The ‘victimhood’ complex, especially among Muslims, ignores all the positive aspects of secularism, and feeds on isolated incidents of violence against the minority, which have always been condemned by the majority community even at the cost of self-flagellation
One of the most outrageous and unpalatable suggestions dished out during the recent heated debate over the execution of Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon was that people from the minority communities were being selectively chosen by the ‘Hindu majoritarian’ Government at the Centre to hand out such harsh punishment. Unfortunately, this extremely dangerous argument was lapped up by the social media, sections of the media and intelligentsia and many self-proclaimed leaders of the minority communities.
To begin with, criminals are criminals and they cannot be and should not be identified with any religion, caste, creed, language or race. Second, the aforementioned argument also falls flat in the face of statistics which states that of the over 1,400 odd executions that have taken place in the country, a little over 70, which is roughly 5.15 per cent of the total, were Muslims.
Third, of the three executions that have taken place in the last couple of years, one was that of Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national, who was provided with all opportunities to defend himself under the Indian law and, thereafter, sentenced to death. The other was Afzal Guru, a conspirator in the notorious attack on Indian Parliament, the temple of democracy, which claimed the lives of several security personnel, who too availed all possible legal options while in the case of Memon, one saw the unprecedented sight of the Hon’ble Supreme Court sitting past midnight till the wee hours to take a final call. This has perhaps happened nowhere in the world.
Yet, the critics, who swear by their faith in Indian judiciary, did not spare even the last institution of hope for majority of Indians, when it came to playing the blame-game against the Government and catering to crass sentiments. Notwithstanding the wise restraint exercised by the print and electronic media in not playing up the hugely attended funeral procession of the executed convict in Mumbai, social media played spoilsport with sympathy for him pouring from all over and reflecting the ‘angst’ against the Indian state.
Surprisingly, sympathy for Yakub Memon was reflected even in the Kashmir valley, which has generally avoided empathy with ‘Indian Muslim causes’ and vice-versa. The highlighting of alleged atrocities against Muslims in India by certain journalists belonging to from the national media during the recent Srinagar Media Summit, thereby perpetuating the hackneyed narrative that minorities are unsafe in Hindu majority India, is indeed a worrisome trend wherein the ‘Islam in Danger’ slogan is now being propounded not just by semi-literate mullahs or radical outfits but the educated intelligentsia within the community, whose influence in the society, particularly among the impressionable and vulnerable youth far outweighs that of the communal clerics.
This growing ‘victimhood’ complex turns a blind eye to all the positive aspects of secularism and nurtures itself on isolated incidents of violence against the minority, which have always been outrightly condemned by the majority community even at the cost of self-flagellation. These critics also tend to ignore the fate of the minorities in Muslim majority countries where they are persecuted, harassed, tortured, forcibly converted, brutally raped, killed and made to flee the country. From Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan to Yazidis in Iraq to Bahais in Iran and Coptic Christians in Egypt, instances of minority prosecution in Muslim countries are galore the world over.
Coming to the Modi Government, which is often accused of practising majoritarian politics, it has left no stone unturned in its efforts to secure the lives and protect Indian citizens across the world, whether it be the rescue of Father Alexis from Afghanistan or of nurses (mostly Christians), truck drivers (mostly Sikh) and other workers(mostly Muslims) from the strife -torn West Asia.
In a categorical enunciation of his commitment to genuine secularism as against the pseudo secularism practised by previous regimes, in February earlier this year, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the church leaders that every citizen had the right to follow any faith without coercion and vowed to protect all religious groups in India. “My Government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence. My Government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly”, he had asserted.
When allegations of rapes and attacks on nuns, churches and Christian schools levelled against Hindu groups and subsequent protests by minority outfits and Opposition both within and outside Parliament hogged the national headlines, the Prime Minister personally intervened expressing his deep concern and sought immediate report on facts and action taken regarding the incidents including in West Bengal.
Ironically, and to the discomfort of his opponents, it was subsequently revealed, not by any Central agency but the police of the Opposition-ruled West Bengal that the culprits involved in the March 14 Ranaghat nun rape case were of Bangladeshi origin and had nothing whatsoever to do with either the BJP or the Sangh parivar. Most of the ‘Church attacks’ in Delhi turned out to be the handiwork of petty thieves and criminals while some Muslim boys were found responsible by the police of the Samajwadi Party ruled Uttar Pradesh for the much publicised attack on an Agra church. No individual even remotely associated with the parivar was found involved in any of the reported attacks.
Unfortunately, it has become fashionable for Modi baiters who have been unsuccessfully trying to pin him down since the 2002 post-Godhra violence in Gujarat to exploit every opportunity to project him as a communal, fascist, polarising figure. Any acts of violence against any section of the society, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, language, region or religion needs to be squarely condemned and no civilised Government, which has sworn to uphold the constitution, can tolerate it.
But the problem begins when the response to such attacks becomes not only vicious but also politically motivated. If the critics of the Government see a ‘pattern’ in the attacks, the pattern in the response too is not lost on the discerning viewer/listener/reader. The ‘pattern’ in the criticism emerges when one sees the BJP and the Sangh parivar being targeted irrespective of whether it is in power or Opposition. In power, it is allegedly trying to pursue its agenda and while in Opposition, it is allegedly polarising the situation to acquire power.
From Nellie to Hashimpura to Bhagalpur and Delhi in 1984, some of the worst massacres in the country took place when the BJP did not exist or even its earlier avatar the Jan Sangh was not in reckoning for power in any State. Who engineered those riotsIJ WhyIJ Why is it that the Aam Aadmi Party activists were at the forefront at a Christian protest ahead of the Delhi Assembly electionsIJ Hasn’t the Kejriwal tapes proved that the AAP also tried to cash in on the same demonisation of the BJP to woo minority votesIJ Isn’t it possible that such incidents are being orchestrated and then blown out of proportion to give a bad name to the GovernmentIJ Otherwise, why any sane Government in its right senses will allow such nonsenseIJ The nation seeks answers.
Unless they are politically motivated, the minorities on their part should shed the complex of victimhood and march shoulder to shoulder with their fellow countrymen as equal partners on the path of progress and development. Only the motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and justice for all, appeasement of none can be the real guarantor of genuine secularism in India.
(The author is a senior journalist based in New Delhi)