Where are we heading? - B. S. Selvakumar

Posted On: 2009-08-06 11:38:35 By: SCMI

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Where are we heading?

B. S. Selvakumar[1]

 

Secularism, Tolerance, Love, Ahimsa, Dharma and Pluralism have been the features of India, widely acclaimed at the Global Political arena. Literally, these principles make India unique and facilitate peaceful co-existence and unity amidst diversity. In the context of religious freedom, the Constitution of India, by incorporating the Secular principle, provides citizens the much needed legal and social space in Indian polity. Unfortunately, owing to the spurt of Religious fanaticism and Religious vendetta, a cosmopolitan would now tend to feel that those acclaimed civil principles of India have been at stake, are at low ebb, and may lose its relevance in due course of time. Hence, the present volatile situation seems to create a social catastrophe.

 

India, a Socialistic, Secular and Democratic state has got one billion plus population comprising 82.7% Hindus, Muslims 11.8% and Christians 2.6%. The Constitution of India, a wonderful legal document and fundamental law of the land, enshrines equality, rule of law, justice and religious freedom to all. Article 25 of the Constitution provides freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. The Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHR) 1948 along with the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR) 1966, and the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 1966 form the international bill of Human Rights, provides freedom of thought, conscience and religion, minority protection and right to self-determination. Going by this common language of humanity, it is imperative on the part of each member state of the United Nations to acknowledge and enable its citizens to realize the freedom of religion and belief. Therefore, it is the bounden duty of the government, the agency of the state to provide safety and security to minorities and to ensure their right to self-determination. India fulfills the above rights and at the same time, its tacit side of civilized norm of the state requires that the majority community should have the moral duty to uphold minority rights and privileges.

 

Then Muslims and now Christians; the attack on the minorities, in India is spreading like a plague, being abetted by religious fundamentalists germs of one state after another. Over the years, since Independence of our nation, the atrocities against minorities in general and religious minorities in particular have gone rampant. The society is hapless and the state is in a non-piquant condition to combat such sabotages. Wherefore, the activities of the religious fanatics create disharmony in our social fabric and divide society on communal lines.

 

The main objective of Religion is to give Spiritual Solace and guide followers to ends of life, salvation or peace. Religions are not agents of communalism. One can affirmatively say that no religion of the world advocate hatred or murder. All religions subscribe to love and ethics; Christianity “love thy neighbour as thyself’, Islam universal brotherhood”, and Hinduism “love for the meanest of the creature”. However, there are some issues in religion, which could incite communal violence, which must be played down quietly. On the contrary, certain Religious-fascist organizations are trying to capitalize on it, by destabilizing the cherished features of India by embarking on concept-thrusting, like the Hindutva, Saffronisation and Cultural Nationalism. Such vested interests, not only indoctrinate, but also encourage Intolerance, hatred, violence and adharma among the brethren, which ultimately threatens the imbibed tenets of Indian society and polity.

 

As far as the recent communal violence in Orrisa, Karnataka and in other states of India is concerned, the Hindu fundamentalist organizations charge the Christian community with Forced Conversion. What irks them is aggressive and open proselytism of overzealous lay evangelists. Despite the availability of rights pertaining to religion in a pluralist society, it is good from amity point of view, an evangelist exercise certain degree of attitudinal restraint and limiting the pace of evangelism. In a democratic country like us, one cannot accuse somebody of converting other or forbidding the right to propagate ones religion. Propagating religion cannot be accused as converting. Literally, there is nothing as ‘Forced Conversion’ because it will happen only in master-slave like situation. Perhaps, convincing and conviction of theology could convert a person and that too happens only with the cent percent acceptance of the new ideals by the person, which again a right of person to either to accept or reject the same. Furthermore, forced conversion as claimed by fundamentalists, if any, is transient, will cause rebellion and strife between the converter and the converted. Indian history provides us ample monarchial evidence in this regard. Mission activities and proselytism had existed even before the coming of the Christian missionaries in India, some of the Indian kings had this kind of objectives.

 

Thus, Secularism is not a new phenomenon; it has been some of our kings’ administrative values. What grieves is that we living in this 21^st century often boast of civilized society fail to give due recognition and uphold others human rights. We yell only when our foot is being stamped, when other suffer the same we turn a blind eye and deaf ear to it or at the maximum pay a lip sympathy to suffering people. Even, in the recent atrocities against Christians in India, Christianity institutions alone closed to express solidarity. It is startling that, Why not other minority and majority community Institutions express solidarity for the persecuted Christians. Had they expressed their solidarity, it could have augmented in upholding the much cherished values of Indian society.

 

“Secularism is the oxygen without which India and Indian civilization cannot possibly survive in the way we want it to” remarked Mr. Ram the chief editor of “The Hindu” magazine. The prevailing communal hatred situation shuns the much cherished principles in general and ‘Secular’ principle in particular, certainly is not going to take India anywhere, rather will give rise to a type of Hindutva version of Taliban movement in the India. This surely will deprive human rights and sow seeds of communal hatred and mass murder, and this is definitely not the way we want our life and civilization to be. This is a Social Emergency, heading the Nation towards a Doom. The milieu calls for a concrete step on the part of the state and the society. The state forbidding uncivilized behaviors of religious fundamentalists and Society expressing solidarity for minorities in Toto would reject religious fundamentalism and foster human rights, thus paving the way to communal harmony, universal peace and co-existence.

 

Religious Diversity is good, since diversity in any matter happens to be beautiful and provide synergy. Nevertheless, one should not get intoxicated by religious fanaticism rather utilize it for finding solutions to social maladies; poverty, hunger, disease, oppression, untouchability and so on. Secularism provides the necessary impetus for the realization of our religious rights and paves way for the progress of our civilization. The enjoyment of religious rights by all coupled with a little self-restraint would create an egalitarian society and a harmonious community at large. Moreover, let us not forget that we came with nothing and not going to take anything either. Hence, I hereby make an appeal to the religious fanatics by quoting Hindu saint Swami Vivekananda’s verse ‘To devote your life to the good of all and to the happiness of all is religion. Whatever you do for your own sake is not religion”.