Here’s a little pop quiz for the worthy denizens of our country: What spells growth to a nation? Building the Ram temple in Ayodhya, protecting cows (especially in UP), and spreading communal disharmony, mercilessly beating Muslims and shutting down their mutton shops and demonetizing cash in the name of controlling terror? Or caring for India’s rapidly depleting environment, vast population of unemployed youth, ensuring communal harmony, women’s rights and pension packages for senior citizens?
I know that my choices lie with the latter, however it makes me very uncomfortable to know that a growing majority expresses solidarity with the former. It makes me fear for our nation that is literally a ticking time bomb, where communal riots may erupt any moment and we would have no one to blame but ourselves. The progressives of this nation need to weigh in with our opinions since our silence almost means we are agreeing that the way forward is by creating a Hindu nation and doing away with India’s democratic fabric and syncretic nature.
Why do I say that? Am I not an Indian if I disagree with the right wing and the ruling party? Let us address each issue and see if my vote counts. Ram Mandir is not a new issue, since it's almost 120 years old! It all began in 1885, when a petition was filed by the head of the Nirmohi Akhara demanding permission to offer prayers to Ram Lalla inside what was known as the Babri Masjid. In a year’s time, district Judge of Faizabad court FEA Chamier gave a verdict that read: It is most unfortunate that a masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus, but as that event occurred 356 years ago, it is too late now to remedy the grievance.
Cut to 2017, the Supreme Court is being pressed to fast track the matter by a certain Mr Subramanian Swamy but currently the matter is pretty much in the air, with the Apex court also suggesting ‘an out of court settlement’, since it’s an issue of religious sentiment. Unfortunately, it is not just a sentiment and religion is blatantly being mixed with politics in a manner that spells danger for the secular fabric of the nation. In this scenario, we do need the courts, a supposedly unbiased entity, to take a stand on the matter.
Coming to the issue of the cows; no doubt the mutton shops that have been unceremoniously shut down are being done so in the name of regularisation. One would want the certification to be in place, no doubt. However, it is not just about certificates. In Alwar, Gau Rakshaks affiliated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad attacked five men, killing one of them for transporting cows that they had bought. I have repeatedly written about how the cows roam around the city eating plastic and the VHP and the rakshaks seemed to be unmoved by that sorry plight of our cattle. Pehlu Khan was an old man and they brutally beat him to death, despite the fact that these were milching cows obviously being taken to Nuh in Jaipur for dairy and clearly not for slaughter.
Lastly the matter of the so-called development and growth: after demonetisation, agencies have estimated a decline of around 40-basis points in GDP growth for 2016-17. With reduced liquidity, transactions have been slow, and both formal and informal sectors have been hit badly. Hence India, it’s time to rise and be counted, before we have to settle for this narrow interpretation of Hinduism that only talks about cows and temples for political mileage.
Archana Dalmia
Chairperson of Grievance Cell,All India Congress Committee
archanadalmia@gmail.com