The Janata unity can be only of a limited value if Congress does not come along. Rahul Gandhi, despite his much-publicised “weaknesses” is still the best bet if the secular forces are to be united, as he alone has a national appeal. If he does not act now, not only will Congress be finished forever, perhaps India’s secular edifice will also be on the brink of collapse. opines Dr. Javed Jamil.
The communal bomb seems to be heading towards a huge explosion. The Agra episode is the kind of the trigger which can explode the bomb within no time with a devastating effect on the country. When privatisation was sought to be introduced in 1980s, the communal agenda was set into motion with the launching of Ayodhya Movement. The country forgot about what was boiling at the economic front; and the political and social parties including the leftists busied themselves in combating the monster of communalism. This continued till the privatisation got fully entrenched. The situation was then allowed to settle down. Now, the second round of corporatisation seems to have begun. Privatisation is again in full swing, and every government scheme – good as well as bad, is being tuned in to suit the interests of the big business.
The forces of the economics including the corporate and the government supporting them know the likely effects of the move on the public mind. They fear that the forces that are more concerned about the common people can embark upon a nationwide campaign against the corporatisation. It is therefore necessary that the public mind is kept busy somewhere else. What else can be the best option other than using the time-tested card of communalism? With the hatred engulfing the nation, the social forces and the political parties like Congress, Janata Parivar and Communists will again be busy in countering the communalisation. The forces of economics can play their cards without attracting the public attention. Once the second round is finished, the situation will be eased again for some years in wait of a suitable time for the next round.
In coming together of the disintegrated Janata Parivar again, the hopes have risen in secular minds. But this time, they do not have a charismatic leader like VP Singh in their midst. The Janata unity can be only of a limited value if Congress does not come along. Rahul Gandhi, despite his much-publicised “weaknesses” is still the best bet if the secular forces are to be united, as he alone has a national appeal. If he does not act now, not only will Congress be finished forever, perhaps India’s secular edifice will also be on the brink of collapse.
Many people had started believing that Prime Minster Modi can try to prove his detractors wrong by embarking upon a truly secular and inclusive agenda. People were even ready to think that the state level Hindutva leaders might be fanning communalism on their own, and soon the PM will show them their place. But recent developments seem to be too ominous to continue with that kind of thinking. If Modi really wants to emerge as an international statesman, he will have to prove it now by showing his resolve to keep the country united. Otherwise, the fears that had made people worried at the time of his victory will prove themselves right.
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Dr Javed Jamil is India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Quranic Paradigms of Sciences & Society” (First Vol: Health), “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of SecularIndia: Destination & Road-map”. Other works include “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”, “The Essence of the Divine Verses”, “The Killer Sex”, “Islam means Peace” and “Rediscovering the Universe”. He can be contacted atdoctorforu123@yahoo.com or 91-8130340339. For his shayri visit http://urduyouthforum.org/