SYDNEY, 30 July — The Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling coalition has brought a Muslim into India’s highest office in the Rashtrapati Bhavan to rebuild India’s deteriorating image as a secular nation.
From the demolition of Babri Mosque to the brutal anti-Muslims violence in the western state of Gujarat, the world has witnessed the systematic obliteration of Muslims and their heritage.
The new president, DR. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam spelt out his vision of a resurgent India. He committed himself to upholding constitutional processes, an unflinching commitment to secularism, national security as a priority and the elimination of poverty and unemployment.
Kalam is the 3rd Muslim president. He originates from a poor family of boat-makers in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and is known as a workaholic. He has served as a professor for Anna University.
He is a strong backer of New Delhi’s nuclear program. He was one of the key figures who executed India’s nuclear tests in 1998. 71-year-old Kalam’s loyalty to his country is exemplary, his vision and ambitions for a developed and fair India is admirable. The question that troubles many is “will he have autonomy apart from his constitutional freedom to fulfill his dreams of India as a developed, civilized and unprejudiced society?”
The reasons the BJP and other Hindu revivalist parties chose Kalam as president was that he was the best option for the political pundits to save India’s image as a secular nation in Western eyes and not just to recompense him for his outstanding achievements in the country’s missile and space technology.
The ruling coalition and the opposition were looking to rebuild India’s poor image after the ruling BJP’s reputation was badly scarred from the brutal attacks on Muslims and Christians in parts of India.
Particularly horrific was the anti-Muslim violence this year by Hindu extremists in the western state of Gujarat. During the visit to Gujarat, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said, “Today it is a shame for us I have to go on foreign trips. What kind of image of India I am going to take with me?” By selecting Kalam both ends are achieved.
The decision to back Kalam by both the ruling and the opposition parties might be a good political move for India’s democratic system. However, choosing a Muslim who does not have any prior political knowledge or experience as president is just another political drama.
Their leadership openly talks about the annihilation of Muslims and their prime manifesto is the transformation of Muslim’s culture and heritage into Hinduism. Kalam may have sincere dreams for a secular India. The Hindu political pundits clearly intend to use Kalam as a secular symbol.
The intent of the Hindu leadership was revealed during the presidential speech by Kalam. During his address there was thunderous applause after many pronouncements. There was none when he talked about his “unflinching commitment to secularism which is the cornerstone of India’s nationhood which is the key to Indian national strength.’’
There was no applause either when he mentioned “internal conflicts’’ as one of the challenges facing India, when the events in Gujarat seem to have been on his mind. Kalam was supported because he orchestrated India’s missile program and he belongs to the largest minority of India, the Muslims.
Therefore the secular-based parities should have been the first ones to support him. However the two main left parties did not support Kalam. They had nominated their own, and the only opposing candidate, Capt. Lakshmi Sahgal. Lakshmi accused Kalam during the election campaign of not speaking out loudly enough against the riots in Gujarat, which left more than 1,000 people dead. It seems clear that the political agenda behind the election of Kalam is to benefit the BJP led coalition by using him as a ‘front-man.’ Behind the scenes, they will continue to implement a Hindu revivalist agenda exactly as they have recently done.
It may keep a few Muslim issues as small change to satisfy world opinion, but it is very unlikely Muslims will have any better life, representation or greater civil rights as a result.
Kalam may keep the road map for realizing the vision of a developed India and may have sincere dreams for developed and fair India. History will show that like the past two Muslim presidents, he will be another rubber stamp in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
(The writer is a Sydney-based freelance journalist and a political analyst)
