Mahatma Gandhi wrote in his autobiography:
“I have a horror of “isms” especially when they are attached to the proper names. Even if all that you say of me is true, it does not make a new sect. My effort is to avoid not only new sects but even to do away with old and superfluous one. Ahimsa abhors sects. Ahimsa is a unifying force. It discovers unity in diversity. All that you say is derivable from Ahimsa. To bring into being a new cult is repugnant to Ahimsa, to the very experiment I am making. Thus you will, I hope, see that there is no room for “Gandhism”.
(Excerpts from Gandhi’s Experiment with Truth: Essential Writings by and about Mahatma Gandhi by Richard L. Johnson)
Mahatma Gandhi had prophesied the perils of this so-called politically motivated ideologies years back. His punctuation of “isms” probably pointing towards the Secularism of today. The direction in which our country is heading, is corroborating Mahatma Right in every facet. The ideological variances between the Hindus and Muslims in India is perennial, but still, both communities were able to share a serene life back then. The Secularism dogma has started during the British era. From Nehru of the 1950s to the Owaisi of 21st century, every Secular politician has abused this and used as a trump card for their vote bank.
Before we advance into our discussion on Secularism, let us all welcome the new Secular country in the world, Nepal.
Gone are the days that Nepal was reigned by their Kings. The coercion and torture they faced by the Maoists ruling for decades led them to embrace the democracy. A great move indeed. Right? All political parties in Nepal decides to adopt a new Constitution for their country. The process started in 2006 and shipwrecked due to many reasons and natural calamities. After 2015 earthquake incident, they all have congregated and stepped up for a strong constitution establishment.
In September 2015, Nepal lawmakers were able to espouse the new constitution with an absolute majority of votes and pronounced themselves as a Secular country. The protests erupted across Nepal to oppose this Constitution, especially in the border areas. Why?
The Muslims Communities in Nepal oppose the adoption of Secular Constitution:
- “It is to protect Islam. I have opened my mouth demanding that Nepal be declared a Hindu state in order to protect my own religion,” said Amjad Ali, chairman of the Rapti Muslim Society, who is also involved in the protest programmes demanding a Hindu state in Nepal.
- CPN-UML CA member Anarkali Miya said she has personally experienced missionaries trying to influence people from other faiths to follow Christianity. “I believe Nepal should not adopt secularism. It will only create more problems in future”.
- There is a coup to divide Hindus and Muslims of Nepal in the name of secularism. To protect the historical heritage of Nepal, it is much needed to declare Nepal as a Hindu state. Around 80% of Muslims in Nepal has urged to declare Nepal as a Hindu state, claims Rashtravadi Muslim Manch Nepalgunj’s head Babu Khan Pathan.
- Udbudhin Fru, chairman of Muslim Mukti Morcha which is affiliated with the UCPN (Maoist), also admitted that there is a growing influence of Christianity in Nepal.
While the Muslims of Nepal can fathom the awful consequences of this, why the majority in Nepal and India turned deaf ears? First of all, why India is expressing concern over this. Let’s take a look at it.
Why India is not happy with Nepal’s move?
India fears that the Nepal’s new Constitution is not all encompassing and the violence that might arise in parts of Nepal could slick in our territory too. The division of states in Nepal into seven Federal provinces is creating the snags at firsthand. India’s apprehension has been with the fierce reactions to the constitution in the low-lying southern plains, adjoining India, the Terai.
Communities living in the Terai, especially the Madeshis and the Tharu ethnic minorities, have expressed concern that the proposed boundaries of the new provinces could lead to their political marginalization. The two groups make up nearly 40% of Nepal’s population and the Madeshis share close ethnic ties with people in India.
India’s concern is genuine because whatever happens in the Terai will spill over into India. So the violence is really worrying. India shares a 1,751km (1,088-mile) open border with Nepal through which people pass freely but which has often concerned the country’s security agencies because of its use by smugglers, human traffickers and terror suspects.
In terms of amending and framing their constitution, they just couldn’t implement the Western Liberal constitution as India did years ago. They are not going to find any elucidation in the Western Liberal dogmata. The religions in the West or in the Middle East emboldens for a single religion hegemony, thereby, striking a fire of detestation between different religions. The Secularism just encourages the Fundamentalism.
Secular Media’s propaganda in India:
What happened in Dadri is tragic, if you go with the media updates. A Muslim man was dragged out of his house and lynched by an enraged Hindu mob because he stashed Beef at his house. That much abundant for our media to disgorge malice against the Hindus, and the Central government. The veracity is far ahead if you go with the report submitted by the UP government to the Central government. Foreign Medias are not staying behind in the race: Washington Post quickly picked up the news “A mob in India just dragged a man from his home and beat him to death — for eating beef”.
What followed after is a domino effect. Some unfamiliar Author, Nayantara Sahgal, niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, decides to return her Sahitya Academy award that she was acknowledged it in the year 1986, to gripe against the Central government… sorry, Modi Led Hindu Government! She went on saying “India’s culture of diversity and debate is now under vicious assault. Rationalists who question superstition, anyone who questions any aspect of the ugly and dangerous distortion of Hinduism known as Hindutva — whether in the intellectual or artistic sphere, or whether in terms of food habits and lifestyle — are being marginalized, persecuted, or murdered.”
One of the Secular Journo Rajdeep Sardesai tweets this:
When I ask Nayantara Sahgal why she didn’t return award during previous attacks/riots, she says: this is diff, now we have a Hindutva govt.
The incident cited above is just the tip of an iceberg. The Secular dissent is much abysmal than we can ever envision. They’re patronizing the Hindus and sending wrong messages to the people.
The tangible Secular pacification materialized during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure. The vote bank politics was the prime aspect back then. This was the case of Sha Bano. She filed a criminal suit in the Supreme Court of India in 1978 against her husband Mohammed Ahmed Khan who triple talaaq’d her a.k.a divorced her, in which she won the right to alimony from her husband. However, she was subsequently denied the alimony when the Indian Parliament reversed the judgment under pressure from Islamic orthodoxy. They cited Qur’an to show that the judgment was in conflict with Islamic law.
This event elicited a hullabaloo about the extent of having different civil codes for different religions, especially for Muslims in India. The Rajiv led government passed a resolution act – Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, which diluted the judgment of the Supreme Court and, in reality, denied even utterly destitute Muslim divorcees the right to alimony from their former husbands.
Ostensibly, the majority of India was horror-struck at this biased conduct of Rajiv government’s inkling of amending the Constitution to have a discrete divorce laws for Muslims. To coalesce the Hindu community, the then Rajiv’s government ordered to open the gates of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The mother of all problems started from then on. Rings a bell? The gap between Hindus and Muslims has amplified further after this incident. The Secular taskforce will tirade only on the demolition of Babri Masjid, but never in their wildest dreams are they going to mention the reason behind the Ram Mandir temple opening.
Hey Secular morons, care to debate on Uniform Civil Code?
The obnoxious face of Secularism has turned out to be a mere opportunistic itinerary. When questioned about religion, these Seculars brings the Constitution and says “Our Constitution is final, and it is our holy book”. When you question them about the Constitution, they bring the whole kit and caboodle right from Ambedkar to Dalits. The same was palpable in the case of Yakub Memon’s execution. He was executed as per the Indian Constitution. But for them, it is the Human rights violation. Salman Rushdie’s book ban is one more such illustration that we can reminisce here.
In conclusion, we ought to ask Nepal, do you really need this kind of Secularism in your country? You might not have witnessed this kind of events in your country yet, but for sure, being a Secular country, these things are bound to happen. You end up belligerent for your own rights. You start to apprehend the true facades of Secularism. The Hindus are pragmatic about the “Religious Tolerance” since many decades in both countries. Religious tolerance is “when people allow other people to think about god(s) in ways that they do not think are true. They endure religious beliefs and practices which are different from their own beliefs or lack of beliefs.” We Hindus follow the age old maxim of Sanathana Dharma, which says, “Ahimsa Paramo Dharma”. Regrettably, Seculars are making a mockery of it. We Indians, wish all the best for Nepal. I rest my case here. Jai Hind.