The nation celebrates with great pride her secularism and the biggest democracy of the world. Every leader and each political party invokes secularism, democracy and non-violence with great rituals in their own ways. However, sadly the cardinal principals and fundamental teachings are regularly overthrown and all these assertions show that Indian leaders and political parties are most communal, dictatorial and violent. Political space is filled with caste, communalism, intolerance and violence in an unprecedented political language.
Prominent Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has been given life imprisonment for his involvement in 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi by the Sikh guards. This was not the first involvement of Congress in riots and mass killings. In 1948, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Godse, there was a large-scale killing of Brahamans by Congressmen. Surprisingly, in those killing, attacks and riots against Brahmans, Muslims, Mahars and Dalits joined Congressmen in very large numbers.
The memory of Indians is very short lived. We only remember only 1984 anti-Sikh riots and Gujarat riots where non-Hindus were more killed than Hindus. However, the nation has completely forgotten the massive violence and killings at Hyderabad, Junagarh, Kashmir, Bengal, Mallapuram, etc places. During the three decades of Khalistan/Sikh terrorism, Sikh terrorists killed a large number of people. Similarly, in Kashmir terrorism, Islamic terrorists have been killing a large number of innocent citizens. In North-East too Naga, Mizo, and Ethnic terrorists have seen killing the innocent citizens since independence.
Words are poisoned and weaponised. Speeches are filled with hate oral violence. The language of politicians of all hues is name-calling, intimidation, abusive slogans and threatening rhetoric. On every national festival like Republic Day (26 January), Independence Day (15 August), Gandhi Jayanti (2 October), etc all the leaders talk about secularism, biggest democracy and non-violence in a very hyperbolic boosting tone. But in actual life, all the legacy of these principles is being shattered by those who assert his mantle. It is almost ritualistic claim to fool the world and for success at the ballot box.
All belief in the grammar of violence, communalism and dictatorship. Today's politics has rendered all these celebrations meaningless. A violent nation preaching non-violence. The communal leaders preaching secularism and dictators preaching democracy.
Our leaders and activists show great love and sympathy for illegal intruders from Bangladesh and Rohingya Muslims but we are not at all concerned about the Kashmir refugees in our nation and victim of terrorism. The Left-wingers shaped a brutally violent political culture in Kerala and Bengal. Armed comrades habitually enforced party commands by terrorising citizens. TMC and Mamta Banerjee follow the same violent formula to remain in power. Bomb culture is a regular part of the democracy of Bengal.
Caste and communal leaders like Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Sharad Yadav, Sharad Pawar, Owesi, Azam Khan, and Ajmal etc are secular leaders. Now manifestos and ideas are almost fake and farce. They are only a slugfest between political enemies when politics is extremely personalised, violent and dictatorial. Substantive debates and arguments are altogether missing.
In 2013, Congress's Salman Khurshid dubbed then-Gujarat CM Narendra Modi a "frog". BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi in answer called Khurshid a "cockroach". Rahul Gandhi calls PM Modi as ‘chor' and his mother calling Modi as ‘maut ka saudagar'.
A few months back a large number of political leaders and activists openly came in support of ‘urban naxals', who were conspiring to create unrest and violence. Even Gandhi would have condemned the mass killings use of arms by Maoists or in Kashmir. Even Gandhi might have condemned the dynasty and dictatorial politics as violence. Even for Gandhi, Swaraj was only achievable by respecting the opponent.
Communalism, dictatorship and violence are self-destructive, the world sees in Islamic and communists nations because the politics would then go on itself, losing focus on the decisive goal. Physical and oral violence cashes on fears and insecurities and voters forget real issues. Violence also energises the followers. It demoralizes the opponents and encourages voters to vote according to caste and communal identities and not according to their balanced individual principles.
Left-wingers and Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Sharad Panwar, Owesi, Mamta Banerjee, DMK etc very successfully use the politics of communalism, dictatorship and violence.
They replaced the mainstream national parties. There is no liberty left for any kind of substantive debate on livelihood issues that affect citizens' daily lives.
There was a time when in the 1970s when politicians abused each other on ideas like as "Soviet stooge" or "CIA stooge", at least name-calling had some ideological tone. But today Rahul barb ‘Mera PM chor hai' met with the reply by the PM himself ‘Rahul ka khandaan chor hai' becomes national phrases.
All we have is a viciously uttered contest on who is a bigger Shiv bhakt or Ambedkar bhakt or Lenin bhakt or Jinnha bhakt or Sharia bhakt or quota bhakt. If one supports caste, communal quotas and Sharia, one will be canonised as secular, if one wave of abuse RSS, BJP and Hindus, one will be secular and democrat, both. If one calls terrorists and Naxal, as misguided youth, one will be non-violent.
Now caste and communalism are secularism, dynasty and dictatorial politics are democracy and violence is non-violence. There is only space for violent language which encourages violence on the streets. Bhima-Koregaon violence and violence by Dalits during Bharat Bandh on 2 April 2018 was this type of sponsored violence.
The irony of this nation is that all the parties and leaders claim and invoke secularism, democracy and non-violence and nobody truly follows them.
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