The forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, which will run over nine grueling phases from April 7th, will be historic for several reasons. This will be the first time a large number of voters, born after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and still young when Gujarat burned in 2002, will exercise their franchise. These young men & women, who have no direct baggage of the events that have divided the country for over two decades, should ideally have a world of choices in front of them. But the ground reality is that political parties have used the policy of divide and rule & further widen the gap between Hindus & Muslims for their own political gains(specially the Congress, SP BSP JD(U) & above all the Nehru Gandhi Family), trapping India’s two biggest religious groups into political straightjackets. By promising a politics of appeasement to Muslims, these parties have created a wedge between the communities while giving no real benefits to the minority community they claim to uplift. Despite years of promises, Indian Muslims still have fewer jobs, less money, and worse education than any other religious group in the country. The common Muslims have usually been offered two choices – sops and assurances by the Politicians & one ruled family who wants to use them as a vote bank or the ghetto mentality of their own leaders who want to alienate them from the rest of the country so that they can control them. Instead of dissolving with the passage of time, the physical divide between Hindus & Muslims localities is getting more pronounced, even in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata. I am often asked how India can survive all the chaos that lies within it-the paralytic government, the corruption, the crony capitalism, the economic divide. My reply is that this seeming chaos is India’s boisterous democracy at work. India’s political system is rock solid in spite of decades of punishment by some diabolical politicians. India has not fallen apart as predicted by many doomsayers. We’ve never had a coup, like our jealous neighbours have, since the Republic was formed 65 years ago. We had the Emergency for 21 months but that was an aberration. I believe the biggest danger to our country is the possibility of one family Dynastical rule. If 190 millions are at odds with the state, the very idea of India will be under threat. This delves into the Muslim mind ahead of elections. A cross section of many Muslims talks about their fears, suspicious, and frustration at being treated as a vote bank. Many progressive clerics and scholars accept that the community must embrace modern education, and get better integrated with rest of the country population “Hindus”, in order to keep space with the changing world. It connects us all to a range of Muslim voices that are eager to break out of the mould. “ I don’t care what happened to Babri Masjid. All I need is that when I go to any government offices, I must get my work done quickly and without paying any bribes.” Says a 55 year old teacher from Gujarat. “The politicians of a particular party known as Congress create a bogey of victimhood. If you behave like a victim, you will be treated like one.” Says a woman post graduate student from Godhra in Gujarat. The Muslim Community youngsters wants the same amenities and the same opportunities as the rest of the country but has been held back due to vested Politicians from the Congress, The Samajwadi, The BSP & all the Non-BJP party. It now seems that they can no longer be taken for granted by Vote-hungry Politicians from the Congress, SP, BSP, Left Front & many non-BJP parties & their own religious Hardliners. There are signs that the Muslims are gradually freeing themselves from their own clutches and joining the mainstream. When that happens totally India would surely survive.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 06:07:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015