After the 2019 General election results, the ‘secular’ gang termed it as the end of ‘secularism’ in India and beginning of the formation of a majoritarian state or a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. The winner from the other side of the political spectrum, Narendra Modi, also interpreted the result as the end of ‘secular’ politics, though both the interpretations were done in completely stark contexts. However, if the events in the last one and a half months are anything to go by then it is as big fake news as ‘Dara Hua Musalmaan‘ (frightened Muslims).
There should be no doubt that the mandate was against the decades-old politics of Muslim appeasement and was for the revival of old Indian civilization values. However, if the indoctrination of so many decades could have been whisked away by the result of one election then the world would have been a much happier place. After crying for a few days and holding eyewash meetings to discuss the reasons for such a mandate, the opposition and the ‘secular’ ecosystem is back to its old ways.
The hate crimes against Hindus are being hidden away as was the case before 2019 while the fake hate crimes are being created on a daily basis where Muslims are being shown as victims. It is almost a deja vu kind of feeling for the attentive citizens when soon after the 2014 results, a spate of hate crimes were reported against churches in the national capital which turned out to be fake later on.
Though mainstream media tried its best to not report the hate crime from the Chandani Chowk but when forced to, they tried their best, as usual, to downplay the incident and portray Hindus as the perpetrators. In short, the narrative of ‘Dara hua Musalmaan’ is not going anywhere and same is the case with ‘secular’ politics. ‘Left-Liberals’ have started considering the extremist elements of the Muslim community as their ‘brothers from another ideology’ and they are going to defend them tooth and nail just like they do with Stalin, Lenin, Mao, or Maduro.
So, given this context, the obvious choices that an average Indian citizen is confronted with are whether to see India as a Secular Nation or a Hindu Rashtra and what should each one mean?
India can remain a secular nation but the meaning of secularism cannot be same as it had been till now or as it is practiced by ‘left liberals’ all over the world. In the west, raising concerns against illegal immigration (mostly by Muslims) is enough to be branded as racist and xenophobic; asking for tough action against terrorism is enough to be branded as Islamophobic; or speaking for reforms in Muslim community is enough to be branded as controversial.
In India, the secularism that has been practiced till date is nothing but Muslim appeasement, specifically appeasement of Muslim extremist groups, and rabid Hindu hate. Support anything Hindu and you are a communal person; bash anything Hindu and you are a secular one. Secularism meant to keep common Muslim men and women poor, backward and under the clutches of Muslim clergy which exploited them to the hilt for their own personal benefits.
It did not matter that this kind of politics has led to the creation of No-go zones in the heart of the Paris city; that 1400 teenage girls were exploited in UK for 30 years; that voices demanding sharia law in western countries are getting louder day by day. It did not matter that thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were killed and thrown out from their ancestral homes in the Kashmir valley; it did not matter that Hindu families are being forced to migrate en-mass from multiple places in the country. Not this and thousands of other instances – nothing matters.
If this is the secularism that ‘secular’ gang wants to practice in India then my apologies but those days are over. Secularism would have to mean equality for all; it has to mean nation above religion; it has to mean doing what’s right irrespective of religious considerations; it has to mean the superiority of national laws above religious teachings; it has to mean abiding by the law at any cost. If we are ready to practice this kind of secularism then I am pretty sure people of India would have no problem in being a secular nation.
If it is the old ‘secularism’ that ‘secular’ gang wants to continue then people of India should consider the option of making India a Hindu Rashtra. When I say Hindu Rashtra, it includes people from all the faiths who conform to the teachings and values of ancient Hindu civilization be it Parsis, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Tribals, Jews, Christians, or even Muslims.
Under such a state, extremist and fundamental groups should be reduced to the category of second class citizens where they will be tolerated owing to the fact that India is a democracy but would neither be respected nor would be mainstreamed as it is the case now and certainly would not be allowed to take law on their own hands in the name of faith and religion.
In such a state, religions are not tolerated as is usually the case in a secular state but are respected and celebrated. Religions themselves are open to reforms and change according to the need of the time.
If one were to look at it, whether India becomes a true secular nation or a Hindu Rashtra, it does not make much of a difference as Hindu ethos are by nature secular. However, both the situations seem like a pipe dream given the stranglehold old ‘secular’ gangs have over the civil society but there is hope as the common men have rejected them twice now and this time even with a bigger slap on their faces than the last time but alas, they refuse to listen.