http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/RATIONALISTS-QUESTION-Is-govt-playing-soft-Hindutva-politics/articleshow/48965288.cms
RATIONALISTS QUESTION - Is govt playing soft Hindutva politics?
TNN | Sep 15, 2015, 08.17 AM IST
BENGALURU: With the government pushing the proposed Karnataka Prevention of Superstitious Practices Bill, 2013 into cold storage, questions are now being asked whether the Congress is playing soft Hindutva politics.
Rationalists, who had pinned their hopes on the Siddaramaiah government giving legitimacy to free thinking and raising its voice against religious bigotry, are now certain the proposal of an anti-superstition bill will not go beyond its draft stage.
K Marulsiddappa, former professor with Bengaluru University and a litterateur, who was also present in the sessions preceding the preparation of the draft bill, believes that chief minister Siddaramaiah and law minister TB Jayachandra are caught in a situation where they have to advocate for the bill and also please their colleagues who are playing `soft Hindutva'.
"Political parties in our country are not mature enough to understand the need for such legislations.They are more worried over where the Hindu votes will swing in the next general elections. The Congress is playing nothing more than a soft Hindutva card, despite the CM and the law minister trying to market the legislation," Marulsiddappa said.
Rationalists are of the opinion that the government will not table the legislation, but they want the state to at least give rational associations and free-thinking individuals a voice and certain le gitimacy. Professor Narendra Pani, who teaches social sci ences at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) said the first step of bringing a consensus in society towards ree thinking and rationality s by creating awareness.
"Even in the case of un ouchability, the law was there but everyone defied it as it was a matter of belief. Slowly but surely, things started changing with the help of awareness. Even in this case, bringing legislation may increase defiance. So before that, let the government start pushing for social awareness in rational thinking," he said.
RATIONALISTS TO MEET CM
Stung by the news that the government has pushed the Karnataka Prevention of Superstitious Practices Bill, 2013 into cold storage, litterateurs and rationalists will raise the matter when they meet chief minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Accompanying the delegation will be l family members of slain rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and MM Kalburgi. The delegation will request the CM to expedite investigation into the Kalburgi murder case.
|
