Secularism: a position that religious beliefs should not influence public and governmental decisions.
Today we hear the terms 'secular and 'communal' from the very people who do not understand the meaning of the it.These terms are so blatantly used to describe one self or one's political rivals, that actual meaning of the terms is lost somewhere.For me, secularism is tolerance towards all religions and all equal treatment of all religions.
It is claimed by many sections of political community that BJP and RSS are communal organisations and should be kept at bay.'Secular forces should be voted to power' ,that is the sentence used by fronts like UPA and the left.These parties which claim themselves to be as pure as driven snow and claim their every bone secular,do not hesitate to brand anyone communal.Here it's a small effort from my side to ridicule their worthless claims.
Starting with UPA government particularly Congress.They have left no stone unturned to label Narendra Modi as communal.When Godhra riots took place,they conveniently termed it as holocaust and not riots and counted only muslims dead not hindus.Did they ever mention the 69 hindu pilgrims who were burnt alive in the Sabarmati express?No, their only sympathy is towards muslim riot victims.I despise people like Teesta Setalvad who can stoop to any level to vent personal hatred and the Congress govt. which honoured her with Padma award.It's now been discovered by SIT ,how she cunningly manufactured the cases of muslims being killed in Gujarat.two dozen cases have been found with fabricated evidence.A man claimed to be mercilessly killed by the mob was found to be dead due to TB six months earlier.A mother-son duo who was supposedly to be butchered was actually living in Maharashtra ,migrated at the time of riots.Well it would take me another post to talk about Godhra.
Coming on to communal-secular divide,when Modi says that every Gujarati has a right on new water facility:he is communal but when our intellectual PM Dr.Manmohan Singh says:"Muslims have the first right on country's resources" : he is secular.I believe that secularism is essentially equal treatment of all religions.Some of the policies of the govt. which incline me to question their secular credentials are: dedicated scholarships to muslims but not for any other religion,funding for madrassas but not for schools run by temples, equal status to CBSE and madrassa education,hajj subsidy but no subsidy for pilgrims of any other religion.The Congress govt. of Andhra Pradesh has included 5% muslim reservation in educational institutions and govt. jobs and move is being planned for nationwide institutions.now, is that not communalism?Special treatment for a particular religion using govt. machinery and policies benefiting people of one religion.i feel it is the most dangerous form of communalism.
Our P.M. who expressed apology to French president and termed Kandhmal events as national shame does not worry about justice for '84 riots victims,does not worry about atrocities on Sikhs in Pakistan,does not worry about killings of hindus in Pakistan( whose population has reduced from 24% to 1% since 1947 in Pakistan) and still he claims to be leader of a secular govt.Our P.M refuses to hang Afzal as it may lead to weaning away of Muslim votes.Our P.M. refuses to follow SC order to free Indian land of 5 crore illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.Our P.M. spends 'sleepless nights' over a mulsim caught in Australia for suspected involvement in terrorist activities but does not spare a thought for displaced Kashmiri pandits who just want their land back. Our P.M. decides provide financial aid to families of killed terrorists in J&K ( does he want to promote families to produce terrorists?)but does not care about non delivery of cash rewards to families of policemen killed in parliament attack.This govt. does not consider RAM-Setu as monument of religious importance but Hazratbal shrine is of extreme religious significance.It is eager to break the Setu at first opportunity but does not have the will to demolish a small mosque which prevents building of runway in Kolkata airport.This govt. brands anyone who criticises M.F. Hussain's audaciously demeaning nude portrayal of hindu deities as communal but takes every step to gag Taslima Nasreen who may have offended few maulvis.This govt. wastes no time in labelleing those who raise slogans as 'Har Har Mahadev' as communal but takes no action against those who burn Indian flag and hoist a Pakistani flag in busy chowk in Assam.This govt. refuses to let go control over temples but mosques and churches are allowed autonomous running.Despite all said above,the Congress claims to be secular nationalist party .I fail to see how.
Now a bit about Antonia Maino( rechristened Sonia Gandhi), a bar girl in London, who has become the ruler of a nation and head of the most secular party.She refused to take Indian citizenship for 18 years ,until it became necessary as citizenship was required for fighting elections.She claims her political rivals as communal but her party as epitome of secularity.Mrs.Gandhi instantly declares holiday on death of Pope John Paul-II but not a word of condolence on death of a Shankracharya.She bashes BJP for Kandhmal christians but does not care to spare a thought for brutal killing of Swami Lakshminand Saraswati by the hands of Naxals paid by the church.She is against anti-conversion law of Gujarat but has no qualms at missionaries carrying out forcible conversions.She ,having a hindu name,still follows Christianity and using govt. machinery is giving a free hand to missionaries to carry out conversions without any opposition.The Rs.2 coin with depiction of 'Bharat Mata' on it has been replaced by the symbol 'cross ' on it.The logo of Kendriya Vidyalaya has been changed from 'Lotus and Rising Sun' to 'Cross and Crescent'.The slogan 'Satyamev Jayate' has been deleted from most of the govt. stationary.But inspite of this Mrs.Sonia Gandhi is an inspiration for secular minds.
The left parties which vow to keep communal BJP at bay also fall in the category above described.The left follow atheism but are atheist only towards hinduism.They term Gujarat riots as holocaust but don't consider daylight murder by its carders in Singur and Nandigram as holocaust.instead of preventing Bangladeshi Muslims from entering India ,the left govt. of Bengal facilitates illegal entry of muslims and provides them with ration card and ultimately voter card as they vote for them.The left who talks of secular alliance joins hands with PDP led by Abdul Nasser Madani who was convicted of Coimbatore blasts and who expresses open hatred hindus and allegiance to Pakistan.12 MP's of left led LDF govt. refused to take pledge in the name of Constitution but took pledge in the name of Allah.The left brands BJP as communal if it states Shivaji as glorious ruler but is not critical of book issued by missionaries which abuses hindu gods in every possible way.
Lastly the pseudo secular media which filters news to their own concerns and refuses to be impartial.From left influenced NDTV to Church funded CNN ,each has its own propaganda and is unbashedly following it without any regard to factual news reporting.
I would just say secularism for me is ' Equality for all, appeasement of none' and anyone who follows this ,in my opinion,is secular.
