Political Diary
New Delhi,
14 September 2021
Appeasement Politics
‘HOLIER-THAN-THOU’ RANT
By
Poonam I Kaushish
It’s the silly season of appeasement politics wherein democracy
is a conflict of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. An adage
which nails our leaders’ diatribe depending on which side of the
liberal-bigoted divide they are. Underscoring political harangue is only rabble
rousing, devoid of substance, spreading hatred and widening the communal divide
on religious lines to satiate their vote banks.
From
Kerala to UP politics over God seems to be the order of the day. First of the
mark was a revered Catholic Bishop
of Kottayam district who warned Christian youth against ‘narcotics jihad’, a
term to describe attempts by Muslims in Kerala to lure Christians towards Islam
using drugs, borne out by a sharp rise in drug-related cases and seizures in
the State. In 2018, the police seized contraband worth Rs 650 crores, in 2019
it went up to Rs 720 crores, and in 2020 Rs800 crore.
Predictably this was music to BJP’s ears as the Syro-Malabar
Church, the world's second-largest Eastern Catholic Church, has expressed Islamophobic
sentiments accusing Muslims of ‘love jihad’ and been claiming dozens of Christian
women were converted to Islam and taken to Syria to further the Islamic State’s
‘jihadist’ activities since 2018, drawing a parallel between ‘love jihad’ and
the Islamic State's execution of female Christian captives in Nigeria.
Naturally the Church’s dalliance with Hindutva
has directly resulted in political growth for the BJP in the State. As a quid
pro quo, other than Islamophobia, the church is expecting better patronage from
the Centre vis-à-vis education and
health.
Even as continuous appeasement
politics is fast turning the Kerala into a nursery of terror activities.
Not a few perceive this a demographic threat of Kerala's
Catholic community’s disaffection towards Muslims. Going by 2011 census, of the
State’s 33 million people Hindus make up 54.73%, Muslims 26.56% and Christians
18.38% down from 19.02% in 2001.
Trust
UP Chief Minister Yogi to stir the communal cauldron as elections near Sunday.
Accusing previous State Governments for their “casteist and dynast mentality”
and “politics of appeasement”, he asserted “before 2017, those saying ‘abba jaan’ used to digest ration meant
for poor but now everyone benefitted equally from development under his Administration.”
Sic. Earlier he had come out all guns blazing against Congress calling it “mother
of terrorism” in India.
The
Congress hit back at him for “blatant communalism” and “hatred” directed
towards Muslims by stating “abba jaan
and Kabristan” won't work in all the elections. It was referring to Yogi’s comment in 2019, “They
gave money for kabristan but not ‘shamshan
ghat.”
Undeniably,
we are watching cut-throat communalism at work. Whereby, our netas have made nationalism and the
Hindu-Muslim vote-bank the tour de force
of politics. With every leader propounding his self-serving recipe of
‘communal’ harmony harbouring the same intention: To keep their gullible
vote-banks emotionally charged so that their own ulterior motives are
well-served. Never mind, the nation is getting sucked into the vortex of
centrifugal bickerings.
Alas, 2021 is no
different from 2015. When BJP leaders and even Ministers sought to tom-tom
Hindu religion, faith and worship and justified the unjustifiable following the
Dadri lynching of a Muslim that he stored beef. From love jihad, anti-Pakistan
cultural-sports protests, killing of rationalists, beef ban to Gau raksha and religious intolerance et al India continues to be entrapped in
its moribund opaque world view.
Who
does one fault? Given our netas have
perfected intemperate language to inject poison in society over the years.
Namely, dangerous and diabolical machinations of vote-bank politics, pitting
Hindus against Muslims creating fissiparous tendencies resulting in a communal
divide.
Clearly, in a milieu
of competitive democracy, if caste politics ensures convergence of electoral
booty, politics based on religion has better chance of polarising voters via
vicious speeches inducing raw emotions of hostility and hate. Who cares if it
is destructive and stokes communal violence and sows the seeds of rabid
communalism.
Questionably, why are
politicians’ discourses becoming venomous and toxic? By doing so does it not
make a mockery of the concept of a “nation” built on the values of democracy? Is
Yogi and his ilk wanting to peddle a patriotism whose condition of possibility
is the wiping out of all thought? Is its concept of nationalism per se a justification to belittle
followers of faith? Should this become litmus of
one’s patriotism?’
Has
our polity realized the ramifications of their actions? Would it not only
further divide the people on creed lines but is also antithetical to hope of
narrowing India’s burgeoning religious divide, thereby unleashing a
Frankenstein.
India’s misfortune is
that Hindu, Muslim and Christian fundamentalism is growing thanks to political
and intellectual double-speak. Whereby, secularism has degenerated from its
lofty ideal of equal respect for all religions to a cheap and diabolical
strategy for creating captive religious vote-banks.
Sadly,
the political class exploits the common man’s emotions and only looks at what
will help popularize it more with its vote bank. Even if its amounts to heading
towards an era of intolerant terrorism. Despite, the Government underscoring
its commitment to maintain the nation's secular foundations and communal
harmony.
In
a mammoth one billion plus country there would be a billion views and one
cannot curtail people’s political beliefs and rights. Everyone is free not
accepting another’s view as it is a matter of perception. A statement
objectionable to one might be normal for another. However, no licence should be
given to anyone to spread ill-feeling towards any community or against atheists
who do not see themselves as Ram-Rahim-Jesus children.
Importantly,
no quarter should be given to those who fan hatred among people and
communities. Be it a Hindu ‘messiah’
or a Muslim ‘mullah’. Both are
destroyers of the State, which has no religious entity. Thus, our moral angst
cannot be selective but should be just, honourable and equal.
In
this dog whistle politics wherein communal language which appeal to baser
emotions and promises unapologetically sectarian and communal beliefs, the time
has come for our petty-power-at-all-cost polity to think beyond vote-bank
politics and look at the perilous implications of their insidious out-pourings
which inject poison in society.
In
the ultimate netas need to realize a
nation is primarily a fusion of minds and hearts and secondarily a geographical
entity. Nor is there any mysticism in the secular character of the State. It is
neither anti-God nor pro-God. It is expected to treat all religions and people
alike. The message has to go out clearly that no leader or priest belonging to
community, caste or group can spew odium and if they do, they lose their
democratic right to be heard. Such rhetoric has no place in a civilised polity.
India
is a big country with enough room for all to live in peace and goodwill. The
aim should be to raise the bar on public discourse, not lower it any more. We could
do without leaders who churn the ‘holier-than-thou’ cauldrons in their reckless
pursuit of political nirvana! Time they desist from using caste and creed as
pedestals to stand on to be seen. Converting religions gush into political
slush! ----- INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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