   
BJP
TODAY
February 16--28, 2005 - Vol. 24, No. 4
Communal
Jackals in 'Secular' Clothing
By
Amba Charan Vashishth
You have heard of the fable of the jackal in lion's clothing.
But today in Bihar communal jackals donning secular clothing are on
the prowl in the current assembly elections. It is now only the turn
of the electorate to expose these cunning jackals of politics.
Most political parties in race in Bihar assembly elections
appear to be engaged in a 'secular' fight for grabbing the communal
and caste votes of the electorate.
The Congress is trying to retrieve its clout with the
minority community at the cost of RJD. RJD claims to be the messiah
of Muslims and is banking on their support at the hustings. That is
why on the eve of elections Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav ensured
that the Banerjee committee appointed by him submitted its interim report
on the dotted lines, in time for him to exploit it to buttress his old
claim as the only benefactor of Muslims.
LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan is trying his best to make
a dent in Lalu's Muslim territory by asserting that he and not Lalu
is their best friend. He has gone on record assuring Muslims a 10 percent
reservation in jobs if he wins the elections.
BSP and Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajvadi Party too are
banking on Muslim of votes.
Who ultimately succeeds is anybody's guess and will be
known only when the results are out.
Yet, all this fight for Muslim votes continues to be 'secular' at least
in the self-esteem of all these political parties making an open appeal
for votes on communal lines. These so-called secularists have divided
the country into majority and minority communities just for the sake
of votes.
Not only this. The Indian Union Muslim League too claims
itself to be a secular organisation. The Mandal messiah and apostle
of secularism, former Prime Minister V. P. Singh had no qualms of conscience
when he addressed a gathering of purely Muslim intellectuals. He couldn't
dare to address a similar congregation of Hindus because it would have
made him fall in his own eyes because according to his standards it
would have been a 'communal' act.
How appealing for Muslim and minority votes remains a
pious secular act these self-styled secularists have to explain.
Facing these pseudo-secularists on the other side of the
battle lines is the NDA, comprising BJP and JD(U). NDA claims to be
the messiah of none and protector of all sections, minorities and majority
alike. It believes in appeasement of none and vows to usher in justice
for all.
A sort of hypocrisy associated with the dubious cult of
secularism prevails in the country. It is strange that while shouting
from the housetops to be the champions of Muslims and to propagate for
the construction of a mosque at Ayodhya in place of the Ram temple is
a holy act of secularism, pleading for a Ram temple is a out and out
communal act. Speaking for Muslims and minorities at the cost of majority
is secular but pleading the cause of majority without harming the interests
of minorities is communal.
The sense of propriety and righteousness will, perhaps,
one day see through this dirty game of making majority and minority
fight each other to give some political parties a bumper harvest of
votes. It is time the voters exposed these jackals of communalism in
the garb of secularism in the coming elections.
THE HINN TAMASHA
But where are the rationalists?
When tales of the miracles of Sathya Sai Baba and his
healing chronic patients of incurable diseases through his blessings
spread far and wide, our rationalists were quick to dub it as an effort
to put dust into the eyes of the faithfuls. Many came out with their
explanations.
When reports appeared that some person was curing asthma
by administering a particular kind of living fish down the throat on
a particular auspicious occasion according to Hindu calendar, the rationalists
were quick to decry it as a ritual beyond reason.
When certain saintly people claimed jal (water) or earth
samadhi for a day or longer, they again cried hoarse, calling if "A
fraud".
When a former minister of the Union Government participated
in tribal rituals in his constituency in Bihar, which included certain
dalits, snake charmers, etc., our rationalists made fun of him. They
wondered how a member of the Central government could give credence
and respectability to orthodox rituals prevalant in primitive backward
communities centuries back.
Then appeared reports of the Vatican considering to confer
sainthood on Mother Teressa for the miracles she achieved in curing
many patients of their incurable diseases. Even then our men of reason
and rationale kept quiet although the editor of a leading national daily
published from New Delhi did strike a discordant note.
Now, recently with the blessings of the Congress supremo
Mrs Sonia Gandhi the Congress government in Karnataka headed by Shri
Dharam Singh went out of its way to help in every possible way the three-day
"Festival of Blessings" at Bangalore on January 21 by Israel-born
American evangalist Benny Hinn whose claims of imparting the Holy Spirit
have come under fire even from Christians across the world Even the
Archdiocese of Bangalore himself has remained neutral on the issue.
As a part of the publicity blitzkrieg for the show one of the pamphlets
had equated idolatory with harlotry. This enraged the Hindu organisations
although later Hinn did apologise for comparing idol worship with prostitution.
The Karnataka Chief Minister himself and former prime minister H. D.
Deve Gowda were specially 'blessed' by Hinn who held special prayers
for them. But these secular leaders do ensure that they keep a distance
from such religious gatherings organised by the majority community lest
they are branded 'communal'.
Interestingly, volunteers of the American preacher collected
offerings from the crowd and asked them to drop their visiting cards.
What must have happened to those who didn't have or hadn't brought their
visiting cards? How will they be heeled or blessed? Obviously, the visiting
card became the passport to ultimate blessings and heaven.
How far the claims have proved true is anybody's guess.
But our rationalists seem either to have fallen to sleep or gone on
leave.
TURNING THE CLOCK BACK
According to latest reports, the UPA government is actively
and seriously considering going back to pre-1953 position on J&K.
The Congress-led government will thus undo and prove wrong whatever
its most revered leaders Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs Indira Gandhi
had done.
If Congress can push back the history to more than 32
years, no wonder if UPA may tomorrow go back a few years more and give
Kashmir back to the descendants of Raja Hari Singh because to bring
him back to life is not in Congress hands.
One only wishes they don't go too much back to pre-1947
position and hand over the reigns of the country back to the British!
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