most... YAM xx
They all know these things. But they pretend to know better....
DeleteIndia's tragedy is its politicians. They are catastrophic.