The Pied-Piper Syndrome

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's appeal to Muslims to think carefully before casting their votes merely rekindles the stereotype image of minorities as only being vote banks in the present political scenario.The minority development rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 25 February clearly marks a departure from its much-professed views on equal citizenship and the politics of appeasement of minorities. The BJP seems to have reached the crossroads after having spent considerable time in crying hoarse about the Orwellian double standards of the Congress regimes on issues like Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 and the Uniform Civil Code. What is more baffling is that the BJP had started to tread on a lonely path by questioning the Congress party's perspective towards the minorities, particularly Muslims, while holding it responsible for their marginalisation and isolation. By the early 1980s the Congress party, functioning as an umbrella organization accommodating divergent views, was on the decline, and so was its commitment to secularism. The Punjab crisis in fact, saw the Congress party playing the religious card.Invoking the improvement of Indo-Pak relations and cricket diplomacy with Pakistan to bring in the votes of the minority community clearly points to this sorry state of affairs, more so when it came from a government, which had blamed Muslim voters in the past for deterring the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel. While one may argue that it is party interests that are permanent in electoral politics, there is a greater urgency now for the BJP to deliver the goods rather than flaunt the new entrants and mascots in its fold, like Arif Mohammed Khan. With the national polls around the corner, politicians of various hues have been shuffling their political loyalties. Minority interests tend to gain electoral premium, as was evident with the Uttar Pradesh government toying with the idea of declaring Fridays as a half-day in schools. With the increasing probability of an electoral alliance between the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress, the Samajwadi Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh, known for attracting Muslim votes, is also tilting towards soft Hindutva.The continuing communal violence in Gujarat has weakened the liberal tradition and affected the credibility of India as a modern secular nation. What is at stake is the competence and non-partisan role of the state in protecting its citizens right to life, irrespective of their religious affiliations. The present regime needs to reassure the victims of the Gujarat riots by ensuring speedy and fair trials, instead of being goaded in this regard by judicial interventions. In modern democracies, it is mandatory that the attitude of the state towards religion should be one of neutrality and equal treatment to all faiths irrespective of their numerical strength. The complicity of the state in communal conflicts robs it of its neutrality and legitimacy, resulting in communities settling their differences by extra-constitutional means, with the state becoming the epicentre of conflict. The timely intervention of the Supreme Court has brought some glimmer of hope and mitigates the heightened fear and apprehensions that India is heading towards majoritarian and authoritarian rule.It must be noted that, in practice, democracy should go beyond holding periodic elections that are reasonably fair. The protection of the rights of minorities and guarantees of personal liberties are also an inalienable attribute of modern democracy. The most conspicuous fact is that no political party has been forthcoming on issues that confront the common masses, namely, unemployment and growing communal intolerance. So the question one must ponder over is whether the coming elections and ambitious roadshows can restore faith in the Indian state and polity. Given past experience, there are reasonable apprehensions of these campaigns being short-lived and fizzling out after the polls. Recent developments suggest that electoral alliances are guided by power considerations rather than ideological convergence or commonality of socio-economic interests.The present situation calls for action rather than symbolic gestures, which has been the hallmark of Indian politics. The recent talks between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Jamiat-i-Ulema-e-Hind which was the first of its kind has generated guarded optimism about the resolution of the Ayodhya issue. It remains to be seen whether the much-publicised feel good factor would translate into viable action to resolve such contentious and volatile issues. India could certainly shine by restoring the credibility of the state's authority and legitimacy to ensure freedom from fear and the equality guaranteed by law.


Published on 9 March 2004, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.
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