In India, communal polarisation has been an age-old phenomenon. Partition is believed to be an important event in the history of India which polarised the minds of the people to a certain extent. But after Independence it was in the subconscious mind of the framers of the Constitution that the identity of India from then onwards would be unity and diversity, and tolerance as the biggest strength of India.
But thousands of communal riots since Independence and political aspirations continuously harmed the social fabric and cultural ethos of the country to a point of no return. The spirit behind the concept of unity and diversity is gradually vanishing and now India has become an intolerant society. Political aspiration behind communal polarisation has been the major factor which has vitiated the socio-political culture of India.
India gained Independence but communal polarisation has failed the idea of India which was formulated by the framers of the Constitution. It is high time to introspect what we have gained from communal polarisation and what we have lost as a result of it. Communal polarisation, no doubt may give some short-term political benefit but in the long run it is most likely to damage the spirit of our Constitution and the very Idea of India as envisaged by the framers of the Constitution. Hate and divisive agenda has weakened the fundamentals of our democracy and its important institutions.
According to Prof. Muchkund Dubey, former Ambassador, Indian Foreign Secretary, administrative head of the Indian Foreign Service, Government of India and national president of FDCA (Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity), “Communal division has now widened conspicuously. All those who have fought to bridge this communal divide are saying it and the divide is getting wider and wider. A large number of foreign countries and agencies have interest in our country. Divide is perceptible mainly in few forms and one of it is the rights of minority communities, particularly 200 million Muslims are being violated in many forms and ways. Secondly, their life and property is being jeopardised. They are increasingly feeling insecure in their own country. They are also feeling and saying that there is erosion of their identity based on their religion.”
Prof. Dubey added, “The law and order authority of the government is being deployed to suppress them when they try to air their grievances or fight against injustice and arbitrariness. This has become quite evident with the police playing its role in the course of the implementation of some of the legislations that have been adopted recently, which encroach upon the private domains of the minority communities. Very recent example is that in the process of collecting donations and mobilising support for the construction of Ram temple, there have been kind of pressure and as a result of which there have been instances of even violence taking place. It is not something which is happening at random but it is deliberate, well planned and concerted. It is planned because it has been on the agenda of the ruling party for long. It is concerted in the sense that there seems to be understanding on what the central government will do and the state governments ruled by the ruling party will support.
“There are two purposes behind it. One is that it is a kind of missionary tool ‘communalism’ being used to come to power and remain in power and consolidate themselves in power. That’s why we hear the slogan of ‘Congress-free India’ (Congress-Mukt Bharat). Secondly, this is more fundamental and of deeper concern that it is an attempt to realise the ‘tortured’ and apparently ‘untenable dream’ of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in India. The development is only used by the ruling class as a varnish to brighten the ugly face of communalism,” said the former diplomat.
Prof. Faizan Mustafa, Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and a noted constitutional expert, expressed concern, saying that today such an atmosphere has been created in the country that the slogan of Jai Shri Ram is chanted in the Parliament. He said, “Religious sloganeering on such occasions, whether Jai Shri Ram or Allah Akbar, is against the Constitution of India and any such religious division should be avoided. Now it is the job of the politicians to get power, and to get power they do all kinds of things. That’s why democracies are dying in the entire world. What we saw on 6th of January 2021 in the United States, should serve as a very serious warning to all modern democracies that just to have elections doesn’t mean that a democracy is successful.” Prof. Faizan Mustafa pointed out that democracy is good but majoritarianism and hate for others is not good.
“Today many people argue that secularism was debated but was rejected. It is true, because the framers of the Constitution thought that it is so obvious that it need not be stated specifically in the Constitution. Similarly, federalism is not in the Constitution but the Supreme Court has said that federalism is the basic structure of the Constitution. The words judicial review and separation of powers are also not there in the Constitution. But all of them have been held to be the basic structure of the Constitution. Through 42nd amendments in 1976 the word ‘secular’ was inserted. The Supreme Court in 1973 itself had said secularism is the basic structure of the Constitution. Why then when we had all the powers and justified reasons to make India a Hindu Rashtra?” he argued.
“If you have hate for others and if you polarise your society, it is not good. Today the danger of democracy is not from bullet but it is from ballet. Political parties are not performing the duties of the gatekeepers of democracy. They are nominating people on top position who can polarise,” said Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University.
“Communal polarisation is doing great harm to India. Communal polarisation is a weapon of exploitation. When India was made a secular country, it was part of the vision of the framers to make India a secular country because they wanted to create equal citizenship, equal society. This decision to make India a secular country is the part of a decision to make India a democratic and welfare country. If India becomes a Hindu Rashtra, which is a design of few people in power now then India will lose its identity and democratic credentials,” said Justice A K Ganguly, who is also state president of FDCA West Bengal.
Justice Ganguly added, “What is secularism in the Indian context? Our secularism is not the secularism we think of in the American constitution as a clear separation between Church and state. We are, on the other hand, fostering the idea of secularism for having equal respect for all religions. And the Constitution has given powers to the state to usher in social reforms in order to get rid of religious superstitions. Indian ethos is made of multiple ethos; one cannot equate Indianism with Hinduism. If you do that, you will completely rob India of its diversity, cultural and linguistic diversity which is recognised in the Constitution.”
In the prevailing atmosphere, the role of judiciary becomes very important. It is the only institution that guides the government in governance and can ensure that the spirit of the Constitution is implemented by the government of the day to protect and preserve secularism and democracy. Justice Sukumaran, president of FDCA Kerala, while highlighting the peaceful co-existence of people of all faiths in Kerala, emphasised teaching of the judiciary functioning by saying that Justice Krishna Iyer and Justice Mathew were absolutely secular in their outlook though one belonged to the majority community and the other to the Christian community.
On the impact of rising communal polarisation, Salim Engineer, Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and national general secretary of FDCA, said, “Communal polarisation has widened the gap between societies and communities, created animosity, enmity and suspicion among citizens. It has impacted communal amity and it has weakened the society in many ways. As a result of it, society, economy, business, trade, progress and growth of the country is impacted. Communal polarisation has divided the society and vitiated the peaceful atmosphere. Such atmosphere impacts judiciary and justice delivery mechanism, while government becomes partisan. The marginalised and weaker sections are devoid of their rights and other things. A sense of insecurity prevails among them. However, everything gets impacted in one way or the other. It hampers the growth of the country. It has weakened the democratic and constitutional values and damaged the core strength of the democratic institutions.”
On the way forward, noted social and human rights activist, Professor Ram Puniyani, who is also state president of FDCA Maharashtra, said, “The hatred against religious minorities have become very deep, which has to be countered and the forums created for peaceful purposes should play proactive roles to preserve and protect the social fabric of India. We have to save our democracy and we have to ensure that the future of our country does not go in dark tunnel.”