Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Is India truly secular?

The history books in our schools tell us that India is a secular country. We believe in "Unity in Diversity". I agree, we are probably the most culturally diverse country on Earth. But are we secular? The meaning of secularism has changed over time during the past 60 years of our Independence. The current Congress led government in house is supposedly the leader of the secular bandwagon in India - the UPA alliance. So what's the definition of secularism in India. Any political party in India who has a Hindu audience like BJP or Shiv Sena is non-secular and the one's with a Muslim vote bank are secular. A secular country would be one where all the religions are treated equal. I believe India has a long road ahead before it can claim to be secular. Indian politics is all governed by the Muslim and Dalit vote banks. That's the reason why Haj pilgrims are given tax subsidies and Amarnath, Mansarovar yatra's are charged humongous pilgrimage taxes. Thats the reason the Muslim Personal Law in India is allowed to carry it's tradition of 'Mahr' whereas the government dare propose ban on the 'roka' ceremony under the Hindu personal law. That's the reason why the govt keeps mum on the issue of Kashmiri pandit's as they do not belong to their vote bank audience. India has the potential and the courage to be the truly secular nation in the world. Secularism is not about Hindu's or Muslim's or Sikh's or Dalit's. It's about unity, treating every one as Hindustanis rather as vote banks. The politicians are the corrupting force here. But they are not the only one's to be blamed. Middle-class and upper middle class Hindu families don't want to vote. They do not want to participate in the construction of a secular nation. As a result, we get Congress as the ruling party. There are more incidents of communal hatred's and cases of conversions reported in the Congress regime compared to the BJP rule for 5 years. People might criticize Gujrat, but that's the only truly secular state in India, despite the fact it's ruled by a supposedly "non-secular" BJP government. The growth rate in that state surpasses every milestone beyond imagination. Such a development doesn't only affect the Hindus, or the Muslims or the Dalits in the state, its an all round social advancement. India can be truly secular only when it treats all its citizens equal and display "unity in diversity" in true sense.

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