WHEN INDIA became a free independent country many predicted its disintegration. Some even refused to deem India as a sovereign country as it seemed more of a continent to them. The idea of a nation cobbled together from the extremes of diversity did not seem feasible to many. But India was bent upon proving the cynics wrong and did succeed. Since Independence the Republic of India has seen itself continuously buckling down various challenges on a wider spectrum of issues ranging from poverty and education to incursions from neighbors among all other problems. India did face myriad kind of violence propagated by different kind of perpetrators at various points of time.
The blundered China policy of our first prime minister Jawaharlal Lal Nehru led to our being hoodwinked by China on more than one occasion. When the time came to meet them in the battleground our preparation was found wanting. Invaders captured a part of what legally belonged to India. That was the one moment when violence had its way and peace loving prime minister was confronted with crude reality. It is believed this realization precipitated his death. Before this we had had our first tryst with truculent color of our western neighbor when our independence was in its infancy.
We lost a part of Kashmir and what was left became a life time wound which is still bleeding. I don’t want to put startling statistics to endorse the claim that Kashmir has and will always keep India on tenterhooks. But having said that we cannot deny that India is too big and strong a country to buckle down under such pressure tactics.
Eighties saw the militancy arising out of a religion that owes its origin to Hinduism but still India did not let the serpent to reign much and crushed its ugly head for ever with support from none other than followers of same religion. This was the religion founded by Guru Nanak Dev, an apostle of peace and wisdom. The insurgency in north east, especially in Nagaland and Mizoram too was combated and subjugated and that reinforced the fact that India can never be in danger.
Late eighties brought with it a wave of violent upsurge and struggle. The architects of this bloody cult wanted freedom for Kashmir. It helped so many extras of the society to become the cog of the wheel of Kashmir and hence new, but impractical aspirations began to take shape under the shadow of ISI of Pakistan backed by its successive governments and dictatorships.
In between Kashmir wavered between peace and violence but separatists have continuously been inciting people against the Indian ‘misrule’ and alleged atrocities by Indian army on innocent citizens. More recently we saw a sudden surge in the demand for freedom with even school boys shouting at the top of their voices with green flag in their hands and our national Tricolor lying under their feet.
The burning of Sabarmati Express at Godhra that resulted in the death of 59 Ram-sevaks led to state wide riots against Muslims in Gujarat, primarily engineered by Rightwing Hindu organizations and espoused by none other than chief minister Narender Modi. Thousands of Muslims were uprooted and many were burnt alive. Life came to a naught for Muslims and encouraged ghettoisation in the state.
Beginning from Mumbai local train bomb blasts in 2006, we have withstood a stream of terrorist assaults across the country in last two years. A piece of news that we were so used to hearing only once in a while has so scarily become so sporadic. So much so that terrorism seems to have finally come to our doorstep. Innocent, young people are dying at just a trigger of the remote. It is the common man who is dying, suffering and that also for no fault of his. He is intimidated and afraid like never was. Common man now thinks several times about which way to take and which transport to board to reach his destination.
Right from the very first day of independence India has confronted many problems of extreme gravity while still moving on the path of peace and progress. I am optimistic enough to believe that we will sail through these times too. We have a long history of combating violence either in the form of terrorism or in the form of invasion and more often than not we have emerged triumphant.
But let me allude to those who had always been, it seems, bent upon polarizing the country and dent its secular credentials. Do Bal Thackeray and Raj Thackeray and their ilk pose a greater challenge to idea of India than all the militant outfits, outside or inside country, put together?
In case of terrorists we know our enemy and aim at defeating him. But how does one deal with these petty politicians who in the garb of nationalism are doing anti national activities. It will not be wrong if say their acts too breed home grown terrorists, allow the enemies of the nation to radicalize the young and the impressionable minds and become the cause of contention between different communities and hence the danger to the very idea of India, an India whose strength lies in secularism and diversity.
Wouldn’t the recent attacks on the Christians by Bajrang Dal on account of frivolous claims fill the hearts of those who have been driven out and battered, whose houses were torched, with hatred and rancour for entire Hindu community? And even if Christians decide to tread the path of peace, can we afford not to bring culprits to the justice? Am I wrong if I fear that tomorrow these perpetrators of terror might try to mobilize the support of wayward youths from Dalits and Christians communities even? Who will be responsible if Hindus ends up antagonizing and rallying up all against themselves? Enemies can be combated, crushed and defeated but what about these self declared champions of Hindus who in their quest to secure power, serve their mean purposes and change the meaning of what India stands for are insidiously jeopardizing the very idea of India.
At the same time we have politicians who don’t even blink an eye before playing Muslim card to have their causes served. They have been short changing Muslims for so long a time without even doing a bit for their upliftment. For them the word ‘secular’ is nothing more than a carrot to be thrown before Muslims. More recently we saw them unveiling the horrific face of Bajrang Dal when the terrorizing face of SIMI was discovered busy casting its venomous gaze at the country. I got to see many Hindu red faces. So now the obvious question staring at us is: is petty politics coming in the way of striking a sound hammer blow to terrorism? Does idea of India face a greater challenge from insiders?
