2

Apr

Growing Intolerance and Deepening Communal Divide

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A close-up of a person with glasses AI-generated content may be incorrect.As I sit to write my column the first day of the Hindu new year coinciding with the start of the Navratri, which is marked by the arrival of the first Goddess Shailputri, words are failing me to express deep anguish and concern over the state of affairs in the country and my State of Uttar Pradesh.

Incidentally, Navratri coincides with Eid-ul-Fitr this year, with Gudi Parva in Maharashtra and Goa, Ugadi in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra, Cheti Chand by Sindhi, Puthanadu in Tamil Nadu, and Navreh in Kashmir also falling in this period time to celebrate and worship.

Some communities in Manipur welcome the Hindu New Year by celebrating Sajibu Nongma Panba, which means the first day of the month of Sajibu. People celebrate the occasion with much fanfare and get together with their extended family to enjoy food together.  

In this pious period, my concern for the coming years and younger generations is troubling me. What kind of India will I leave behind? The idea of India, which evolved during Mahatam Gandhi's led freedom struggle which got its guarantees in my only Holy Book Constitution, is dead or we will fight back to preserve it restoring its sanctity. All citizens born and brought up in our country have equal rights and duties irrespective of their faith, caste or background, so said our Constitution.        

Hate is rising, and minorities are living in a state of fear, though a section of minorities, particularly the Muslims, express anger at their predicament. Our society and country appear to be slowly drifting towards politico-economic and socio-economic uncertainty and instability with dark clouds, impending chaos adding to anxiety about the future. At the same time, a Specter of global recession is looming large on the horizon, haunting citizens across the globe.     

 

Column at a Glance
As the Hindu new year begins alongside Navratri, the author expresses deep concern over the rising hate and socio-political instability in India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. The coinciding celebrations of various festivals highlight cultural diversity, yet the author fears for the future of the nation and its younger generations. They lament the erosion of the inclusive ideals enshrined in the Constitution, noting that minorities, especially Muslims, live in fear amid a growing atmosphere of division.
Wednesday Wisdom
By Satish Misra
The author criticizes political leaders for fostering hatred rather than unity, drawing parallels to historical examples of societies that succumbed to division. They question the intolerance within the majority Hindu community and call for compassion and dialogue, urging leaders to address violence and societal rifts. In this reflective period, the author emphasizes the need for collective responsibility to prevent further societal decay and global conflict.

 

National, regional, international and social media is replete with depressing information with leaders like US President Donald Trump, Chief Ministers like Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Phadnavis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many central ministers, MPs and MLAs raising issues in public domain that have least to do with economic growth or economic and social wellbeing of people but are more aimed at arousing hatred in society. Dividing people rather than uniting them is the new political instrument that today’s ruling political leaders seem to have perfected to remain in power. A binary of Hindu-Muslim is the leading theme today in which the narrative is being set using unconfirmed and partial truth to aggravate the social divide.

My knowledge gained after decades of academic rigor and experience earned by watching and following the Indian and world’s history, including personal interactions with many top leaders, has taught me that no society or country can prosper without social peace and amity. Hatred-driven societies are destined to doom. Human history tells us categorically that hate has never triumphed, and countries like Germany, Italy and Japan, whose leaders in the period before the Second World War captured political power by dividing societies between ‘we’ and ‘they’, paid a heavy price with millions losing their lives in the war.

When I hear saffron cladded leader like our Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath giving a call for recitation of Ramcharit Manas in all “Devalyas” or temples, I wonder what is happening to us or other leaders from BJP giving a call that Muslims should not hold Namaz on streets while permitting the majority community to take processions during Ramnavmi or other festivals often ending in communal riots or fights, I shudder for tomorrow. Yogi Adityanath, in my frank opinion or view, should not have been in politics as the awe and piousness which used to be evoked in me during my childhood leaves me listening to his command to state authorities or law enforcement agencies. “Thonk do” or bulldoze a house of the alleged criminal whose crime is yet to be established, which violates the rule of law, seems to be gaining legitimacy in popular perception despite the apex court disapproving such actions.

Have we, the majority Hindu community, become so intolerant that we have stopped thinking of our brothers and sisters of minority communities? Unnecessary controversies are sought to be created on disputed or contested facts of history. Will digging or removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s grave give us economic growth in return? Or for that matter, whether Rana Sanga invited foreign invaders to come to then India or not, though India did not exist politically in that period. Yes, we had a cultural notion of Bharat then but then this land mass in which we are living today consisted of many kingdoms and principalities.                                  

Where has compassion gone? Our Prime Minister, to date, has not even spoken against mass violence or street lynchings. He has avoided paying a visit to strife strife-torn state of Manipur to apply balm to the wounds of the people of the state. Such a response or behaviour of our elected leaders only deepens the growing hate in society.

Often enough, I hear that such forces are rising across the world, so what is wrong with us? Have we become copycats of Trump’s America or Marine Le Pen’s France? I see an axis between Hindutva forces, Israel and Supremacist White US forces emerging against Islamic faith.

Let’s brood during this pious period about emerging dangers to humanity. Let us not shelve our responsibility to prevent the outbreak of another World War. Let’s pray for the welfare and wellbeing of people across the globe and particularly in our country.

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