It is said that any country’s partition leaves an indelible mark
on the people. The pain and agony of parting from one’s land and embracing another
part of the same country but being called a refugee is beyond comprehension of
the ones who haven’t been through it. And in India, especially in the Western
and Eastern parts of the country, there live many who had to leave their land
and come to a part of the country which were inhabited by their “own folk”.
Though I do not have any official roots in East Bengal but
being a part of Eastern India, I have befriended many who have their roots in
the now Bangladesh and their stories of deep pain is already enough for me to
bear.
Ever since the country was divided, be it into India and
Pakistan or in the later case when Bangladesh was carved out of Bengal, the
division has been done on the basis of religion. And this one reason has always
divided friends from friends, neighbours from fellow neighbours and often, two
love birds. I live in India and can only talk of my country and the use of
religion to divide citizens has always been in rampant use by our politicians.
However, I also believe, even minority appeasement is a way
of creating a divide but prioritising the ‘majority’ of the country is not a
befitting reply either.
With the advent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the
Centre, the very undertone of a Hindutva politics simply cannot be kept
unnoticed. No matter how much it is shrouded by the cloak of progressive
politics, the stench of dung can never be considered pure in 21st
Century’s parlance, at least for a few.
What is, however, amazing to notice is the way the BJP is
progressing steadily in the country. After the Bihar debacle and the anti-BJP sentiments
created after demonetisation, it is surprising to see how the party is eroding
the regional parties in some of the states.
It is said that whoever wins in UP, is sure to make it to the
top in the next Lok Sabha elections but this is India where “politics is the
art of the possible”.
Will Yogi win BJP’s dream of a landslide victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections?
UP has the biggest seat share in the Lok Sabha (80) and this
election, Yogi Adityanath has managed to bag some 70 or 71 odd seats, rendering
the Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party to bite the dust.
If history is to be considered, then Yogi wasn’t much in the
good books of the political pundits for his controversial comments before becoming
the Chief Minster. And it is equally impossible to get over the fact that he is
a Hindu hardliner and what makes this sentiment stronger is the comments that
he had made.
·
On Mother Teresa Yogi said: She was part of the
conspiracy to Christianise India. Hindus were converted in the name of doing
service and then converted.
·
In the name of Lord Shiva he said: Lord Shankar was
the biggest Yogi who started Yoga. Mahadev lives in every particle of this
country. So those who want to avoid Yoga and Lord Shankar, can leave Hindustan
·
And about Bollywood’s King Khan he had to say: Shah
Rukh Khan should remember that if people would boycott his films, he would also
have to wander in the streets like a normal Muslim… These people are speaking
in the language of terrorists. I think there is no difference between the
language of Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed.
However, after assuming office, Yogi has become all the more
cautious about his comments and have been doing several good work. And to list
a few, Yogi has removed reservation of SC, ST and OBC candidates in private medical
colleges, has cracked down on illegal slaughterhouses, waived off loans of
lakhs of farmers, ensured at least 18 hours’ electricity to all districts,
chalked out clear guidelines for the anti-romeo squad among other commendable steps.
But, somewhere, he is cleverly not touching matters that are expected
of the party. In order to shake off the curse of being called a Hindu party, it
cannot undermine the fact that India is a secular nation and even staunch Hindu
leaders like Yogi have to work for the minorities. And before you tear me apart
for asking to follow the same old minority appeasement policy of parties like Congress,
please refer to the earlier paragraphs where I have clearly mentioned that the
very practice creates a divide among citizens in a way.
It was always expected by the citizens — a change — and it
was supported too. The country wanted to oust the Congress and it did so and
had brought BJP to power only to feel a change but not for a time where
everything would have a religious undertone.
One might counter me by saying that the party does not
advocate any particular religious ideology but can it really undermine the rise
in the number of cases that are based on a particular religion right after the
BJP came to power?
Was the Dadri lynching just a mere coincidence? Or the cases
where gau rakhshaks were worse than the storm troopers of Charlie Chaplin’s The
Great Dictator? Or the case where a wheelchair-bound man was beaten up inside a
cinema hall because he did not stand up for the national anthem or rather he
couldn’t?
Even if one accepts the innocence of the party in such
incidents, the BJP should take cognisance of the matters and take necessary
steps to curb such incidents.
Decoding what is aiding BJP victories in places like Latur (A Congress bastion since Independence)
If we keep aside the recent hype about the EVMs being
tampered with and undermine the fact that the vote share of the BJP is not
overwhelming, we cannot deny that even a one run victory in a game of cricket
is a victory!
It has not been long since Independence and the country is
still reeling under a lot of issues that need to be addressed and Congress was
a party that everybody used to look up to, mainly because of the fact that the
party has given birth to many such leaders who led the country towards Independence.
But when our hopes were shattered royally by the Congress, thanks to its gaining
a name of being the frontrunners in several scams, we looked up to the BJP that
came with the promises of several palpable changes. It is in the very nature of
Indians to dream, we like to dream and often think of a utopian world, devoid
of tensions and the BJP, in its pre-poll promises had painted just the picture
that the country wanted to see.
The party had come to us as an alternative to the scam-ridden
Congress and somehow, the table has turned yet again and we do not want the BJP
anymore, primarily because of its religious undertone and a penchant for
driving a certain form of nationalism and instill the same in the minds of the
citizens. But have we given this a thought that the situation is worse than
last time? Yes, this time we do not even have an alternate option.
If the BJP is happy and complacent about its victory across
the nation, then it should rather give credit to the fact that the country does
not have an alternate option. And this is rather an alarming situation.
Another third front?
Ever since 1989, Indians have been on several occasions,
given the option of a coalition of smaller parties or simply a third front
apart from the two main fronts — Congress and BJP.
However, history tells us, that none of the third fronts were
ever much successful. And even in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections, there
is a high chance that the regional parties will form a coalition and
unanimously counter the BJP. But somewhere, I am a bit skeptical about the
future this time as well. Simply because the regional parties are
state-oriented and India is a country that has different types of people
residing in it and having a narrow political perspective will not take the
regional parties too far. Coordination seems to be a distant dream among the
parties and so does the future of yet another third front.
I do not want to sound pessimistic by saying that times are
tough ahead but yes, ignoring the very facts will also not reap dividends. Whatever
may it be, the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be one
roller-coaster ride and the best thing to do would be to sit back and watch. So
order your popcorns now and do not forget the cold drinks to chill!!!
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