Almost all key leaders flaunt their secularism by sending a token symbol to Ajmer Sharif
Amid big fat Indian weddings and the threat of a new Covid-19 variant, December 6 passed off this year without anyone recalling its communal history. Undeniably, the threat of a new pandemic wave also appears to have considerably subdued the Ayodhya wave. Nevertheless, some political attempts were made to keep the Ayodhya issue alive. For instance, new train services for free pilgrimage of senior citizens to Ayodhya. The communal drive was virulent when the Ayodhya issue flared up in the early 1990s and led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. It would be wrong to assume that at that time, every Indian Hindu and Muslim was involved in communal rioting. Rather, a substantial percentage of the people chose to keep distance from the same. A decade later, when the Gujarat riots took place, it is noteworthy that it was primarily confined to that state only. During this period, people in other parts of the country were not provoked into similar communal rioting. Clearly, this conveyed a strong message. It was not easy to weaken the secularism of the community in the country. Of late, attempts have been made by certain individuals to prevent Muslims from reading Friday prayers at few public places in Gurugram. It was met with some criticism of right-wing functionaries for indulging in such behaviour. Equally important is the offer of a Hindu of his premises for Friday prayers and similar offer made by Sikhs of their places of worship, the Gurdwaras. Communal incidents at Gurugram have been in the news since September. The hard reality of such incidents taking place as crucial elections approach cannot be ignored. The Ayodhya issue can no longer be viewed as a communal bomb that it once seemed to be. Against this backdrop, what can politicians gain by playing upon people's religious sentiments over Ayodhya? Of course, constitutionally, they have as much right to be as religious they desire. After all, India is a multi-religious, secular country. Besides, most politicians indulge in display of their religious as well as secular images for political gains. Almost all key leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flaunt their "secularism" by sending a token symbol to Ajmer Shareef every year.
When it is election time, substantial importance is given by most in the electoral race to publicise their visits to temples and other religious activities. Well, this is India. Considering that these moves are being indulged in when the vicious virus is sending distress signals from all directions and several crucial state elections are approaching, certain political sections are probably hopeful that the Ayodhya plank will be of some help in distracting people's attention from real national issues. Will it? That is the million-dollar question. Be that as it may, a decline in the nature and frequency of communal rioting across the country cannot be missed. Those who still remain pessimistic about success of Indian secularism need to pay serious attention to this reality. Yes, there lurks a fear that failure of concerned politicians and officers to take strong action against extremist, communal elements is likely to encourage the latter to continue with lynching activities as and when it pleases them. Well, over past two decades, the manner in which secularism has frequently raised its head only indicates that it should not be expected to bow down before communalism. That December 6 has practically ceased to bear communal overtones is just a mild indicator of this trend.
(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.)