Author: Pramod Kumar
Publication: Organiser
Date: April 2, 2006
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=124&page=27
Minorityism is nothing but vote-bank politics
and it will not benefit the minorities at all, rather it will further deteriorate
their condition. It was the unanimous outcome of a day-long seminar on Minorities
and Minority Rights. The seminar was organised by India First Foundation in
association with the Chetanya Kasyap Foundation in New Delhi on March 19.
Noted jurist Shri L.M. Singhvi, former Lok Sabha general secretary Shri Subhash
C. Kashyap and Shri Arif Mohammad Khan were among the prominent speakers at
the seminar.
Initiating the discussion on "Minorities
and Minority Rights: The Supreme Court and the State", noted columnist
Shri S. Gurumurthy called for an extensive and intensive debate on the interest
of minorities and the concept of secularism in India. He described the majority
and minority phenomenon as "the fight between those who believe that
god is one and those who believe that there is only one god." He cited
the recent resolution by Kerala Assembly seeking release of Madani, who has
been charged with killing more than 59 innocent people and also plotting for
murderous attack on former Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition,
Shri L.K. Advani, as the extreme height of minority appeasement.
He said theoretically, secularism has nothing
to do with the majority-minority issue and also with the special minority
rights devised under the Constitution. "Secularism defines the character
of the state as a religion-neutral institution. But, unfortunately, in the
Indian debate on secularism, the issue of minority rights has been constitutionally
confused with and politically linked to the secular character of the Indian
state," he said and added that a secular democratic state knows only
one identity for its people that is all citizens with equal rights. Quoting
the Encyclopaedia and the Supreme Court judgment, he further said there could
be no comparison between Hinduism and any other religious faiths. There is
no organised or evangelical Hinduism, consequently, there is nothing in Hinduism
that makes it conflict with any other faith.
Shri Gurumurthy said the distorted relations
between the majority and the minority in India call for an extensive debate
on the issue. He stated that constitutionally provided special rights to the
minorities had evolved out of the complex of pre-Partition history of intrigues
and manipulations of the Muslim leadership and the British against the Congress
movement, which was identical with the Hindus. "Politically, the special
rights given to minorities and also the various bounties provided to them
are justified on the touchstone of secularism, which according to the Supreme
Court judgment seem to be unrelated to each other. This has actually turned
the concept of secularism into a matter of minority appeasement in politics,"
he said.
Shri L.M. Singhvi described Mahabharat as
the greatest constitutional granth of Indian civilisation. Quoting Bhisma,
he said no religion is superior to humanity. He described secularism in India
as the earliest form of Indian traditions. He said the word dharma symbolised
duty and not any religion. Negating the belief of some faiths that claim that
only those who profess their way of worship will get salvation, he said, Indian
ethics ensure salvation for everyone, and "India" must remain first
for every Indian.
Shri Subhash C. Kashyap said the supreme power
in a democracy lies with the public and not with the government. "But
unfortunately people today do not want to exercise their power and continue
to beg as they used to do during the British period," he said. Coming
down heavily on the political parties, he said their one-point agenda is to
grab power by hook or by crook.
Lashing out at the media and a section of
the society, Shri Arif Mohammad Khan said first they provide undue patronage
to fundamentalists and then complain that it adversely affect the Ganga-Jamuni
culture of the country. Quoting Quran and the Prophet he said separatism has
no place in Islam and the Prophet had himself directed Muslims to be faithful
to the country in which they live. He said the resolution seeking the release
of Madani by Kerala Assembly has not been passed on the demand of common Muslim.
He also termed the phenomenon of taking benefit of reservation based on religion
as anti-Quran. He also said the decision of Gandhiji to support the Khilafat
movement was wrong.
Speaking on the birth of minority rights in
India, Shri K.N. Bhat, senior advocate of Supreme Court and a leading expert
on the Constitution and constitutional laws, said the real concern of the
Constituent Assembly was to avoid discrimination against minorities and not
conferring any special rights on them.
Citing Article 25 of the Constitution, Dr
Jitendra Bajaj, noted scholar, said the Sub-Clause (b) of the Clause 2 of
this article takes away from the majority the freedom provided by Clause 1
to all. He said the clause allows unlimited interference by the State in the
religious affairs of the majority in the name of social welfare and reform.
Referring to the misuse of the Clause by several governments he cited the
poor state of affairs in several Hindu temples that have been taken over by
the government in different parts of the country. He said Hindus could not
even perform proper pooja in those temples and money offered to the deities
in those temples was being misused.
Shri T.H. Choudhary, who has been in forefront
of exposing the 'pseudo-secularism and the 'communal' face of their practitioners,
said one-third of India has been lost; Hindus are expelled and ethnically
cleansed from that lost land and in the remaining parts of the country they
are under siege. Shri J.S. Rajput, former chairman of NCERT, said India is
today in the grip of a group of people who wants to pollute the education.
Well-known columnist, commentator and former MP, Shri Balbir K. Punj conducted
the proceedings of the first session. Shri Dina Nath Mishra, founder president
of India First Foundation and former MP, said the preparations for the seminar
had been going on for the last three months. About 200 distinguished personalities
of Delhi were present on the occasion.
The Sangh welcomes any campaign for national
unity
Statement of RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S.
Sudarshan issued from Nagpur on March 13
The baseless speculations by a few newspapers
involving my name regarding the visit of Shri Lal Krishna Advani to Nagpur
on March 10-11, have deeply pained me. The Ahmedabad-based correspondent Ajya
Umat, whose report was carried by The DNA of Mumbai and later it was taken
up by the Dainik Bhaskar of Delhi and a few other newspapers, without contacting
me, Shri Mohanji Bhagwat or Shri Advaniji and sitting in Ahmedabad released
a fabricated report about this meeting in Nagpur. Refuting the whole news
report I say that the conclusions mentioned in that report are totally untrue.
During his visit to Nagpur, Shri Advani came
to Sangh Karyalaya, had meal with me and later had a discussion with Shri
Mohanji for about 45 minutes. The second day he attended the Amrit Mahotsava
ceremony of an old and dedicated worker Shri Diwakar Dhakras of Nagpur as
chief guest, where I was also present as an audience. At the press conference
held in the evening when he was asked as to what he discussed with Sarsanghachalak,
he said, "I normally go to the Sangh Karyalaya every time I visit Nagpur.
This time also I went there on March 10, had meal with Sudarshanji and had
discussion as usual. Three days back also when he came to Delhi I had a discussion
with him at my residence." When asked whether it means that the relations
with the Sangh have improved, he said, "I never had any strained relations
with the Sangh."
After this reality, if somebody drives any
fabricated conclusion out of it, it only means that there are some vested
interests behind releasing such news.
As far as the rath yatras by Shri Rajnath
Singh and Shri Advaniji are concerned, they are with the objective of cautioning
the countrymen about the dangers of Muslim appeasement to the unity and integrity
of the country, and there is no question of Sangh opposing it. The Akhil Bharatiya
Pratinidhi Sabha of the Sangh has also adopted a resolution expressing concern
over this danger. The Sangh always supports any activity aimed at making the
society aware of the dangers to the unity and integrity of the country.
Yatras not against minorities
-L.K. Advani
"We are not campaigning against minorities.
This should be understood by all. Today, I feel a campaign against minorityism
is necessary to caution the government that the vote-bank politics is not
only dangerous for the country but also not in the interest of minorities
itself," said Shri L.K. Advani, Leader of Opposition while speaking at
the seminar. Terming the minority appeasement as petty vote-bank politics,
he said the appointment of Sachar Committee purportedly to count the number
of Muslims in armed forces provocated him to take such a step in this regard.
He said even Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was opposed to reservation for minorities
after independence saying that it would lead to isolation. Shri Advani cited
religious reservation for Muslims in AMU and Andhra Pradesh, amendment in
Foreign Act to provide patronage to Bangladeshi infiltrators, appointment
of Sachar Committee, resolution in Kerala assembly seeking release of Madani
and the recent Banerjee Committee's report as the strong incidents during
the last two years of UPA rule that purely indicated the minority appeasement.
"All these incidents prove how low-level politics can be resorted to
appease minorities. This is not going to benefit the minorities at all,"
he added. He said during the NDA government they took four steps against terrorism,
which include mobilisation of world opinion against terrorism, pressing Pakistan
to deny use of their soil for terrorists, busting the modules of ISI in the
country and formulation of POTA.
