In the run-up to the 2016 Assam Assembly election, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is playing the language card to polarise votes. He must know that this is a dangerous game. Such parochial politics should be firmly opposed, as it is harmful for our democracy
Ever since India gained independence, it has witnessed many violent protests over linguistic causes. In 1953, Andhra Pradesh was the first Indian State to be created on the basis of language, and it saw many violent protests. After Andhra Pradesh, there were violent agitations in Tamil Nadu against the Hindi language. This was such a fierce movement that many Union leaders could not muster the courage to enter the State at that time.
The only leader who had the courage to face the anti-Hindi protesters was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She was a Union Minister at that time. She went to Tamil Nadu, held talks with the protesters and successfully defused the situation. The protests subsided.
In the run-up to the 2016 Assam Assembly election, it is Congress leader and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who is playing the language card. Mr Gogoi must know that he is playing a dangerous political game. In a recent statement, Mr Gogoi said that Hindi-speaking leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to “invade” Assam and destroy its language.
In support of this outrageous allegation, Mr Gogoi pointed to the fact that Assam BJP in-charge Mahendra Singh had mis-pronounced the great Vaishnav saint from Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva’s name, as Baba Sankardeo. He cited a few more such examples and said that a “befitting reply” will be given to those who want to destroy the Assamese pronunciation.
Note that this is the statement of a leader who took oath of office under the Constitution of India. Given that our Constitution does not allow discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour and language, how can a Chief Minister of a State utter such venomous statementsIJ What is of even greater concern here is that Mr Gogoi governs a State which has a long history of ethnic violence. And perhaps, it comes as no surprise then that Hindi-speaking people have been targeted time and again in Assam under Mr Gogoi’s watch.
Recently, an 18-year-old female and her father were killed inside their house because they were Hindi-speaking individuals. Before that, 13 Hindi-speaking people were murdered in broad daylight, when militants of the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, led by Ranjan Daimary, went on a killing spree in northern Assam. What happened to the murderers is still not known.
It will be fair to say that Mr Gogoi is sentimental and touchy about the State’s language and its pronunciation, but that does not give him the license to spread hatred against the one set of people of this country just because they speak a different language.
Notable, Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu questioned Mr Gogoi’s statement in Parliament during the recent debate on Constitution Day. In response, Mr Gogoi’s son and Member of Parliament Gaurav Gogoi pointed to Assam Governor PB Acharya, who had recently said that “Hindustan is for the Hindus”. Such finger-pointing among politicians has now a regular practice. It has to stop. The Chief Minister’s statement was a glaring example of the politics of hatred. The nation has to think about this seriously.
Noted Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar wrote, “The question of language is not a cultural question only. In special situations, it connects to politics and impacts the freedom and sovereignty of the country.” Dinkar said this when South India was burning over the issue of language. At that time as well, politicians were spreading hatred against the Hindi language. The entire country was witness to the gruesome result of that linguistic hate politics.
Such politics was also pushed by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray for almost three decades. But, of late, the voters of Maharashtra have started rejecting this type of politics. When Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray tried to push that line, he failed miserably — first in the parliamentary election and then in the Assembly election in the State.
In fact, it is possible that the upcoming Assembly election in Assam, during which the State Government may face a strong anti-incumbency, is what compelled Mr Gogoi to make the anti-Hindi statement — in an effort to polarise Assamese votes. As per the last Census, there are about 59 per cent Assamese-speaking voters in Assam compared to five per cent Hindi-speaking voters. Still, Mr Gogoi’s statement is highly objectionable even if one factors in the election season compulsions. Moreover, it makes one wonder if even after three consecutive terms, Mr Gogoi is sensing discontent among the voters of Assam and has hence started the dangerous game of linguistic polarisation.
Perhaps, he should be reminded of the fact that the Hindi language has a long history of acceptance in the North-East. There is enough evidence to show that the rulers of North-East States have used Hindi. For example, Manipuri coins have been found with Nagari script inscriptions. Also, in 1890, when the British filed a case against Manipuri General Tikendrajit Singh, all the paperwork was done in Hindi. Even his Manipuri leader’s statements were recorded in Hindi.
Notably, many of the ‘progressive’ writers and thinkers who made a hue and cry over the statement of Governor Acharya had nothing to say about Mr Gogoi’s assertions. Many of these intellectuals routinely write against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its so-called divisive politics on social media. They, however, maintained a stoic silence on Mr Tarun Gogoi’s divisive statement. In fact, those who tried to make ‘intolerance’ a national issue, also knowingly avoided the Chief Minister’s statement.
In doing so, they have exposed their hypocrisy. This tribe of writers always create hullabaloo when any anti-minority statement is made. However, when the majority community is targeted, they are silent. Chief Minister Gogoi is playing with fire and indirectly provoking anti-Hindi sentiments in Assam. This should be fiercely opposed by all who love their country. Politics of hatred is harmful to our democracy.
(The writer is a television journalist with IBN7)