Open Forum

New Delhi, 24 October 2008

Growing Communal Violence

LET’S GO BACK TO GANDHIAN ALTERNATIVE

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The recent Hindu-Christian strife in Orissa, the spate of violence over land transfer to the  Amarnath Shrine Board, the pro-azadi stirs in the Kashmir valley  are all indicative of the fact that religious intolerance and social discontent is on the rise. Moreover, the terrorist strikes in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and in the nation’s capital, Delhi, have reinforced the fact that the fundamentalist and disruptive forces are hell-bent to shatter India’s secular image.

Today, there is a growing outcry all over the country that unless something is done soon, our long-cherished secularism is clearly in danger. And, none other than the country’s Prime Minister is seeing the warning signals. He has rightly called for strengthening of laws and a stricter enforcement of the same.

A point that is widely being made is that the growing inequality, the widening gap between the rich and the poor residing in the same area, the increasing unemployment and underemployment, specially among the economically weaker sections, the dwindling farm income on which a major section of the population lives and the lack of good educational facilities among the disadvantaged sections have all led the youth wayward.

There can be no denying that all these factors have contributed to the protests and violence in different forms – be it an assertion of religious rights or the upholding of the impoverished cause by the Maoists, resorting to violence and the killings.

While the development process continues to be geared towards the interests of the upper class and providing them opportunities, to the extent possible, the impoverished and the backward sections continue to languish in poverty and squalor. Moreover, the urban bias in India’s planning has accentuated the problem with an increase in migration from the rural to the urban centres in search of employment and livelihood.

Whether in realm of shelter, health, education or job opportunities, several surveys reveal that the majority are deprived of the basic necessities of life. But even then, there are very few who get down to questioning the percentage of government revenue being spent on their welfare.

In Orissa, extreme poverty as well as illiteracy of a large section of the tribal population has become the hunting ground of various religious groups. The dastardly incident of the murder of Graham Staines in January 1999 has again been repeated in Kandamahal district, where six lakh people live with over half being Hindu Kandh tribes. Sociologists are of the firm opinion that religion in the State divides the 22 per cent tribal population, most of whom have followed their own religion for several years.

Unfortunately, as is well known, the tribals have little understanding of the religion they practice or convert into and are credulous enough to believe everything their preachers tell them. Indeed, the conflict between the Church and the indigenous, specially Hinduism, has been simmering in Orissa (as also in many other States) for quite some time. While the Church has been trying to garner strength through conversions, Hindutva has suddenly become aggressive, blending local culture with militant nationalism.

While Hindu-Christian discord is a matter of fact in several districts of Orissa, Muslim fundamentalism has also been an area of great, if not greater, concern with the problem engulfing almost the entire nation. Whether it is the Student’s Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) or the Indian Mujahideen, their activities have revealed utter hatred for the country, obviously without any sanction from the general Muslim mass. And, if the Sachar Committee report is to be believed, this has happened because of perverted interpretation of religious preaching coupled with lack of education.

The unity of Islamic fundamentalists is possibly behind the coming together of the Hindus in Jammu. But with the rise of sheer aggressiveness of the Muslims and the anti-national feelings, fuelled by Pakistan and to some extent by Bangladesh, the backlash from the Hindus is steadily becoming a reality in certain parts of the country.   

The attitude of the ruling Congress towards Muslim fundamentalists has been one of appeasement, as it finds nothing wrong in nurturing a lax security apparatus on the ground that special laws to counter terror may eliminate minorities. But such leniency has not been followed with strong political will to spread education among the minorities and bring them into the mainstream.

There is a feeling, and not without justification, that if communal violence has to be curbed, stricter measures are required, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. More so as reports reveal that around 2000 people have been killed in such incidents between 2001 and 2007.

Recall, that the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was a great votary of secularism and preached strong bondage between Hindus and Muslims. His philosophy and action, based on non-violence and satyagraha attracted unprecedented Muslim (and other minority) support because he believed in universal religion – “a belief in the ordered moral government of the universe …. That religion transcends Hinduism, Islam Christianity etc. It does not supersede them. It harmonizes them and gives them reality”. 

Additionally, the Mahatma firmly believed that the study of other religions “will give one a grasp of the rock-bottom unity of all religions and afford a glimpse of the universal and absolute truth which lies beyond the dust of creeds and faiths”.

Sadly, the philosophical contention of Gandhi’s views on religious unity and commonality of approach is rarely discussed these days. The legacy of Gandhi was earlier followed by our leaders, specially Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desai and others, and even Jinnah wanted his Muslim state to allow free movement of Hindus and allow them practice of their religion in an unfettered manner.

Regrettably, over the years the situation has changed drastically. The prevalent fundamentalism can be attributed not just to the growing poverty and lack of balanced development but also due to lack of philosophical understanding and moral education of the young generation.

Add to this the mischievous teachings of religious leaders, giving wrong or perverted interpretation of religious texts, accentuating the animosity. It is, thus quite natural why Indian Muslims have been drawn in to extremist rhetoric and that economic victimization has further complicated the problem.     

This contemporary indifference to true religion or to proper religious understanding can be attributed to the materialist tendencies in society and the trend towards greater accumulation of wealth. Morality has lost its significance, as also the concept of shared humanity and fellow feeling.

It is significant to mention here that Gandhi viewed religion and morality as identical because while religions might differ in their theologies, they were strikingly alike in their moral teachings. He had boldly urged the rejection of a religious doctrine “that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality”.  

At such a crucial juncture, if the much-needed transformation is to follow the materialist path-- abandoning moral and ethical values, the future clearly doesn’t look bright. The basic question is: What should be done? Firstly, there is need for an all-round change in our approach to development, as it is breaking the very fabric of ordinary people’s lives all over the world and marginalizing the majority.

For a real and effective transformation, based on the premise of right to development for every human being, an alternative strategy has to involve the people and only the people, their capacities and liabilities. And, to move ahead with such development that goes against exclusion and inequality and reaches out to all sections of society, specially the majority rural populace, who are struggling for survival. 

Secondly, there is need to spread moral education based on Gandhi’s teachings and also that of all religions to every school student and make it a compulsory subject so that values are inculcated in the young minds. This must be enforced all over the country to counter the prevailing trend of hatred, jealousy and animosity in society and spread the message of fellow-feeling and brotherhood.

Finally, a nation-wide campaign has to be launched, aimed at religious unity under a Foundation or Institute, whether government or autonomous body, whose work would be to conduct discourses in government offices at the district, State and Central level, the centres of higher learning, including universities and IITs, private sector offices, chambers of commerce and various other places. This would at least make people morally aware, curb religious intolerance and control corruption, at least to some extent.  --INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)