Absurd Provocation, Uncalled For Reaction

The road towards political gain through fomenting religious categorisation can only lead to disaster and death. Anyone would have thought that India would have learned that lesson with Partition, but evidently not as subsequent riots have shown us. But the current climate of outrage and acrimony over the Union Home Minister’s remarks are a cynical attempt to create something out of nothing. The onus for first strike has to lie with Sushil Kumar Shinde’s whose gratuitous jibe about the RSS and BJP running terror camps enraged the main opposition party. The remark was unnecessary at this point in time – nothing new has happened on this front.

The BJP’s reactions, however, are equally unnecessary. For all their huffing and puffing, there is little doubt that people inspired by the Sangh Parivar version of Hinduism have been involved in planting bombs in trains and mosques and that some of their members have rushed to the defence of the accused. The BJP has to decide whether it is against all forms of terrorism or not and whether it is fair to call Muslims terrorists and start foaming at the mouth when someone else calls Hindus terrorists. If terrorism cannot be related to religion A then it cannot be related to religion B either.

Having said that, it is also true that terrorists get inspired by someone or something and very often it is religion. The jihadis of the Al-Qaeda and similar groups have been promised some kind of religious reward to motivate (or fool) them. Similarly, members of groups like Abhinav Bharat are made to believe that their acts of terrorism will somehow help Hinduism. The argument cannot be that investigators and prosecutors are prejudiced when it comes to one community when your supporters are involved and are free and fair when others are caught. In fact all evidence points to the fact that investigators in India are usually biased against Muslims.

Unfortunately, the media, especially television news, is playing a perilous game here by egging on this apparent Hindu terrorism versus Muslim terrorism war of words. As it happens, there is no event around which this rage is based. By fanning flames of religion-based anger, there is a possibility of enflaming religious-based anger. This is a similar irresponsibility shown by television just recently over border skirmishes between India and Pakistan: an attempt to create news rather than report it.

For the political parties, words of outrage over religion and terror are blatant and deliberate moves to manipulate political discourse in the country and deflect attention from real issues. The UPA and the Congress are struggling with their falling trust deficit with the electorate. The BJP has just come through a presidential battle with palpable wounds.

The lack of maturity by our political class is self-evident. Fomenting religious is evil and short-sighted – whoever does it and whichever religion is targeted. At some point in our history we have to let go off religion as a vote-catcher and move on to more worthwhile issues. The misuse of the secular nature of our 

Constitution by our political parties has only led to problems for the people of India and indeed of the subcontinent. Surely, we cannot afford another conflagration?