09) BJP GOVERNMENT MISDEEDS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

 

By Baldev Padam

 

            The long wait of Hindutva (Hindu Nationalist) elements to assume political power ended last May when BJP leader Narendra Modi won a majority in India's Lower House. With a few smaller parties, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance government in Delhi. The NDA is a coalition in name only; the BJP rules the roost. Its electoral tactic to alienate India's minorities from the Hindu majority to pocket the latter's votes succeeded over the ruins of the country's pluralism and communal harmony.

 

            The BJP election manifesto nowhere mentioned the creation of a Hindu Nation. But its promises of a "uniform civil code" and abrogation of Article 370 of India's Constitution pointed in that direction. In order to recognize the diverse practices followed by Hindu and Muslim communities, like marriage, separate laws were enacted long ago. The BJP government now wants a "uniform civil code", which would mean gross interference in their personal laws, complain leaders of the India's Muslim community.

 

            Similarly, Article 370 gave a degree of legislative autonomy to Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority province. Soon after assuming power, some of the BJP's over‑enthused but raw ministers announced plans to remove this Article, inviting much criticism, including from Omar Adullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.       Tampering with such provisions would legitimize the apprehensions of minority communities about the BJP's intentions to turn India into a Hindu‑dominated state. Those anxieties weren't baseless; turning egalitarian India into a Hindu Nation was the goal of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) movement, the BJP's mentor. But this was easier said than done.

 

Two prong strategy

 

            The country's constitution christened India a secular, socialist and democratic republic. A large section of Indians, Hindus included, always detested the division of communities and neighbourhoods on grounds of religion, particularly after suffering the pangs of partition in 1947. To surmount such hurdles, the BJP has adopted a two point program of action.

 

            First is to try to amend the Constitution by deleting the word "secular". But the BJP lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House), and is unable to muster the requisite number of provinces to change the constitution. So PM Modi has given a clarion call to the people of provinces where assembly elections are going on, to give the BJP a majority to implement its plans. In hot pursuit of one party rule, the BJP has discarded alliances, even with their decades‑old Hindutva ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, and in Haryana severed ties with their partner HJC (Haryana Janhit Congress).

 

            The second course is to ignite Hindu religious passions, a strategy that succeeded for BJP President Amit Shah in May. Hundreds of communal riots erupted in Uttar Pradesh state alone after Modi assumed power, and Gujarat again witnessed riots while the PM was in the USA to woo investments. Modi's tweet, "If anyone touches my Muslim brother or sister, I won't be sitting idle," looked hollow. Actions speak louder than words for BJP!

 

Modi's US Visit

 

            Controversies follow Narendra Modi wherever he goes, and his recent US visit was no different. The media in America and back home interpreted his sojourn differently. Indian media, both print and electronic, said that Modi's charisma drew hundreds of fans to New York's Madison Square to accord him a rock star reception. His first address at the UN and his rendezvous with President Obama were highlighted.

 

            But international newspapers gave lackluster coverage. The New York Times reminded readers that a US court has issued a summons to Modi in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots. Other US media also reminded about the awkward juxtaposition of Modi's reception and his record of human rights violations at home. The Japanese media just ignored Modi's US stopover.

 

            Amnesty International USA had pressed for raising human rights issues, but U.S. officials made it clear that Modi had immunity as a head of government while on American soil. Such controversies, however, blunted the sheen of his U.S. stopover.

 

            The purpose of Modi's visit was to boost bilateral trade and court investment. However, he returned home empty handed. His tempting talk of a "Red Carpet" reception instead of red‑tape, or simplification of foreign investment regulations or a favourable tax regime, didn't cut much ice with American investors, who offered nothing in return. They are aware that the Indian Parliament always stood in the way of American investments, and their earlier proposals were resisted by opposition parties, the BJP included. US industrialists want a suitable law in line with Modi's assurances to be first passed by Parliament. That means Modi has a six‑month window, which could be stretched to the next budget, to show results. So far it's much ado about nothing.

 

Sway of RSS over Government

 

            The story of BJP rule until now is only of slogans and more slogans. The PM's promise of Achche Din (Good Times) is fast losing its shine. The nation is worried at what lies in store from this government, which pursues the politics of hatred and hoodwinking more than the economic reforms it promised.

 

            Putting DD (Doordarshan), India's official broadcaster, at the disposal of RSS chief Bhagwat to address the nation on the eve of Dusehra, a Hindu festival which is also RSS Foundation Day, was quite a new phenomenon. In his hour‑long broadcast, Bhagwat talked about his concern that illegal Muslim immigration into Assam, West Bengal and Bihar from Bangladesh had the potential to endanger the "Hindu society". Pleading for Modi, Bhagwat said that people should give more time for efficient execution of BJP policies. He pressed for a complete ban on cow slaughter and meat exports, and urged people to stop buying Chinese goods. The difference, if any, between RSS and Modi's BJP, disappeared. Both look like two sides of same coin.

 

            The Congress, SP and Left parties flayed the national channel for playing into the hands of the government and wasting taxpayers' money by allowing Bhagwat to propagate the RSS agenda of saffronisation, instead of pressing problems like poverty alleviation or fighting joblessness.

 

In the end

 

            Even so, many surveys show an NDA lead in state elections. Evidently the federal poll outcomes are still fresh in voters' memories, and Modi's tricks also play their part. For example, Modi showered praises on the Khap Panchayats (the most reactionary and backward village organizations, which stand against modernization and gave verdicts against women in Haryana and elsewhere) to get votes. "I bow before these khaps of Haryana," he told an election rally there, inviting loud cheers from party workers.

 

            But that isn't the end of everything. Peoples' struggle for their emancipation from tyrant regimes does ultimately bring positive results. It is hoped that Indians belonging to various regions, races or religions, and speaking different dialects, who together defeated British Imperialism in 1947, won't let the country fall into the hands of dictators and fascists in the 21st century. We are sure that the saffron clouds hovering over India right now can't stop the rainbow of secularism and socialism from appearing over the horizon. Let it be a temporary phenomenon, like a bad dream.

 

(The above article is from the November 1-15, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)