The search for a secular India

According to the preamble of the Indian Constitution, India is a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. The term secular is symbolic of the fact that India does not identify an official state religion. In August 1947, when the British acquitted India, one of the largest ethnically diverse nations were being divided on the basis of religion. One country, Pakistan, chose to be an Islamic state. But India chose to remain secular, although the term secular was added to the constitution in 1976. Here Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists everyone has the same and equal rights. But it is a very utopian thinking that hardly ensues in the real world.

The secular India lost its meaning the day India got independence. With the threat of civil war between Indians and Muslims looming around, the leaders at that time had thought partition was the best way to retain peace in the subcontinent. But they were in for a surprise when Hindus and Muslims clashed on the wake of partition. Neighbors who lived together for years suddenly turned foes. Hindus and Muslims were forced to move out of their homes to their respective new born countries. Almost a million people lost their lives during partition, which was just the commencement of a catastrophe of communal riots about to take place in the coming years.

When Jawaharlal Nehru was surprised by the Jabalpur riots in 1961 one wonders what would have been his reaction if he was alive to see how once a pluralist nation was changing its face. The Ahmedabad riots of 1969 were sparked off on the grounds that Jagannath Mandir cows were disturbing the Urs celebrations. The Bhagalpur riots of 1989, due to a procession that was carrying bricks for constructing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The anti-Sikh riots of 1984 after the assassination of the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. The Mumbai riots of 1992 in the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition. The 2002 Gujarat riots that broke out after the Sabarmati train carnage near the Godhra station in which Hindu karsevaks were killed. The 65 years of independent India have also seen a large number of smaller riots with thousands of people losing their lives in the hands of communal lunatics.

Small communal tensions existed pre independence too. But by and large it remained peaceful. Tensions began to build up post independence. Muslims go to Pakistan and Hindus go to India became a constant rhetorical sloganeering in both countries. Muslims have taken away our land in the name of Pakistan so they don’t have any right to live here, are the kind of remarks spread by miscreants who despise communal harmony . What they forget is that they are also human beings who just want to live their life like everyone else.

The partition did not ease the bitterness and animosity among the Hindu and Muslim communities with each claiming the land as their own and the other as outsiders. But no partition would have meant India was in danger of becoming a conflict zone. The seventies and eighties also saw the emergence of the Sangh Parivar consisting of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party), Bajrang Dal and VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad) and the revival of Hindutva ideology. But to put the blame on Sangh Parivar for the propagation of Hindutva and subsequent rioting is also not correct. Congress claims itself to be a secular party but its urge for power and various communal leaders at the top, finds it difficult to remain secular. Almost all the riots post independence did occur when the Congress was in power.

The British who wanted to divide India, thought the propagation of communal hatred between the two as the best way to break the peace of the state. Unfortunately, we are still not able to overcome the communal hatred ingrained on to us by the British. People who endorse the idea of a secular state are considered as mentally sick by Hindutva bullies. With the new phenomenon of internet Hindus, who keeps trolling the internet and social media sites, they have found a new way of propagating their hindutvawadi ideas into the society. Renowned historian Ramachandra Guha in his new book Patriots and Partisans has said, how, when he endorses the need for a secular state, is flooded with mails calling him a poison in the face of this earth.

The provocative and communal speeches made by various leaders also leave a deep impact in the society. In fact it is the government’s inability to take action against rioters and hate mongers that gives them more impetus to spread hatred to communalize the society and pushes it to be in the margins. Today the idea of a secular state is totally lost. The vision of Nehru and Gandhi for a secular India is yet to be achieved even after 65 years of independence.

Terror errors or convenient scapegoats?

Gunfire all around, ten terrorists at large in the city of Mumbai, Hotel Taj and Oberoi up in flames, 166 people killed, and in the midst of the mayhem a terrorist captured alive. These are the reminiscence of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. It was a face of terror no one had ever seen before. As clichéd, the ten terrorists were Muslims. But does that give the liberty to round off any Muslim and declare them to be involved in the attacks just because everyone will buy that story?

Last month all the leading dailies carried the story of three Indian Mujahideen terrorists arrested by the Delhi police. In September of this year 12 people were arrested and accused of terrorism by the Bangalore police. Just as the cacophony on their terror activities mellowed down, reports of their innocence started emerging. Today the greatest threat to our national security is terrorism. So when a terrorist is captured people should feel more secure. But now a sense of skepticism has crept in, ‘Is he really a terrorist or an innocent made to suffer at the hands of the police?’.

It’s not the first time the police have got it wrong. These cases follow a certain pattern. Initially the police conducts a press conference where every minute details are given out. They reveal the identity of the culprits, the organization they are associated with, their modus operandi, their handlers, how the plots were hatched and so on. A biased media create an impression that our cops have become very efficient overnight. It is only a matter of time their concocted stories collapses in the court of law. By the time the acquittal is granted, several months, years or decades must have passed behind bars. To save their faces the police will have another set of accused and a new story by now. Which narrative should we believe in?

Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed were alleged to be co-conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The Supreme Court on August 2012 upheld the acquittal of the duo. Mohammad Amir Khan, an 18-year-old, was charged by the Delhi police of being the mastermind of 1997 Delhi serial blasts where five people were killed. He was released after 14 years of incarceration without any evidence against him. Recently, the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association released a report titled, “Framed, Damned, Acquitted: Dossiers of a ‘Very’ Special Cell” where they have profiled 16 cases that resulted in acquittals after being presumed guilty by the police. The acquittals have left many cops red faced.

The common perception of the society is, if you are an accused then somehow you must be connected. His family and friends can claim innocence but, what if he was doing his activities behind their back? In a polarized environment where communal rhetoric refuses to die down, a bad company is enough for any youth to get dissuaded into doing wrong things. But many recent court verdicts have raised a needle of suspicion on the police establishment. The police instead of solving the case is trying to find some unfortunate souls from whom they can get forced confessions.

We are living in a society that believes in ‘All terrorists are Muslims’ rhetoric. The cops are also part of that society. So arrest a Muslim and brand him as a terrorist is the easy way out. The police witch hunt due to this perception is demoralizing, it can breed anti state feelings in the community.

What happens after an acquittal? The cops are too bashful to apologize. For the media the arrest is a breaking news, but the acquittal is just a one liner story. There is no compensation from the government. No one wants to get associated with a former terrorist. It is hard to pick up the pieces and move forward in life all alone. When Muhammad Haneef, the Indian doctor who was falsely accused of terrorism by the Australian authorities, was freed, he got a substantial monetary compensation and an apology from the Australian police. After clearing his name he now has a job and a normal life. Such things are yet to happen in our country.

Now the dilemma is whether to trust a cop or not. An ideal cop is like a super hero who turns up, nabs the bad guy to deliver justice. Now the perception is, majority cops are villains who turns up, nabs any guy to result in a miscarriage of justice. To catch ten terrorists the police catch thousands and torture them. The more unnecessary arrests the chances of punishing the real culprits diminishes. Whether or not they catch the real terrorists they have definitely created hundred new terrorists. Today a police officer is the new satan who decides who should go to hell.

Do not criticize the government, it is seditious in a democracy

Suddenly the Indian state is under threat from a section of people, the so called cartoonists. Earlier they used to tickle our funny bones with loads of wit and humour. Now their cartoons are inciting people to rebel against the state. If that is not the case, how does the officials explain the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi accusing him of sedition? The same old sedition laws of 1870, by which Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak were arrested for waging war against the British. Aseem Trivedi was arrested because he drew some offensive cartoons. Six decades after independence we are still suffering from colonial hangover of the British rule in India.

The section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code implies sedition as an offense that excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government. Now, what is disaffection? Disaffection means, you are not satisfied with the people in power and you are no longer willing to support them. With a population of one billion it is impossible for any government to satisfy the masses and there will be a voice of dissent at any given time from some quarters. The law makes sense only if there is violence. It is undemocratic to nab someone in the pretext of sedition just for criticizing the government.

Many people over the years have been arrested on bogus charges of sedition. The most controversial sedition case in recent times is that of Dr Binayak Sen. He was accused of being a courier for the Maoist and sentenced to life imprisonment by the court. His suffering stemmed from the fact that he was a vocal critique of the state government and the outfit Salwa Judum. Arundhadhi Roy’s secessionist views on Kashmir was enough to get her slapped with charges of sedition. In Uttar Pradesh, journalist Seema Azad and her husband Vishwa Vijay were charged with sedition on the basis of some innocuous documents found in their possession. When Gandhiji was arrested for sedition, he was given a six year prison sentence. Awarding life imprisonments to Dr Binayak Sen and Seema Azad perhaps we are going a step further than the British to punish our own people.

Laws are made to make life easier. But the sedition law exists only to incarcerate people for raising their voice. The administration wants to avoid criticism because they are scared of mass movements that target them. They can’t afford another Anna Hazare like episode to be played out on the streets. In Koodankulam, thousands of protestors were charged with sedition in order to suppress their voice so that the authorities can go ahead with the nuclear plant.

Every law in this country is misused. Then what is so unique about sedition? In the case of sedition, the law itself is undemocratic. Democracy gives space for criticism. This law has a place only in authoritarian rule where freedom of speech and expression is curbed.

Jawaharlal Nehru was in favour of scrapping this highly objectionable and obnoxious law in 1951. But he refrained from taking any concrete action. 60 years have passed since then. Over the years not a single government took any initiative to get the law repealed. Even today the majority opinion is to abolish and do away with this undemocratic law. With the wheels of legislative reforms moving at a snail’s pace if the process starts now then we can achieve the target in time for our next generation to live easy.

Angrez chale gaye, lekin angrezi kanoon chod gaye (The English left, but left the English laws behind).  When we boast of our technological advancements and economic growth taking our country forward, these archaic laws are pulling us back. Today the pen is mightier than the sword to put you behind bars.

The innocence of free speech

The world has gone crazy in the last couple of weeks. What could be the reason for such sudden turbulence? Is it due to any conflict between two super powers of the world? Did some popular leader get assassinated? Or is it a revolution against an autocratic military rule? No, it isn’t. The reason is the 14-minute amateur video in YouTube of an anti-Islam film named “Innocence of Muslims” made by a Coptic Christian in America. It has turned the world upside down.

There are two kinds of people in the picture. Those who are in support of the film wants to uphold the principles of freedom of speech, which is an integral part of a democracy. Those who are protesting against it, they are deeply offended by the depiction of Prophet Muhammad in the film. Whichever side you wish to join in, this film has caused violence and unrest in many countries for real.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran said, “In return for (allowing) the ugliest insults to the divine messenger, they-the West- raise the slogan of respect of freedom of speech.” Freedom of speech is the most cherished and precious rights of a man. We can opine, criticize, and talk freely on any subject without any fear or punitive action. But freedom of speech does not give the license to spread hatred, bigotry and Islamophobia. It is a very fine line between criticism and insult. For a mere criticism the right of free speech cannot be denied to anyone. But insult in the pretext of freedom of speech is unethical.

“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic”, the most famous opinion on free speech written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. To get offended by something is subjective. For so many people around the world to take to the streets and run riot, you sure have crossed the line.

When a mere depiction of Prophet Muhammad has a history of violence, the issue is highly sensitive. It is a spark waiting to ignite a ravaging fire. By equating “man plus X equals Islamic Terrorist”, calling Muhammad – the bastard, and ridiculing him as a womanizer, child molester and homosexual, it is highly unlikely that there won’t be any reactions. No one has the right to insult Islam even if they do not follow the prophet. So the only point in making this film is to disrupt the peace and harmony.

But violence in the streets is not the answer for discontent. The right of peaceful protest is a vital part of democracy. No religion in the world encourages violence. All those rebels who are protesting and killing people in the name of God, are insulting the Prophet themselves. The way they are reacting they are giving an impression that Islam is a religion of intolerance and war when actually it is not.

When Pakistan observed ‘Love the Prophet Day’ what actually unfolded was violence in the name of the Prophet. At least 23 innocent lives and livelihood were lost as the protesters went on a rampage. Some reports suggest that Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, a Pakistan cabinet member offered a $100,000 reward for the death of the filmmaker. Is death the solution to all the world’s problems? The Muslim extremists are creating instability in their own regions by rioting in their backyard. They themselves are the real losers in this whole episode.

Every American is now looked upon with suspicion. Some lunatic American made a film about the Prophet and the US Embassies came under attack. But should Americans complain? After 9/11 every Muslim was being looked upon with suspicion by the Americans. The tables have turned now. Just as every Muslim is not a terrorist every American is not anti Islam. But in the midst of all the ruckus people are dying. Just spare a thought for them.

An open letter to Anna Hazare

Dear Annaji,

If this letter was written last year, it would have been a letter of appreciation about your movement. Now one year down the line you have made me cynical. Cynical, about you and your movement. Cynical, because your movement has lost its direction. Cynical, because you have started speaking in different voices. A movement that promised so much has failed to cross the finish line.

The first issue is, what is the movement’s main cause? Last year the movement was only about Jan Lokpal. This year the focus is more on the resignation of 15 ministers and to set up a Special Investigation Team to probe them. The issue of lokpal has taken a back seat. This shift has made a huge dent in your movement’s image. The demand of Lokpal was realistic. You took a lot of effort to explain to the masses about the lokpal bill and how important it is in the fight against corruption. This year when you want the ministers to resign, you are not coming up with the exact charges and proof of their corruption. Just like last year you must educate people about the corruption committed by these ministers. If you can do that then the people themselves will come to the streets and demand their resignation.

The next issue is, what is your way forward? Last year you were averse to join politics. After the recent fast you wanted to give people a political alternative. Now you are contemplating to revert to your earlier stance of supporting honest candidates. You were hailed as a modern day Mahatma Gandhi and your movement was compared to the Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement against emergency. Jayaprakash Narayan at the end formed the Janata Party. But those were different circumstances. Is the formation of a political party the best option at this stage? With so much infighting on this issue, first you should try and get a consensus within your team.

If you are going political, then you have a lot to do in the next couple of years. From the very basic things like its name, symbol, to where and how you are going to contest, a lot of time and deliberation is required to work out everything. Money is another important factor. You are going to prove that elections can be won without money and muscle power. But you seem to be a one policy party. “In the next two years if the government enacts the janlokpal we will exit politics straightaway.”, Arvind Kejriwal wrote in his letter to the volunteers after the end of his anshan. Can a political party win elections only to fight corruption? A government in power is not like an anshan. You form the political party, come to power, pass the lokpal bill, and then wrap up and go home. Is that going to be our country’s future?

On the contrary if your plans are to support honest candidates, start carrying an honesty detector for better identification of people. You should be knowing some magic formula to identify such people. It is guaranteed that after 2014 there will be 543 Raja Harishchandra’s in Lok Sabha.

If this movement was really for the lokpal, by the people of this country, then the team members would not be speaking in different voices. The announcement about your political party should have been made after all the consultations were over and when a final decision was reached. The constant flip flops shows cracks in your team and the decisions are taken by a coterie who are trying to convince each other. At the end, the inevitable happened and you disbanded the team. So does that mean you have no confidence in the team and it has no future?

With a dysfunctional parliament and a wave of corruption in the air this was the best time for you to make an impact. Two years have gone since the fight for lokpal started. When you started out is this where you wanted the movement to reach after two years? Last year I really wanted to come to Ram Lila to render my support to you. But today I am quite happy where I am.  I guess somewhere in the middle you just lost the plot.

The scams and adjournments saga – part two

It’s déjà vu all over again. The ghost of scams and adjournments are back haunting the parliament. After the 2 G scam which turned out to be too hot to handle during the winter session, the coal fire is now burning the monsoon session of the parliament. The scams and its controversies are not new and many have resulted in ruckus and adjournments in the parliament. But this washing out a session is a very dangerous trend that undermines the democratic process. No work and no bills passed makes parliament a purportless place.

The BJP, on their hand believes that stalling the parliamentary proceedings completely is the best way to attack the Congress. They BJP is patting their back because according to them whatever steps the government took after 2 G scam was due to the washout of the winter session. “Had we not done that Raja would not have resigned. The prosecutions, the JPC, the 3G auctions, the 2G auctions would not have happened. The telecom system of India is being substantially cleaned up because of that. If by sacrificing one session we can achieve that I think it’s hell of a lot” said Arun Jaitley, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha in a recent TV interview.

With very little time left for other matters, the function of parliament is being diminished to that of a protest venue. Many important bills are pending which needs to be debated in the house. Not only scams the pending bills also cause huge losses to the exchequer. Several important bills like the National Food Security Bill, the Whistleblower’s Bill, the Janlokpal Bill, the Universities for Research and Innovation Bill are pending among eighty one other bills. The National Food Security Bill gives the right to receive foodgrains at subsidised prices for deserving persons. The Whistleblower’s Bill will provide more protection to persons making disclosures especially against corruption. The Universities for Research and Innovation Bill will help to promote research and innovation in learning and design. These and many other bills need to be passed. India is still a developing country and one cannot afford to sacrifice one session for a scam however big it is.

The UPA government is guilty of scams causing huge losses to exchequer. The NDA has made parliament and parliamentary proceedings irrelevant which in turn is causing losses to exchequer. So among UPA and NDA who actually cares about the common man and the development of the country. Both are two sides of the same coin where only colossal losses are visible.

In both 2G and coal the defense of the government was that both are natural resources and making profit out of it was never the aim. But India is a country where children die due to malnutrition, manual scavenging still exists. India’s economic deficit is around four lakh crores. We need real money to eradicate all this. Where is the money going to come from? When 2G scam came out the government defended their first come first serve policy decision by arguing that India has the least mobile tariff in the world. But what is the people going to do with low mobile tariffs when they don’t have enough money to buy food?

In coal the government’s argument is that the coal is not mined from many blocks till now so the loss is zero. But doesn’t an unutilised mineral resource guilty in retarding the development of a country. India is facing a huge power crisis especially in agriculture and industry. Coal is an essential element in power generation. How is India going to progress when an important ingredient like coal is not mined out for power generation and other purposes? If India’s development is in the hands of such scamsters then we have a very bleak future in terms of economic development.

Looking at the current state of affairs one more bill needs to be introduced where it states that the parliament cannot be closed for a session without working for a minimum number of days. In case of adjournments work must be done in extra time. So in the middle of chants like “Pradhan mantri isteefa do” (Prime Minister step down)  and “Pradhan mantri zindabad” (Hail Prime Minister) the common man has one thing to say “Pradhan mantra thoda kaam karo” (Prime Minister do some work).

Missing those hartal holidays

“The calling of hartals (shutdowns) at the drop of a hat by political parties is the single biggest deterrent to Kerala’s progress”, said Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy in a recent media interaction. When I heard it, all my memories of hartals came flooding back to my mind. Born and brought up in Kerala, I was used to this hartal syndrome of frequent shutdowns and holidays. After having moved to Orissa, for the last one year I was feeling this hartal withdrawal syndrome. Simply put, here there are no holidays due to hartals. In fact it is not just the case of Orissa. It is the case of other states as well where people defy the hartal calls and life moves peacefully. In Kerala the political parties have created a fear among the people that no one ventures out on a hartal day. Thus any hartal called by any political party becomes a success.

You can go on lamenting the problems the hartals can cause. Every service of the state gets affected. But there is another side to this story too. For many it is the time to relax at home, an excuse for not going to work, or to just chill out. The day before the hartal, the shops and the marketplaces will be crammed with last minute shoppers which will resemble some ongoing festivity.

If you are a school kid, the number of holidays you get, is normally twice or thrice the holidays you find in your calendar.  For students, these are the times of joy. One fine morning you feel lazy to go to school and suddenly you hear, ‘Today there is a hartal called by so and so political party and the educational institutions of the state won’t be functioning’. Wow! it’s time to wish each other “Happy Hartal”. You can’t thank the party enough. In another instance, tomorrow you have a math test and suddenly you hear rumours of a hartal. Then prayers will be held in full swing for the hartal so that the test gets postponed. When the hartal does happen, there is a huge sigh of relief. But if the hartal gets cancelled, then you are in trouble because your study time was dedicated for prayers for a hartal. In fact, if you go to a temple and pray for a hartal with some offerings to the lord, there is a very good chance that you will be blessed by the lord. Hartals means official holidays for all educational institutions. The school I went to is in the vicinity of the Secretariat and a small protest can result in suspension of the class. Then there are education bandhs, where only the schools and colleges remains closed, called by the parties like SFI, ABVP, KSU, the student wings of different political parties.

In Kerala, any reason, right from big political issues to small, many at times, trivial non issues can bring the life to a standstill. The petrol price rise, food price rise, arrests of leaders, dispute in the construction of flyovers and even food poisoning can evoke hartals in Kerala. Hartals are actually the handiwork of some unemployed lumpen elements who just wants to destroy the peace of the state. During my school days there used to be a long standing dispute between the management of engineering and medical colleges, and the government regarding seat sharing and fee structure. So the admission months of June to August were also the hartal months. I remember once there was a time when for at least two months, a week would consist of three working days and four holidays. Each day each party will have its quota of hartals.

After I moved to Orissa, for the past one year I never heard of such a thing called hartals, other than some rare instances of all India bandhs. The evidence is there in Google search. You type in ‘hartals in’ and the first option that comes up  in auto complete is Kerala. Even ninety percent of the Youtube video on hartals are related to hartals in Kerala. Out of curiosity to find out how alien the hartal is in here, I typed in ‘hartals in Orissa’ in google which showed an error asking whether it is ‘hotels in Orissa’. I guess no extra holidays for me to enjoy in here.

But I have to admit that in reality hartals are not that hunky dory. Hartals means no shops, no buses, no private vehicles, and total shutdown of all services. Of course you can enjoy the holiday but if some emergency arises then you won’t have any choice. In Kerala any Tom Dick and Harry can call for a hartal and make it successful. Is it the passive nature of the society that makes the hartals a success? The political parties need to introspect what exactly they have achieved by organizing these hartals. It’s time to save the Gods own country from these hartal happy politicians, or else the tourists who come here would feel that they have taken a wrong turn and reached the devil’s own country. Kerala has become a place for the hartals, of the hartals, by the hartals. So in hartal terms what about organizing a hartal, to protest against the hartals, since it causes too much inconvenience to the common man? Are you in?