Author: Lalit Koul
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: January 27, 2005
URL: http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/28koul.htm
Secularism Zindabad!!! Secularism
Zindabad!!! Secularism Zindabad!!!
Wonder, why this sloganeering? Well,
why not? We are after all the proud citizens of our great country and we
should once in a while remind ourselves that our country was founded on
the basic principles of secularism.
So please join me in saying it aloud:
'Secularism Zindabad.'
Now that we are done with the sloganeering,
let us get back to the ground and the realities therein.
Where is secularism heading towards
in this great country of ours? Do we really practice the concept of secularism
that our Constitution refers to?
The Preamble of our Constitution
starts as:
'We, The People of India, having
solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular
Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression,
belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity
of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation...'
So, does the government make every
effort to uphold this Constitution in letter and spirit? Does it make sure
that its policies are driven to maintain the secular fabric of India? Unfortunately,
not.
What have we, the citizens of India,
done to make sure that secularism stays and flourishes in India? Sadly,
very little!
What has the media -- the fourth
estate -- done to make sure that every citizen of this country, irrespective
of his/her religion gets a fair deal? Inexcusably, nothing.
If the government, the citizenry
and the fourth estate are not doing anything to secure the secular fabric
of our great country, where does that leave us and our future generations?
We have experienced numerous examples
of horrendous governmental policies that go against the basic tenet of
secularism. Secularism means 'the view that religious considerations should
be excluded from civil affairs or public education.' It also means 'a doctrine
that rejects religion and religious considerations.'
But how many times have we really
seen it being actually practiced in the policies of this or the past governments?
One latest example of the United
Progressive Alliance government's anti-secular policies has been the decision
by the human resources development ministry to remove S K Pandey and M
K Kaw from their respective posts of director and chairman of the Srinagar-based
National Institute of Technology.
Since this latest move by the UPA
government is related to the domain of Kashmir, it is very detrimental
to the secular basis of our country and thus the national security of India.
This act of replacing these two top officers of the institute, without
justifiable reasons, demonstrates the continuing appeasement policy of
the UPA government towards the majority community in Kashmir. By taking
this shocking decision, the UPA government has once again succumbed to
the diktats of the majority community in Kashmir and confirmed that it
cannot appoint any member of the minority community to the top posts of
such prestigious institutes.
In a country that is constitutionally
based on the concept of secularism, such decisions based on racial considerations
are nothing but violation of the law. One only needs to read the letters
published in recent editions of the vernacular press in Kashmir to see
the venomous attitude of majority community members towards one of these
two officers from the minority community. This definitely is another way
of ethnic cleansing of the minority community in the valley, the recent
wave of which started in Kashmir way back in 1989.
By succumbing to the blackmail tactics
of the majority community in Kashmir, the government is setting a very
dangerous precedent in the Kashmir valley. If this policy of appeasement
continues to be the fundamental policy of this government, it is only a
matter of time before every appointment to central governmental posts in
Kashmir will have to be ratified by its majority community chieftains.
In light of such policies being
practiced by the government, what should the mainstream media's role and
responsibility be?
The mainstream media needs to wake
up and be real about secularism. It has been so far practicing pseudo-secularism
and that is a death knell for our country. It needs to live up to its own
responsibilities as a watchdog. We have plentiful examples where the mainstream
media has played havoc with the concept of secularism. It has most often
taken the side of the minority communities at the cost of the interest
of the majority community, all based on its convenience.
I am not against any community per
se. But in my opinion, the mainstream media's job is to be fair and balanced
and cover each community equally and fight for each community's interests
irrespective of its size and religion. Wouldn't that be being truly secular
in principle, letter and spirit?
What should the role and responsibility
of an Indian citizen be?
We, the citizens, always whine about
the unjust policies of governments. But is that whining enough to bring
about a change, a positive change? Does this whining absolve us of our
responsibilities?
NO. Simply, NO.
We, the citizens, need to engage
in meaningful protests as well as education of our elected representatives.
We all should protest against such high-handed policies of governments
that are unconstitutional and are against the national security interests
of our country.
We, the citizens, should write/speak
to our elected representatives and express our disgust and anger over any
such policy that is unjust and puts our national interests at risk.
We, the citizens, the electorate,
need to make it very clear to our elected representatives that their job
is in our hands and if we are not happy with their performance they will
be without a job after the next election. Every election has to be their
performance appraisal. Only then will these politicians learn and listen
to us. We all need to be the watch-dogs for our own national security and
survival.
So, my fellow citizens, would you
please stand up against each and every anti-secular policy of this and
all future governments? Would you please watch your elected representatives
(all the way from a panchayat in a village to the national Parliament in
Delhi) and their actions and how those actions affect the survival of our
great country?
Would you please watch the media
organisations and patronise only those that work for the welfare of our
great country?
Would you please realise your responsibility
towards our great country and deliver?
Would you, please?
It is now or never.
Lalit Koul is the publisher and
editor of Kashmir Herald (http://www.kashmirherald.com) and can be reached
at editor@kashmirherald.com
