Secular enough to be divisive

The last 18 months of the Congress-supported UF government have been a harrowing experience for the country. Not so much because of the UF leaders’ relative inexperience at governance. But because the Congress, as a part of its power games, kept the country on tenterhooks, by not allowing the government to settle down even for a day. Apparently the Congress wanted to convey a clear message to the country let us govern or you will have no governance at all. The secular-communal divide was created merely to camouflage and in some ways reinforce this message. What the Congress doesn’t seem to realise is that if the choice is between a `communal’ government and a secular non-government, the country would without any hesitation plump for the former, sick as it is with the latter.

It is nobody’s case that the BJP does not have a communal agenda. In fact the BJP itself would not like to be branded secular, except, of course, nominally, to fulfill the constitutional requirement. Its apparent role in the demolition of Babri masjid does remain a black spot on its face. Its government in UP did not bat an eyelid in committing contempt of the highest court in order to further its communal agenda.

But it should also be remembered that the BJP has shown the capacity to rise to the occasion and responsibility once in power. Indeed the Congress record on the secular front is nothing to be proud of. In its 45-year rule, the Congress has tried to systematically emasculate the Muslims economically and culturally. One device used was the encouragement of the obscurantist elements and their appeasement with backward-looking laws. Another method used was police action against Muslims wherever they showed signs of joining the national mainstream and as a result getting somewhat prosperous. As far as the Babri episode is concerned, the Congress culpability from the beginning to the end simply cannot be denied.

The Muslims are looking forward to a period of peace and communal amity in most parts of the country where the Congress is not in power. In Congress ruled Maharashtra, of course, Muslims were systematically disenfranchised and harassed, while an attempt was made to blame the forces of Hindutva for this harassment. In any case it is futile to blame the Hindutva mobs for large-scale killings of Muslims. Why did these killings take place, by and large, only when and where the Congress was in power? There must be something really sick about this secular, liberal, enlightened party. The Hindutva mobs, of course, play their part. But they cease to be effective when the Congress is out of power.

If an outright secessionist outfit like the DMK can turn into a responsible political party once entrusted with power, there is no reason why the BJP would not govern the country effectively and responsibly if allowed to come to power. Treating it as untouchable is making a joke of democracy. Its attempt to join the national mainstream should be respected. This is the message that the Congress rank and file itself is giving to the party. A number of UF constituents, too, are trying to convey the same message. Let us hope the Congress-UF leadership listens to the message and interprets it correctly. Let the 1998 elections be an occasion for a grand reconciliation rather than further division of the country.