The Human Resource Development Ministry under the most honourable Shri Arjun Singh has recently added another sparkling feather to its "secular" cap.It may be true that the thousands of reforms to improve the Education System suggested by Educationists are gathering dust in the files of the HRD Ministry but the HRDM has accomplished most urgent reform(the reform of all the reforms,so to say).The emblem of the Kendriya vidyalaya Sangathan under the Ministry of HRD,designed nearly 43 years ago during Congress regime,contained a large lotus,the rising sun and a Sanskrit slogan in it.While successive Govts at the Centre understood the meaning and significance of the contents of the emblem and the appropriateness of the slogan and continued with it,ArjunSingh perhaps saw an opportunity to please his Itallian Mademoiselle.Thanks to his enthusiastic intervention,the "lotus"has now been taken away from the emblem and is replaced by somethingelse.What a victory,Mr.Arjun!You have really vanquished the mighty Kauravas with an all powerful arrow(Brahmasthra?) from your Gandeepam!By removing the lotus you have annihilated the "communal"forces from the land of the "secularists".
"Secularism"--no word in the English lexicon has perplexed the lexicographers worldwide so much as this magic word!In a very broad sense we may say that "secularism is what the secularists do!"Long ago, some economist defined 'money' as 'money is what money does!'Secularism is the antonym of communalism.All believers of Islam are secular and all "kaufers"(read all others) are communal.If an elected govt. dumps its minister and reverses the Supreme Court judgement in the Shah Bano case, it is just acting in a secular way.When V.P.Singh wooed Shahi Imam of Delhi,When the Kerala Assembly passes a resolution seeking Madhani's(accused in the Coimbattur blast case) release,Mr.Lalu Prasad Yadav hailing the (temporary)lifting of the ban on SIMI by a designated court,the Congress,the SP and the BSP pledging support for Abu Bashar of Azamghar,the bid to modernise 'madrassas' by supplying computers to make their inmates 'computer-savvy', et-al are only secular actions under the Indian semantic rules.But ofcourse VHP,BJP,Bajrang Dal etc are communal organisations and even "Bharat mata ki jai" is considered a communal slogan in that jargon.
In a secular country hundreds of crores being spent as subsidy for Haj Pilgrims,is perfectly understandable.The 14-page e-mail sent before the Delhi blasts may start with a quotation from Holy Quoron and the "merchants of death" may describe the massacre of innocent people as "holy war"---all these are permissible in secularism.Even the the remark of a congress big -weight comparing the Hindu-Christian clashes in Orissa and Karnataka to the serial bomb blasts, isperfectly understandable.
At the same time one should not think of the following as acts of even the semblence of terrorism:
1.Congress consents to Partition of the country
2.Congress govt. reverses the SupremeCourt judgement on Shah Bano case.
3.Demolition of temples and the forced eviction of Hindu pandits from the land of their own.
4.Revocation of land allotted to Amarnath Shrine Board with an eye on the vote bank.
5.the move to demolish RamSethu with the support of the "self-respect"group.
6.Permitting forced religious conversions through fraud and bribes.
7.Permitting the vulgar display of Hindu Gods and Bharat mata by M.F.Hussain in the name of "freedom of expression"(condemning vociferously the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet by a foreign magazine,is a different thing).
8.Our cheap politicians indirectly justifying terrorist activities as natural manifestation of a wronged group.Infact,if terrorist activities are the outcome of the "Hindu oppression"(even for argument sake) ,then why are the terrorists active in Pakistan which is not a Hindu country and so there can be no "Hindu oppression"?
If anybody is still thinking of the provisions in the Indian Constitution that 'secularism' means giving equal importance to all religions,he is at his own risk!May be to the powers that be,"all religions are equal,but the minority religions are 'more equal' than the majority religion and that "pampering the minority and hampering the majority" is the most acceptable meaning of 'secularism'.Who can say that secularism is an "enigma" anymore?
Twenty years on.
3 years ago
6 comments:
Spot on!!! I wanted to blog something on this, but you have managed to do that before me. You haven't included the latest achievement of that SOB Arjun SIngh - Defending the Terrorists in Court, jsut because Jamia University had named one of the buildings in their Campus after him!!!
You have to read the book "The Islamist" by Ed Hussain, its a very intense read and has got pretty rave reviews. I have just placed my order for a copy online. The book is available at Landmark. Do get it when you find time.
"If you hate Hinduism, you are called secular" ~ Narendra Modi (on how the meaning of secularism has been changed in India).
S.R.Kannan alias 'Bhagwan'concurs with the views of Juggernaut on Modi's definition of secularism. .He also opines that Modi is fittest person (much more than L. K.Advani)to the post of Prime minister.He alone can be a "simha Swapna" for the so-called Pseudo-secularists.He will only maintain India's dignity and image in International scene.
Mr Bhagavan's views are shared by most of the countrymen (including me). But I think 2014 general elections will be the right time for Modi.
For now, it is Advani for 2009 :-)
The same old story of the Congress party projecting its philosophy of Pseudo-secularism to appease a section of the population. The lotus is much older and sacred and it is an integral part of the indian ethos from time memorial. It cannot offend anybody if it is an emblem of any political party.
-R.krishnamurthy
In a country where every damn politician wants speedy justice in every case,why is the mercy/clemency petition of Afzal Guru the terrorist convicted to hanging for the attempted blasting of Parliament,still kept pending?just because he is fortunately a Muslim?And his hanging will cost the ruling coalition its Muslim votes?
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