There has been lots of propaganda from various quarters that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a Hindu party and it intends to transform India into a Hindu state undermining the secular feature of the Indian union. Series of allegations have been frequently levelled against the BJP that it has involved in acts of communalism. However, the fact is that the BJP is a political party and its objectives and mission are purely political and has nothing to do with Hindu religious communalism or fanaticism. It has drawn inspiration from the aspiration of the people of India to liberate them from slavery of poverty and rampant corruption.
There are far more superior reasons for which India can never become a Hindu state than the allegations that the BJP has hidden agenda to transform India into a Hindu state. India is the largest democracy in the world and has the lengthiest and the most detailed written constitution in the world comprising 448 articles in 25 parts and 12 schedules and 101amendments made. Great leaders and freedom fighters of India had anticipated and opted for secular India and incorporated secularism and freedom of religion into the constitution of India. The constitution envisages protection and promotion of low castes, minorities and tribal people. Thus people from the weaker section categories have been enjoying certain privileges and getting benefitssince independence. If majority of Indians wanted to make India a Hindu state or Hindu as official religion then it would have been declared as one in 1947 when India and Pakistan achieved independence and the latter became Islamic state. People of India have been accustomed to secularism as a way of life in these ode 70 years and have created secular tradition of adaptation with various religious communities in this diverse social environment. India has carved out a niche for itself at the international field as the largest democratic country in the world and has become the fountain of inspiration for many nations.
Another reason is that India has a very strong judiciary system. It has the Supreme Court as the highest judicial court in India, high courts in the states of India and sub ordinate courts which interpret the laws and protects the constitution. Judicial activism has emerged promoting interest of the nation in the course of changing India towards law abiding nation and thus the judiciary system has matured. Judicial activism is the interference of judiciary in the legislative and executive fields and has arisen due to the failure of legislative and executive organs of the government. It has dispensed justice to the disadvantaged and aggrieved citizens.
The proper democracy adopted by the people of India has favoured its growth in various fields. India has tremendously progressed in both the agriculture and industrial sectors due to the availability of suitable conditions even though corruption has immensely pulled back the country from maximum growth. If India had established communal dictatorship like Pakistan or Bangladesh its fate could never be imagined with the world’s second largest size of population as the former has become a leading developing country and the latter is known to be advanced terror state. India is a regional super power and is on the path to become super economic power of the world.
India has been fighting for permanent seat in the UN Security Council and many member -countries are backing it.The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are China, France, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, and the United States. Except China, other four permanent members are supporting India for permanent seat.
India is the founding member and the prominent leader of Non-Alignment Movement(NAM) which aims at maintaining neutrality in the arms race. It has 120 member countries of the world.
A communal state is internationally isolated. If India ever becomes a communal state or makes Hindu as its official religion then the progress and the development that she has achieved over the decades will be retarded and pulled back once again to the medieval age.
The Article II (Objective) of the BJP party constitution clearly states that “the party is pledged to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation, which is modern, progressive and enlightened in outlook and which proudly draws inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values and thus is able to emerge as a great world power playing an effective role in the comity of nations for the establishment of world peace and a just international order.
The party aims at establishing a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens irrespective of castes, creed or sex, political, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression.
The party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.”
“The basic philosophy of the BJP is the Integral humanism (Article III).The party has adopted Integral humanism, a doctrine coined by Deendayal Upadhyaya . It aims to appeal to broad sections of Indian society by presenting an indigenous economic model that puts the human being at centre stage.”
Most of the BJP legislators are secular minded and majority of Indians are secular minded so the government of India or the BJP led NDA government can never fulfil the aspiration of some Hindu religious fanatics to transform India into a Hindu state or adopt Hinduism as official religion of India by sacrificing all enduring tasks that are targeted to put India on the top of the world. It is time tested that India has gone long way towards the destination and become too strong with its basic constitutional foundation that no anti national element like religious fanaticism can ever break its innovating path. Poverty and rampant corruption are the biggest enemies of India which are retarding its speedy development and the BJP led NDA government is determined to eliminate the same.
Communalism was there, is there and will be there. India is a vast country of 134 Crores of population with diverse culture and thousands of languages and dialects. So it is natural that communalism exists in India as even the smallest country is not devoid of such problems. The best way to permanently tackle communalism would be by promoting quality education inclusive of secularism in schools and universities and disseminate secular awareness all over the country and lead India towards progressive, productive and dynamic nation that is ever ready to cater the needs of the people. Trouble makers on religious grounds should be penalized under the law and religious fundamentalism be discouraged in India.
Disruption on religious ground is more or less a law and order problem. Promoting secularism and protecting freedom of religion is in the interest of the nation. The Supreme Court of India has directed the government to punish people persecuting on religious ground. The BJP led NDA government under the prime minister ship of Narendra Modi is ready to take necessary action against any citizen of India, high or law if found guilty of offence or crime on ground of religion. Communalism will gradually die down when people of all the sections come forward and cooperate with the central government which is facing tough time in tackling the problems. Considering the height of glory achieved by India and the key role it is playing as global leader over the decades, it is obvious that India can never become a communal state.
K Thong (Achilo)
