The writer is a consulting editor with The Statesman and writes widely for several newspapers in India
Secular India that seemed to have disappeared with the highly volatile campaign by the corporate media, suddenly asserted itself and at least one channel reported at some length — and over two evenings — from the documents that named the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members leading the mobs, and sought to substantiate what every Indian knows (but some like to ignore it), that the violence of 2002 was not “spontaneous” but planned; that a babbling, intensely active wireless network tried to warn senior officials but was ignored; and the very fact that these documents “disappeared” with the Gujarat government and its police chief at the time feigning ignorance, pointing towards complicity and design.
These documents are attached now to a petition in the courts that secular India is optimistic, will not just be considered, but will go a long way in tracking down those responsible for the 2002 violence, fixing accountability and bringing the Indian judicial system closer and closer to the truth. Only one leading English newspaper of the many that call themselves the “national” media has reported from the documents but for those fighting to preserve India’s sanity and her commitment to pluralism, secularism and socialism, this still constitutes a step forward. The documents also point to complicity by the earlier Special Investigations Team (SIT), with the communist parties raising the demand for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation.
The CPI-M issued a statement saying:
“It is a matter of deep regret that the SIT chose to ignore such a damning indictment of the state (Gujarat) government and gave a clean chit to Narendra Modi raising questions about its own credibility … there can be no doubt left of the direct culpability of Narendra Modi as the main accused who ignored the warnings of his own police force and presided over the violence. Justice demands that the SIT final report be rejected and a fresh charge sheet filed including Narendra Modi as an accused.”
A major ally of the BJP has demanded the party declare its prime ministerial candidate by the end of the year, even as it is categorical that it will not accept Narendra Modi in this post. Old socialist Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, has set new rules, leading to his party, the Janata Dal-United, having serious tensions with the BJP.
India is witnessing an intense struggle between secular and communal forces. This has been the case ever since independence, although then the secularists had leaders of the stature of Jawaharlal Nehru and others in government. Just as Pakistan is now witnessing a struggle for democracy, with the army having no choice but to stay in the backseat as the people support one or the other political party in a visible desire to keep out the uniform. After all, the very fact that a former president and army chief has been put on the run by an assertive judiciary speaks volumes for the transition that Pakistan is undergoing. The challenges facing the peoples are different, but the aspirations are similar in that all citizens of the world want to live and breathe freely, as equal citizens with equal rights and dignity. It is the governments and the political parties and the monarchs and the dictators and the armies, respectively, that throttle these aspirations by creating divisions, using force and supporting violence.
May 2013 will decide the future of democracy for Pakistan, and whether the “experiment” supported by the people at large has worked and taken the country closer to a functioning democracy. By May 2014, India will have decided whether it wants to remain a secular democracy, or whether the bagpipes of polarisation and divisiveness have mesmerised it sufficiently enough to vote for a dangerously communal neo-liberal alternative.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2013.
COMMENTS (45)
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@Razi: you are entitled to your opinion of course. Wold like to provide some facts for you of course. No party in Pakistan is secular, not even the le of center parties like PPP, ANP and MQM because they all have to abide by the Pakistani constitution which declares Pakistan as an Islamic republic. TTP of course besides not being secular does not even believe in democracy or Pakistan's constitution. BJP on the other hand swears by Indian constitution which is secular.
Separately if BJP does in fact support rules that favor Hindus ( not true but arguing hypothetically here), surely you cannot say it is wrong while supporting the exact same thing in Pakistan?
By God, the whole HINDUTVA BRIGADE has opened fire on the columnist on this discussion board. This justifies the opening sentence of the writer "In the midst of a gloom and doom scenario for Indians confronted with the possibility of a fascist takeover in the next general elections," But I would like to say that phases of communal forces exerting themselves to spread division, hatred and seeming to win has happened many a times in the long history of this subcontinent. Latest phase was immediately before and after partition. BUT, but the foundations of Hindustan psyche and religious beliefs has very deep secular foundations of respect for all faiths and religions. Pirs,Fakirs,saints like Baba Farid, Bulleshah, Chishti, Nizamuddin, Kabir, Dadu, Tulsidas, Surdas, Meera and thousands of others have worked for thousands of years to make a secular India. We know and believe that all this hatred is spread for gaining power and not for the good of Hindus or Muslims or any one. The very fact that right from the day of Godhara riots the secular India has been fighting hard to win justice for the sufferers and we have not forgotten the people who destroyed Babri Musjid shows our strength. If our constitution and the motto of India "Satyamev Jaite" (The truth wins) has conviction and blessings of all religious Gods and beliefs then surely SECULAR INDIA will win.
BJP - Communal & Corrupt... Congress - Multi - Communal, Pseudo - Secular, dynastic, utterly corrupt, incompetent, ineffective, mute, pro - divisive, spineless bunch of chamchas of the New Amma.....
My vote will therefore be for BJP... Hope fully there bring in a man who is at-least half of what ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE was... And let me tell you i have at-least a dozen Muslim friends...
Seema has been always Anti Modi/ Advani.....days when she was writing for Asian Age. This article is not up to her previous standards. She had made two gross assumptions.
"By May 2014, India will have decided whether it wants to remain a secular democracy, or whether the bagpipes of polarisation and divisiveness have mesmerised it sufficiently enough to vote for a dangerously communal neo-liberal alternative."
Please dont demean the IQ or understanding of the Indian public about how it votes...."Yeh public hain BaBu..sab jaanti hain" as the song goes.
Secular India that seemed to have disappeared with the highly volatile campaign by the corporate media...
Please dont look India through the prism..of Secularism alone.....it has lot of other thing...why it has moved a bit from Center to Right ....Inflation, Scam, bribes.
Just to point - The last communal flare was in Asam, yep but as it was Congress which ruled the state so cant termed as COMMUNAL?
I am secular. But i am not going to vote for secular parties. I want a fascist take over, it's way better than dynasty politics.
Supreme court of india must take action against all those who are are speaking against modi and spreading lies about him,think a little if he was really involved in it than he would have been hanged or behind bars as congress had set all its force like CID,SIT,HC,SC but none of those were able to find even a single evidence against him and for those who support so called "Secular" congress must know that recently court has again reopened case against congress minister Jagdish Titlar for his leading role against killing thousands of sikh when he was minister.
I was on the fence. I will vote BJP now. Thanks for helping me make up my mind.
@Razi:
We are willing to live with the BJP. In fact, in Karnataka its elections next month, BJP has a good chance.
Will you want to allow TTP?
In that case how can they be compared?
@sulaimani: A very reasonable comment. But you miss that it is not 'we' the common people who decide what identity to choose. Decisions on identity classification are made by the elites. Had it not been Hindu-Muslim, elites would have found some other identity (language, ethnicity, caste) to polarise people. Just look at Pakistan- No Hindu-Muslim problem there as almost all are Muslim but still elites have found a reason to polarise people & bang heads. That is why I respect Gandhi - He understood that identity based polarisation of people by the elites in Politics was a natural thing but everything should be done within a non-Violent framework for the safety of everybody & to prevent getting stuck into spiral of violence. India would have been a far far nasty place had there been no Gandhi.
The societies you mentioned have already passed the Violent stage (though polarisation still take place but people are no longer ready to give up their lives for the identities created by their political elites), ours are in transition. India, I believe, is right at cusp of revolutionary change in its social character (the very fact that Gujarat Riots that occured some 11 years ago are still hotly debated & there have been many high profile convictions suggests that killing people in the name of identities is no longer seen as a tolerable thing), but Pakistan I believe still has a lot of catching up to do.
@gp65
If BJP is secular, so is TTP.
@Polytheist: I disagree entirely with your stand on all front - fundamentalist definition of Hinduism (confining it to the polytheism), relevance of Secularism for India and your support for the already trashed Oriental version of History (whose main purpose was to justify British Raj and to implement Divide and rule policy in India).
Having said that, I disagree with the author as well. She is mixing Party Politics with Secularism. I may vote for BJP or Congress or any regional party of my liking depending on the type of candidate they'll put for my constituency and not because of some imagined fight of Secularism and Fascism in India (Secularism in India is a given, not by a Political parties but by the constitution of country & as per Judicial decisions, it is part of Basic Struture that can't be repealed by any Govt). What People need is affordable food, education, jobs, housing, social peace, roads and electricity whoever can deliver it. Rest all is claptrap.
@Nero:
Well said, Nero!
None of the pseudo-secularists or their supporters ever have anything to say about what caused the Gujarat riots, i.e. the GODRA TRAIN BURNINGS. That should be enquired upon first!
A question for those who are worried about India's secularism. If in 50 years, India becomes a muslim majority state (which will happen some day given the differential growth), will India be as secular as it is now?
Estonis, Sweden, Denmark, Czech, Norway, Hong Kong, Japan, UK, France, Vietnam Australia, Netherlands, etc... are the names of the nations which dosnt give importance to religion and will never ever have political based party...... as alomost 70-80% populations states that religion is not important. When we will all get a breather and consider the futuristic economic ties with the rest of the world as bases of selecting a political party as even the religion in south asia feeds itself on money and vice versa. when its all about money then why not to concentrate identity crises of being a hindu or a muslim or anything at all ... as at the end of the day even these institutions run either being fed by political parties or byt the devotees. the perfect example is india as many spiritual babas have made millions out of the people in india. BJP should concentrate on explaining its fututre economic ties with the rest of the world in an era of globalization rather than playing typical 3rd world 3rd class hinduvta card so openly. it gives a bad and communal impression even though no political party is less eavil than the other. both modi and rahul failed to give worthy speeches in FICCI & CII resp. ladies and gentelmen its up to us now that whether we want to be remain a 3rd world at the end of the day or go in the 1st world ... as business and economy means only money and not religion. al burj building in islamic homeland of UAE is a taoist building and not an islamic building .
firstly thanks for putting ur point in a manner which i feel has almost disappeared in pak and is fast disappearing in india which is we can disagree but it does not implies that we have to abuse each other..........thumbs up for that........
if i understood u right u r saying that "They will do so because Indian Muslims are the only minority which, in concert with a demagogic, corrupt party, has skewed the Indian Democracy."
i m really sorry if u came to that conclusion........ i would have agreed if u would hv said majority of muslim leaders instead.............
because to be fair if i want to blame anyone i would blame them for the crime which they hv committed knowingly............
let me give u an analogy i m a urdu speaking and from karachi............. if u ask any pakistani they will say almost the same thing that u said let me rephrase ur comment"They will do so because urdu speaking are the only minority which, in concert with a demagogic, corrupt party(MQM), has skewed the pak Democracy."
my answer to them will be hv u ever tried to understand why we support that party.......... is there a non urdu speaking party which raised it voice when we were being persecuted........ hv u ever tried to understood our insecurities.......... or u just want to make us a scapegoat for ever thing wrong that has happened to karachi if not pakistan.............
in ur case i know congress has been using them.......... question for me is not why but what alternative do they have ?
and most alternative that most indians on bloging sites give or suggest look to me like choosing between a rock and a hard place...........
@Polytheist: This secularism business is only possible in a polytheistic Hindu state First, there are plenty of (better) examples of secular states in the Western world. Second, Hinduism is better described as monistic, pantheistic or panentheistic than polytheistic. Third, what is practiced in India is not really secularism - the so-called secular forces ensure that religion remains in the foreground at all times, which keeps their vote banks in air-tight compartments. We were probably more secular before we inserted the word into the preamble of the constitution.
I am not a BJP, VHP, or Shiv Sena fan nor I support all of their policies, but you have gone a bit too far in your article.
Congress has done more damage to the country by being limp on Muslim fanaticism because it wants their votes at any cost. And, a few Hindus react, naturally.
I rather vote for Modi or Nishit Kumar as they are getting the job done unlike Mr. Singh who has disappointed us all.
Indians will vote for someone who'll move the country forward regardless of whether he / she is a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or Sikh.
This secularism business is only possible in a polytheistic Hindu state who really do not bother about others or what they believe.when monotheism takes over trouble starts because they claim only they have the truth and the rest of the world is false.Let us drop all this secularism nonsense.Nobody heard of secular business till the congress started this with their Marxist inspired JNU professors who are still peddling this theory.It is redundant,moribund and to be buried
@humble: "why is with certain type of indians when in an argument if u ever try to raise Godhra………… they will try to first simply abuse you as being paki,then a muslim, then some kind of cancer which has supported UPA coming into power, then as a last but not the least they will try to tell you to go and live in pak……….." They will do so because Indian Muslims are the only minority which, in concert with a demagogic, corrupt party, has skewed the Indian Democracy. There is no other religious minority - repeat no other - which has been treated by this shamelessly opportunistic party the same way - as "ghar-jamaayees". Nor, in fairness it should be said, has any of those other minorities wanted to be treated in such an unfair, demeaning way. What Jinnah was denied - reservation for Muslims as a price to avoid division of India - before the formation of Pakistan is now being actively offered by the same party to the very those who voted for the carving out a separate state and stayed behind as the Trojan Horse of ummah - "dar-ul-harab". Now, it has gone even further. A puppet prime minister who was not elected has declared that Muslims have the right to the first slice of the Indian pie, in creation of which ironically there was no, or little, contribution at all of Muslims. In India, we call it "vote bank" politics! Secularism as defined by Webster's Dictionary - "Indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations". What we have in India is a malevolent mutation of the noble idea of "secularism". We, in India, call it "sickularism" or "ghar-jamaayee secularism"!
"You're doing a great job, Seema!" I hear Aa(Vi)kar Patel singing from somewhere in Pakistan.
11 years ago 2000 muslims were killed in India, after which till date there were no riots at all even when some retalitory attacks by so-called indian mujahideen took place. Indians have moved on and all they want is peace, progress and development.
In pakistan, 2000 muslims are killed every year since a decade. So it is better if pakistanis concentrate their efforts in saving the muslims of pakistan, instead of worrying about the secularism of India.
India and pakistan relations were better off during bjp (Vajpayee's) rule, until musharaff stabbed him in the back with kargil.
wow..........i had to check it twice whether i m on tribune.pk or tribune.in..
i m with the author...........why is with certain type of indians when in an argument if u ever try to raise Godhra............ they will try to first simply abuse you as being paki,then a muslim, then some kind of cancer which has supported UPA coming into power, then as a last but not the least they will try to tell you to go and live in pak...........
Dear Author,
You are doing an excellent job. The more you write / bluff the MORE votes Modiji will get. The so called Jouros have an important place in making Modiji a national figure. Jai Modiji..
@Author, Another write up on Godhra? How does one incident make India secular or communal? Look at the long history of the subcontinent. There have always been incidents of differing strengths. As long as there are minorities and majorities there will be perceptions of injustice and reactions. The day people become Indians first (Not Modi's vernacular) this debate will end.
This "writer" is determined to give secularism a bad name!
@BruteForce,@f
Godhara train burning was the immediate trigger but by no means the only one. My mother has been born and raised in Godhara. If you look at the history of communal riots in Godhara from 1947 to 2001 - despite being the majority it is the Hindus that were at the receiving end due to Congress' appeasement policy. There was decades of pent up resentment that found a violent outlet in the post Godhara riots.
I do not justify tit for tat killing because the people who die in the tit had little to do with the tat. But very few people realize why peaceful mild mannered Gujaratis erupted the way they did and as grave a provocation as the train burning incident was, it was by no means the only provocation.
So which party is secular - the one whose PM say that Muslims have first claim to nation's resources or the one that says equal opportunity for all and appeasement for none? - the one that advocates separate personal laws for people of each religion or the one that advocates a uniform civil code for all citizens? - the one that promises reservations like Salman Khurshid did or which has not just promised but delivered bijli sadak Omani and good corruption free governance to ALL its citizens
The answers are obvious Congress is communal BJP is secular. BJP has been ruling in 9 states none of which have had a communal riot in the past 10 years including Modi's Gujarat. Any riots that have occurred have only happened in UPA or UPA allies ruled states like Maharashtra, UP, Assam.
Muslims of Gujarat are no longer buying afraid of the fascism bogey and have voted for BJP in the last elections. At some point rest of India too will see through Congress' hate mongering and vote for governance.
This alarmism has in place since time immemorial, especially by non-Hindus in India.
India has persisted, it has been India all these years. This unwanted alarm can be ignored.
This alarmism is actually one-sided. Congress's 1984 action against Sikhs is ignored. As well as the burning of the train which was the trigger for Godra riots is ignored.
They are ignored because its convenient.
Yes Ma'am! Most of us want India to be a secular republic. But a real "secular" state. Not the politicized version which goes around as secularism. And while we are talking about, just a minor, though important, correction. Gujarat riots didn't start "AFETR" the killing of innocents in Godhra. The riots started "WITH" the killings. Why is killing by Muslim mobs not termed "riot/massacre"? Just to jog your memory - a mob of hundreds of Muslims led by the local congress corporator - Yes, an elected representative of people - locked, poured petrol over and burnt two train coaches. And guess what - the same mob didn't allow police and fire trucks to reach the station by blocking roads and attacking the rescue vehicles. That is where the riots began. So a lot of people need to get capital punishments and life terms, beginning with that corporator.
What is this "fascist takeover" Ma'am? IF you mean Narendra Modi, while I am no fan of his, if he wins elections, he has every right to be the CM or PM. By the way in India we respect election results, unlike Pakistan.
Indian constitution has nowhere defined the term "SECULAR". Congress has adopted a twisted and self-serving definition of secularism; "appeasement of Muslims only". Congress and other pesudo-secular parties such as SP, BSP, RJD, DMK and the likes, do not consider Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsees, Nirankaris, Aetheists and Tribal population as minorities and equal to Muslim population. In the west and USA, secularism means, "separation of church from the state" which is not the case in India. The day a "common civil (marriage) code" for all citizens of India, is passed as the law, India would be called as SECULAR, as is USA and EU countries. It is otherwise pandering to vote-bank politics by non-BJP parties.
People of theocratic state talking about secularism. :-)
I know Modi will not become PM....but I will still vote for him......Way better than Nehru dynasty rule........
Unfortunately unlike Muslims, Hindus are not united.............
so vote for Akbarudin Owasi, Muslim league in kerala, AUDF in Assam, Peace party, Madani in Tamil Nadu , Samajwadi party etc.....all are allies of so called secular congress.......
the author talks about socialism everyone knows result of Indian's experiment with socialism till 1992 we had to mortgage our Gold..........the so called secular parties have ruled India for 60 0f 66 yrs and still 1/3 of india lives in proverty..........
In a way, I love this author, She will make sure that Narendra Modi becomes the next PM of India.
After all, the very fact that a former president and army chief has been put on the run by an assertive judiciary speaks volumes for the transition that Pakistan is undergoing.The challenges facing the peoples are different, but the aspirations are similar in that all citizens of the world want to live and breathe freely, as equal citizens with equal rights and dignity.
Really? If,
'All Citizens of the world want to live and breathe freely',
Then,
how come 'All Citizens' are not demanding abolition of the Blasphemy Laws or even the Hudood Ordinance?
How come a great number of citizens shower rose petals on a murderer and contribute generously to a booty for the killer.
This nonsense of equating secular India with anti-BJP forces has been peddled by this writer for a long time - each successive piece becoming more strident and rabid in its outlook. In the last 11 years,there have been over a 100 communal riots in India - but only Narendra Modi is a threat to these people, so the post-Godhra riots is all that they will focus on. The SIT gave Modi a clean chit, so it has not done its job - if it had indicted him, then no one is above the law and all would hail the verdict. The Congress has been in bed with the Muslim League in Kerala and the MIM in Andhra Pradesh for decades now, but I assume the objective of these parties, their names notwithstanding, was to uphold the secular character of the country and not to further the cause of their divisive, backward and anti-national supporters. The writer is too far gone to modify her twisted interpretation of Indian politics, but hopefully her readers (even some in Pakistan) are not.
The so called secular forces have been in power for last 10 years and have dragged the country to a mess. Not sure why likes of Seema Mustafa want to give third term to Congress. If electing BJP is communal, than India has already done that about 10 years back. Also during that time both Pakistan and India had more meaningful talks. The real force India has to fight is the Pseudo secularists. Indians are going to vote for better Governance this time and the secularists have badly failed at that.
I get the impression that the author is stirring up a storm-in-a-teacup.
"India is witnessing an intense struggle between secular and communal forces."
True.
And we will defeat communal forces like yourself who tacitly encourage muslim PLANNED mobs to burn down more trains of Hindus by never condemning Godhra incidence.
All those who do not condemn the behavior of muslims who attacked Hindus at Godhra are the worst communal forces of this country, holding this country backwards.
You are talking rot as usual. . I am in a BJP ruled state and let me tell you, even though I am Catholic, I have been treated well. Do you know why? Because I am Indian and I bleed for Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who gave up his young life at the Oberoi Trident. . I have been in the thick of it in Maharashtra when it was run amok by the Shiv Sena way back when I was young and insensible. Shiv Sainiks also once safeguarded me in Nagar district when I was caught in the midst of a riot though I owe NO allegiance to them. . You speak of a conflict between communal and secular forces. I voted for the BJP candidate in my constituency (BTM Layout, Bangalore) four years ago because he lived closer to me. Yet it was the Congress candidate (Ramalinga Reddy) who became MLA and I will vote for him on May 5 because he is accessible and soft-spoken and he also managed to build a concrete road in front of my house even though he lives on the other end of the constituency.
y doesn't anyone talk about hostilities on hindus?? in pakistan and bangladesh especially....and stop this india pakistan everytime....write something better....