I see a reference to communalism in the Indian press in a manner that is contradictory to its dictionary meaning. According to most dictionaries communalism means putting the interests of the members of a community above those of the other communities and of the nation. A typical example would be the agitation by gujjars in Rajasthan and Haryana for inclusion in the schedule of other backward classes. Vote bank politics is another example of communalism. Indian politicians of all shades thrive on communalism. Congress for its part has been exploiting communalism by stirring fear among members of different communities of exploitation by other communities, claiming to be their champion and savior. BJP claims to be champion of Hindu rights. Samajwadi party in UP, although it claims to be champion of Muslim rights, serves to fill the coffers of Yadav clan. The two janata dals in Bihar, too, have aligned them as champions of the downtrodden, but serve the interests of their own communities. Thus the country has splintered among different communities or jatis as feared and argued by Gandhi in Gandhi-Ambedkar debates of 1930s and 40s.
Exploitation of religion has reached a frenetic pace with emergence of Muslims as the largest vote bank. Politicians of all parties except BJP are vying to court Muslim vote while BJP is positioning itself as the champion of Hindu rights. US Evangelists, who were having a free hand in conquering India for Christianity under the UPA government, are teaming up with disgruntled Muslim and Sikh groups in the USA to discredit Hindus and their champions as non-inclusive, for their own interests. Development of the nation has taken a back seat to the development of individual professional and religious communities. Emotions are being stirred up through the victimization complex and fear mongering. The Muslim and Christian communities who have excluded and exterminated other communities as in Kashmir, Mizoram, to some extent in Tamilnadu and Kerala are most vocal in calling Hindus as non-inclusive. While every community, religious and professional, has been complicit in involvement in communal riots and other acts of violence, only Hindus are being bashed for all ills, because they do not constitute a vote bank.
It is high time that the communal calculations be taken out of Indian politics otherwise the nation will become a laggard nation of multiple jatis and religious communities, each clamoring for its own rights and interests, while the world is forging ahead with revolutionary technical discoveries.
Published in India Abroad on Dec 27, 2013
