INDIA is a country that prides itself on its secularism. But some of its aspiring lawmakers are proving anything but secular in their bid to win votes by pandering to the anti-minority prejudices of the masses.
Granted that most of those for whom such messages are meant do not normally read printed columns such as mine. What is alarming is the degree of acceptance of such divisive discord along racial, religious or ethnic lines.
A case in point is some statements made recently by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Setting aside the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, the book of religion for Hindus, Varun Gandhi sought to manipulate voter fears and insecurities by raising the Hindutva flag.
In a country with a sizable Muslim minority as well as Christians and others of different faiths, such inflammatory rhetoric will only raise inter-communal tensions. The BJP, which has sponsored Varun Gandhi’s candidacy, was initially supportive of his rhetoric, first by its silence, and then by its apparent unwillingness to pursue this violation of election code any further.
A meeting of senior BJP leaders held at L.K. Advani’s official residence following Varun’s infamous speech decided unanimously to back Varun Gandhi to the hilt. The BJP leaders were clear on rejecting Election Commission’s advice to the party to drop Varun Gandhi from their list of Lok Sabha candidates. They stated that such a move would have an adverse impact on the party’s core Hindutva constituency.
There were many calls of condemnation following such a brazen speech. Members of his own family belonging to the Congress party rejected his messages. His cousin Priyanka Gandhi told reporters during a visit to her mother’s Lok Sabha constituency, Rae Bareli, “Well, it may be very sad to see him saying those comments on the television and what can I say? I’d advise him to read the Gita properly and try to understand it properly.” His remarks were against the principles that her family had stood for. She wasn’t the only family member to criticize Varun Gandhi for his comments.
Nayantara Sehgal, the niece of Jawaharlal Nehru and Varun’s grandaunt, too said she was shocked. Speaking on television, Sehgal stated, “I was very shocked because I think it has struck at the very foundation of our republic; it was a speech which would inflame public hatred for other community and I was extremely taken aback that anybody would make an election speech like that.
“The media have concentrated on his Nehru connection; I think that in such a situation it is irrelevant because he broke off the Nehru connection when he joined the BJP. If you stand for what Nehru stood for then you don’t join the BJP and if you join the BJP then that’s the ideology that you have adopted for public announcements. So referring to a Nehru connection is not relevant under the circumstances.”
Varun is seeking the votes of masses, and in some regions the masses are not very well informed about the global necessity of India hanging on to its secularism. Instead, they fall prey to such discordant oratories delivered from the electoral pulpit by hopeful politicians seeking to arouse the fears of voters.
Looking back at some of the more volatile periods in Indian history, a trend is apparent, one that clearly identifies politicians as the driving force behind the discord among communities separated by religion or ethnicity. This is the discord that led to the massacre in Gujarat or the bombings and razing of mosques and temples.
Despite all its internal problems, India now stands dominantly on the world stage. But that stature could be a very fragile one if politicians like Varun Gandhi can successfully peddle their message of hate and divisiveness to the voters. They may gain some votes, but India would have much to lose.
