POINT
TO PONDER
Present election re-defining
secularism?
It
is difficult to determine who is secular and who not. Actually, 'secularism' is
a notion and conception which is self-assessed and self-proclaimed. What a
political party or individual claims is something opposite that looks to their
opponent.
It
is no secret or surprise that even the Indian Union Muslim League and other
political organizations whose membership is restricted only to Muslims proclaim
themselves to 'secular'. They exhort other political parties not to do anything
that divides the 'secular' vote, a synonym for Muslim vote.
When
the 'secular' Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi called on Abdullah Bukhari,
Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid a few days back, Bukhari too spoke of the need for unity
of the 'secular' vote and to ensure that it is not divided. Bukhari claims to be the leader of Muslims and,
at the same time, 'secular. He later obliged Mrs. Gandhi by calling Muslims to
vote for Congress.
Mulayam
Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party is another political organization that professes
itself to be the 'secular' icon and, at the same time, the only protagonist of
Muslims. That is why Mulayam Singh also attracts the epithet of 'Mian"
Mulayam. One of the leading lights of this 'secular' hoard is its prominent leader
Azam Khan and presently a Minister in UP's Akhilesh government. On April 8, 2014 he declared that it was not
Hindu but Muslim soldiers who should be credited for the Kargil victory against
Pakistan in 1999 war.
In
the last Bihar Vidhan Sabha elections another 'secular' conglomerate in the
State declared that it would ally with the party which promises to make Muslim the State's chief minister. To corner
'secular' votes the leader took an Osama bin Laden look-alike during
campaigning in the hope that Indian Muslims would be humoured with this gesture
of his to vote for his party.
Another
self-acclaimed die-hard 'secular' is the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu
Prasad Yadav of Bihar who has been sentenced to five years of jail in the
fodder scam, presently on bail. He too pretends openly that Muslims are with
him.
Bihar
chief minister Nitish Kumar does not wish to lag behind in this 'secular'
marathon. He derides other parties' professions on this score. There are many
other 'secular' groups who openly appeal for Muslim community vote during the ongoing elections and previous ones too.
In
the present election to the 16th Lok Sabha and some State assemblies
there is free for all, everybody scouting for Muslim votes in the open. This appeal
is being vociferously made despite the fact that under the Representation of
the People Act 1951 imploring for votes in the name of religion is a crime.
Anybody doing so can not only be tried for violation of law but if such a
person gets elected, his election can as well be set aside on this count.
Further,
all this is going on under the prying eye of the too vigilant and alert
Election Commission of India.
What
does all this boil down to — appealing to the Muslim community for votes in the
name of religion is an act of secularism and doing so in the name of non-Muslims
an unpardonable crime of 'communalism'? ***
Also published in the May 2014 issue of SOUTH ASIA POLITICS monthly.
Also published in the May 2014 issue of SOUTH ASIA POLITICS monthly.
