Click to play videoThe battle for votes between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) got bigger on Monday during the National Integration Council meeting. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lashed out at communal politics, while the NDA accused him of being too soft on terror.
As semantic disintegration reached its peak, no politician had the time to take a serious note of the riots that took place in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh over the weekend.
CNN-IBN show Face the Nation on Monday debated: Is India now more communally divided than ever before?
On the panel of experts to debate the issue were MP and Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer Chandan Mitra, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and sociologist Dipankar Gupta.
India divided
There are now equal number of Hindus and Muslims groups who are accused by the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Maharashtra of carrying out terrorist acts and bomb blasts. What should the Government now do?
Mitra began the debate by saying, “There is no evidence of any Hindu group indulging in terrorism. If the Government had any evidence then they would have banned the groups long ago. The NSA (National Security Advisor MK Narayanan) on national television has said that there is no evidence and so the banning is not going to serve any purpose.”
“The issue is terrorism and I am very clear that it has no religion. Therefore the conclusion that BJP is always targeting Muslims is a conclusion that no right thinking person will agree with. I don’t think anybody in the BJP has ever said that. Terrorism is undoubtedly the greatest challenge that India is facing,” Mitra added.
Is terror a law and order problem or is it an identity and political issue? By constantly talking about communalism, isn’t the Congress falling in the trap of vote bank politics which the BJP is accusing it of?
“BJP can say what it likes but the truth is that in a democracy votes, individuals and groups are important. The point is what are the legitimate limits of conduct in a democracy,” Khurshid argued.
Police in successive states have gone on record saying young Muslim youths are engaging in terrorism and bomb blasts. Many believe that it is time to examine the issue rather than the community constantly saying that it is being targeted or victimised.
“The Muslim community is looking inwards and so are Hindus. Terrorism must be stopped and it will be but the problem is what has led to this terrorism. That is something that BJP is not prepared to consider,” Khurshid said.
“Mitra said that BJP has never targetted Muslims. I would say please look at what Modi did in Gujarat. And then understand why men are going on the path of violence, even if it is done mistakenly,” he added.
So is the BJP responsible for communalising the society?
Gupta believed that in a way it did but the question should be larger than just nailing the BJP.
“The BJP has always worked on identity politics. But what has often escaped attention is that the state which is run by the Congress does not bring to book the culprits. And this has been the case in Modi’s BJP state too. When the state does not deliver and live up to the commitments of its citizens then also it is fermenting terrorism. So terrorism is actually two sides of the same coin,” Gupta reasoned.
However, the panelists agreed that it was time for BJP to rein in those fundamental Hindu groups who have known to attack minorities, painters, writers and theater halls.
Communalism and terrorism: part of the same coin?
Focusing on the point made earlier that communalism and terrorism are part of the same coin, Mitra said, “I would like to say that those who think that terrorism in India began after the Gujarat riots is a huge fallacy. Parliament attack took place before the Gujarat riots, there has been a series of blasts too. Also, Pakistan is witness to terrorism and there is no communal issue there. So terror is part of an international conspiracy.”
But when the National Security Advisor says there will be more bomb blasts, isn’t he heightening a sense of fear? So hasn’t the Government, too, played identity politics?
Khurshid said that the Government is not of the Hindus or Muslims. “It does not belong to a particular region or group. The Government must make sure that it carries that trust and faith of everyone in this country,” he said.
However, the Government’s failure lies in the fact that the police force and the legal machinery are not as impartial as they should be.
Gupta said, “I have spoken to victims of Mumbai blasts, Godhra riots and Sikh riots and one thing that comes through clearly is that if the accused are brought to book then the victims would lead a much happier lives. They want the Government to deliver as a democratic state should. The accused should not scot-free.”
Suggestions from two sides of the political divide
Mitra: I can only endorse what Salman Khurshid just said. All communities have to look inwards. And if there are hot heads in Hindu communities then they have to be counseled and restrained. No one should lend support or be seen lending support to fundamental ideologies.
Khurshid: May all the good people in all the parties come together and may all the bad people just take a back seat. Let us all come together to make an appeal that our country is more important than any community. If we get that message across then things would change.
Final results of the SMS/Web poll:
Yes – 82 per cent
No – 18 per cent
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