India: Secularism and democracy continue to be major poll issues (editorial - Kashmir Times)

Kashmir Times, Editorial, January 30, 2014

Condoning communal violence
Secularism and democracy continue to be major poll issues

With the corporate controlled media in the country impliedly campaigning for Narendra Modi as the next Prime Minister of the country through the socalled opinion polls, some of the allies of the UPA have already started shifting ground by adopting a soft-corner for the Gujarat chief minister and the BJP, the party he represents. In the process they have not only been betraying their lack of understanding about the communal character of the BJP but are also trying to condone the 2002 communal orgy in Gujarat engineered and executed by none other than Modi. The National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has been foremost among the UPA allies who has left no one in doubt about his soft corner for the Gujarat Chief Minister, Like several other socalled secularists Farooq does not see any threat to democracy and secularism in case the BJP under Narendra Modi comes to power at the Centre. Even the National Congress Party headed by Sharad Pawar, the oldest ally of the Congress, has been vacillating on the question of supporting Modi as the country’s Prime Minister. This was obvious when Pradul Patel, a minister in the UPA government and close aide of Sharad Pawar asserted that “the time has come to lay the 2002 Gujarat riots issue to rest.” When questioned about the role of the Modi-led government in the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, Patel tried to condone the communal violence by saying that ‘ if the judicial system has given any pronouncement, I think we ought to respect it and not question it further.” He not only condoned such mindless communal violence but also betrayed his ignorance about the judicial system. The incidents of violence with the role of Modi and his government are still being probed at various levels and merely some verdict of a lower court does not mean that justice has been administered in this case. Modi and his government continue to be in the dock for the orgy of communal violence in Gujarat and their complicity cannot be easily washed away.

Democracy and secularism continue to be the major planks in the elections in a country which proclaims itself to be a secular democracy and where unfortunately the communal organizations have neither been banned nor excluded from the electoral politics. The BJP, which has anointed Modi as its prime ministerial candidate is a political offspring of the communal and fascist RSS which neither believes in democracy nor in sculraism. The RSS ideology has been explicitly propounded by the second RSS sarsanghchalak M.S.Golwalkar, in his book “We or the Nationhood Defined” and further elaborated in “The bunch of Thoughts”, collection of his speeches and writings. The book is considered as a Bible for every RSS swayamsewak and Modi, like many others has been one of the “proud RSS swayaamsewaks” None of them have so far disowned RSS and the ideology propounded by Golwalkar. He advocates India as Hindu rashtra, with only Hindus as its citizens and all others aliens, ridicules both secularism and democracy. The BJP workers with RSS background owe their loyalty to RSS ideology of a communal fascist Hindu state and not the Constitution of India which pronounces India as a secular, democratic and socialist state.

The large-scale corruption, misgovernance, development, equality and social justice are no doubt important issues in elections but secularism and democracy continue to be the primary issues on which there can be no compromise. Any attempt to undermine it or condone the communal riots occurring in the country too frequently, will be construed as an endorsement of the pernicious RSS ideology. The communal and sectarian riots in which mostly the minorities, dalits and other weaker sections have been the targets, cannot be condoned. Those responsible for them must be made accountable for their involvement and complicity during the battle of the ballots.