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Recently BJP President
Shri Nitin Gadkari said, in the BJP Executive Committee
meeting in Mumbai, a few days ago, that we should try to
woo minorities to win forthcoming 2014 General
Elections. He gave example of Goa that we wooed the
Christian minority there and won the Goa election. We,
therefore, should try to woo Muslims too, in the
country, to win 2014 General Elections.
Mr. Gadkari, who is a RSS
appointee as President of BJP should know the difference
between winning Goa, a small Union Territory election
and the General Elections in India as a whole. Also, Goa
has some specific problems whereas India as a whole with
15% Muslim population is very different proposition. The
two are far from comparable. Also, Goan Christians’
attitude towards BJP is not the same as Muslim attitude
towards BJP. And BJP’s sins against Christians in Goa
are not the same as BJP’s sins against Muslims in
different parts of India.
In 2014 BJP is desperate
to come to power. In last General Elections BJP got 19%
votes and the Congress got 27% and the Congress formed
UPA II Government with the help of its allies. Thus
between Congress and BJP there was difference of 8%
votes and BJP is desperate to make up this difference
and if it can get a section of Muslim vote it can make
some difference.
BJP’ mathematics
unfortunately depends again on communal concept. It
thinks Muslims and Hindus are homogenous communities and
they vote on communal considerations and not on the
basis of their regional, linguistic and class interests
as it happens in a democracy. It incited hatred against
Muslims throughout post-independence India on the
assumption that it could polarize voters into Hindus and
Muslims and Hindus will vote for the BJP and it will
come to power. However, it never happened and BJP
remained outside the charming circle.
It then merged with the
Janta Party under the leadership of Shri Jayprakash
Narayan and took a vow for Gnadhian secularism and
socialism and vowed never to resort to communal
politics. However, under dual membership controversy its
members in Janata Party refused to resign from RSS and
ultimately Janta Party Government under Morarji Desai
leadership fell and BJP once again resorted to communal
politics with vengeance.
It was during this phase
that it raised the issue of Ramjananmbhoomi-Babri Masjid
controversy during late eighties and polarized Indian
population along communal lines as never before. Its vow
not to resort to communal politics was thoroughly
exposed. It was nothing but sheer opportunism. Its
secularism was thus very short lived. There was no
genuine change of heart or in other words its decision
was not based on inner conviction but merely on
political tactics.
The BJP never misses any
chance to attack any scheme or project which can benefit
Muslims even remotely. It has been opposing
implementation of Sacchar Committee scheme under its
well-known theory of appeasement of Muslims and year
after year Narendra Modi Government has been refusing to
utilize scholarship amount sent by the Central
Government for Muslim children under the pretext that
his Government does not believe in any ‘religious
discrimination’ in dispensing scholarship amount.
Also, the BJP Governments
in M.P. and Karnataka have passed stringent laws against
cow slaughter which is directed mainly against Muslims
and police will have one more weapon to harass them. I
am not saying that Muslims should eat beef; they should
renounce it voluntarily as Jami’at-ul-Ulama-i-Hind also
has advised them but anyway all cannot be compulsorily
stopped from doing so and even if they do not eat the
police will harass them. The law is very very stringent
and even dalits who too, eat beef, are opposing it and
in Hyderabad University these dalit students even
organized a food festival and ate beef in the University
Campus.
The M.P. Government also
has passed such law but also has been introducing Hindu
rituals in schools like Surya namaskar and others
and hardly cares for any religious sensitivity of
minorities. Thus wherever it comes to power it imposes
Hindu rituals over other religious minorities. Not that
there is anything wrong with Hindu rituals but question
is of others religious sensibilities and of imposition
against will.
Also, the Sangh Parivar
has hardly love for democracy. In Gujarat Hitler has
been glorifies in textbooks. In Rajasthan when BJP was
in power in class XI text book of social science is
Fascism was glorified and it was stated that fascism
suits India as a fascist leader can take right decision
at right time. It is utterly shocking but true. I myself
drew Mr. Arjun Singh, the then Human Resources
Minister’s attention to it and he could not believe that
such a thing has been included in the Rajasthan text
book.
Fascism and Nazism are
strongly anti-minorities and highly intolerant of
religious pluralism. Such text books are anti-democratic
and go totally against our own cultural traditions of
pluralism and tolerance. It is anti-constitutional too.
Also, the Sangh Parivar has been inciting violence
against Muslims since the day one of independent India.
It has accused Muslims of being not loyal to India and
being pro-Pakistan. It treats Indian Muslims from
Kashmir to Kanya Kumari and label such accusations the
whole community which is grossly untrue.
With horrible massacres
like Gujarat in 2002 Narendra Modi refused to take any
responsibility, let alone express any regret and
apologies to Muslims for what happened with them in that
state. He, on the other hand, expects Muslims to forget
and go ahead. Instead of apologizing he pretended to
promote what Modi calls sadbhavna (communal
harmony) and he sat on one day fasts in several
districts of Gujarat. Muslims of Gujarat refused to fall
for his pretensions and despite all efforts they did not
take part in his sadbhvna rallies except the
Bohra Muslims whose head Syedna Muhammad Burhanuddin is
placating Modi for his personal vested interests (The
Syedna has huge income from various mausoleums and waqf
properties in Gujarat which goes unaccounted).
Now Narendra Modi’s rival
Mr. Sanjay Joshi is accusing him of organizing communal
riots in Gujarat in 2002 to retain his chair. Mr.
Joshi’s supporters put up a poster which said “I am an
RSS member, I don’t sell purchase land, I don’t do
genocide for power, I don’t change my color for power
(reference to sadbhavna rallies)….The supporters
of Modi all were wearing Sanjay Joshi mask on their
faces as Narendra Modi’s followers did (wearing Narendra
Modi masks) on the eve of last Gujarat assembly
elections.
Keshubhai Patel, the
former Chief Minister has also come out and attacking
Narendra Modi and is appealing to his Patel biradari to
rise against Modi and defeat him in coming assembly
elections. This is the condition of BJP which one
claimed while the Congress is a party with differences,
BJP is the Party with difference. Now the shoe is on the
other foot. It is the BJP which is a party with
differences. It is as corrupt, if not more, as
Congress. It supports Anna to defeat ‘corrupt Congress’
and Anna and his team obliges BJP by targeting only the
Congress and keeping absolutely mum about corruption in
BJP.
Whatever if BJP is
desirous of Muslim supports it has to first of all
apologize to Muslims and the nation for demolition of
Babri Masjid and allow Babri Masjid to be reconstructed
at the plot where it once stood. Also it should compel
Narendra Modi to apologize to Muslims for organizing
their genocide in Gujarat in 2002. Also the BJP should
convince the nation and Muslims that it would not resort
to communalism and communal violence and would not
betray the nation this time round in any case.
This also cannot wash away
BJP’s sins but at least pave way for reconciliation and
we altogether – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians,
tribals and all others can raise our Indian nation and
make it peaceful and prosperous. It should also
apologize to Christians for organizing riots in Kndhamal
district, Orissa Then only we can become a true nation
without any distinction of religion, caste and creed.
The minorities then will
surely give BJP a chance to come to power and prove its
worth and that unlike in seventies it would not betray
its promise. And if BJP really apologizes the minorities
would magnanimously forgive and forget all that happened
in the past and go ahead. This is what happened in South
Africa and Satya is very much part of our Indian
culture and forgiveness too is our precious heritage. If
at all BJP is proud of our rich cultural heritage it
should not mind following this course.
A superficial approach
like promising Muslims to salvage their waqf properties
as suggested by Shri Nitin Gadkari will not attract
Muslims to the BJP fold. For more than 60 years they
have suffered at the hands of BJP and its politics of
communalism. Only salvaging waqf properties is not going
to do the trick. And let BJP leaders be also reassured
that the Congress will also be not be able to use fear
of BJP to get Muslim votes. Its communalism will also be
exposed and it will also have to work hard to woo
Muslims. It would then be real competition between two
great parties to bring about great unity and solidarity
between all people of India – the ultimate goal of our
politics. Long live our nation and our unity!
***
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