HVK Archives: A working paper for the BJP
A working paper for the BJP - The Times of India
Jawid Laiq
()
22 June 1996
Title : A Working Paper For the BJP
Author : Jawid Laiq
Publication : The Times of India
Date : June 22, 1996
IN last month's confidence vote in the Lok Sabha the
Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee,
had said that Hindus were a majority with a minority
complex. If he were to look forward rather than
backward, Mr Vajpayee should now eloquently address the
BJP's national executive in the following terms :
We Hindus control every political party in our country
except for a handful of hapless one-man outfits. The
pride of nationalism so boldly propagated by the sangh
parivar has permeated Hindus of every political
complexion - from Congress and regional parties to the
Janata Dal and even the Communists. Many Muslims have
also begun to regard this land as their Bharat Mata. Garv
se kaho, hum Hindu hain is no longer a slogan. It has
become an integral part of our cultural and political
life that we are proudly a Hindu nation in spirit. Even
the most radical secularists acknowledge their Hindu
foundations.
Pride Revitalised
Hindu pride was revitalised on December 6, 1992, with the
clearance of the offending structure from Ram's
birthplace at Ayodhya. It is now time for us Hindus in
the BJP and the sangh parivar to set a dynamic, forward-
looking agenda which now must not be weighed down by
memories of Muslim oppression during medieval times or by
the pinpricks of a petty, moth-eaten state that is
Pakistan. As for the Muslims of India, they have been
further marginalised politically in the recent Lok Sabha
elections with the number of Muslim M.P.s in the Lok
Sabha going down by about half despite all the loud
noises made by the secularist brigade. The Muslims are no
longer a significant political factor. They are also not
a challenge or a threat in any other sphere of the
Indian nation's life - economic, social or
administrative.
There are no Muslims among the country's top 200
industrialists, and in the highest level of government
administration, the IAS, only three per cent of the
officers are Muslims. According to data based on the
National Sample Surveys (1988), only 3.7 per cent of all
those who received government financial assistance
for starting businesses were Muslims, and only two per
cent of those who received industrial loans from the
government were Muslims. In the educational sphere, just
1.6 per cent of all graduates were Muslims and four per
cent of those who received high school education were
Muslims. (According to the 1991 census, 12.6 per cent of
India's population is Muslim, 81.5 per cent is Hindu and
5.9 per cent is composed of Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists
and others.)
Such a marginalised Muslim community cannot
conceivably pose a credible threat to any quarter of the
nation's life. There is no reason for Hindus to feel
insecure. The BJP together with all the sangh parivar
must lead Hindus in escaping from the psychological trap
of being caught in Muslim issues or reacting to every
little incident involving Muslims. If Muslims wish to
remain entangled in their medieval marriage laws, or if
Kashmiris choose to keep Kashmir industrially backward by
retaining their exclusive landed property
regulations, let them do so till they wake up of their
own accord.
The banning of cow slaughter is a non-issue. Most states
have already banned cow slaughter and it should further
be banned nation-wide. There is no opposition to banning
it among Muslims; most of them eat buffalo or goat meat
anyway. As for Bangladeshi immigrants, most poor Indian
Muslims are against the illegal inflow as it increases
the pressure on Indian Muslims seeking scarce jobs and
resources. Care should, however, be taken in not wrongly
identifying Indian Muslims as illegal Bangladeshis. The
Mandir issue is the only serious point of contention.
However, if the sangh parivar can provide solid
protection to the persons and property of Muslims in the
near future, they are very likely to give up any claim to
Ramjanambhoomi.
Hindus Dominate
With these issues out of the way, there is very little
left to squabble about except ancient historical and
psychological hang-ups. Hindus now clearly dominate this
ancient land. We must now act and behave as the confident
and assured majority, and not as an insecure minority. If
we still have some grievances against Muslims, let us be
benignly neglectful and ignore their petty barbs.
The Indian nation and its voters are looking for a
nationalist, honest party which can govern firmly and
wipe away the tears of malnutrition, ill-health,
illiteracy and joblessnes,- which afflict four-fifths of
our people. If the BJP can push this economic and social
agenda with the same fervour and conviction that it has
pushed the nationalist agenda, it would be assured of at
least 320 seats in the next Lok Sabha election doubling
its achievements in the recent elections.
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