Communal strife and Hate Speech - a layman’s views

 

Communal strife and Hate Speech - a layman’s views                   

The very Preamble of the Indian Constitution opens with the sentence comprising of words like ‘Secularism’ and ‘Fraternity’and as such there should not be any reason to subscribe to the negative sentiments which lead to communal strife and upset the social fabric of the society. These are the very fundamentals of our polity and

society as stipulated in the law which needs to be established and nurtured with political will and constitutional morality. It is more so as we live in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious country; India that is Bharat. We the people of India willingly and consciously adopted this way of living in a democratic way since Independence in 1947.  The issues like India as a Hindu State, Akhand Bharat and any other such formulations was resolutely negated and rejected by our forefathers in the India’s new constitution. Fraternity and Harmony are the two catch words which would guide our ‘Tryst with destiny’ which we embarked upon on the mid-night speech on August 15, 1947 by the first PM Jawahar Lal Nehru and by the Chief Architect of the Continuation, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on November 25, 1949 in his last speech in the Constituent Assembly while referring to history that how did we lose our independence earlier in the past he said, “Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realisation of the fact that in addition to our old

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indian place the country above their creed or will they place creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood.”

 India has come a long way in transforming India into Bharat as visualized by our leadership, the Margdarshaks. India’s secular credentials do not give any space to ‘Majority or Minority’ in our polity and society and provide an equal status to all as Indians or Bhartiyas. We are to understand this clearly; sooner the better. My motivation to write my thoughts on the increasing communal strife in the recent years has come from the Supreme Court’s recent observations on ‘Hate Speech’, a much needed and desirable step to safeguard ‘national unity and integrity’ of India, if we want to remain on track to take India to its destination – a developed and prosperous country. I don’t think anybody in his or her sanity would disagree that, of late, the issues like; Hindu-Muslim divide, Hindu and Sikh fears on Conversion, Treatment of the weaker sections of the society, commonly called dalits, Majority Vs Minority, inter alia, have surfaced and all of us, consciously or otherwise, are made to follow the dictates of both political and religious leaderships having narrow agenda and vested interests. It is a dangerous trend. Let us admit this ground reality before we proceed further.

Supreme Court of India has taken note of  “hate speech’ which is the fountain head of increasing ‘communal strife’ in the country, much against the spirit of our constitution and the secular edifice of our polity. “Where we have reached in the name of religion and what we have reduced religion to is tragic,” an anguished Supreme Court

observed on October 20 and further added, “This is the 21st century! Article 51A of the constitution says we should develop a scientific temper” Holding that the Constitution envisaged a secular nation, the court directed the states to promptly register criminal cases against the offenders without waiting for a complaint to be filed. The apex court warned that any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on this “very serious issue” would invite the contempt of the court – Der Ayet Daroost Ayet. While the direction of the highest court of the land must be respected and appreciated, it would have been better if the courts decide to take suo-motu cognisance of ‘hate speech’ and direct the concerned law and order authorities to register FIRs against the offenders. It would serve as a much needed deterrent to stop this invisible enemy of the Communal Harmony in the country. The court has also rightly observed, “There cannot be fraternity unless members of community drawn from different religions or castes of the country are able to live in harmony.” Not long ago, Supreme Court also advised electronic media and anchors and the government to stop supporting and encouraging hate speech and said, it was the duty of an anchor “to see that hate speech doesn't continue the moment someone starts.” While commenting on how anchors fan hate speech, the Court said, “They are not being dealt with firmly. They can be taken off air, fined; if such sanction comes...Any anchor will have their own views and won't be divorced from the channel's business lines. What is wrong is people invited not being allowed to express their own view, being muted or run down. Their right is lesser than that of the listener.” Courts cannot do much, if the government of the day tends to encourage the so called free and fair media, popularly called, these days as ‘Godi Media’. This trend is the very negation of democratic polity and just society, the forebearers of communal harmony and fraternity.

Not that one segment of the society or any particular group of the majority or minority communities is responsible for the deteriorating communal harmony and fraternity; clapping could be done by both the hands. Of late, it has been observed that social fabric of the society is getting tattered by frivolous considerations unleashed either by design by the vested interests or otherwise by ignorance as societal camp following by the uneducated and religiously motivated masses. It is a dangerous situation and a big challenge not only to the democratic polity but also to a civilised society.

What is way out? These issues of hate speech, religious fanaticism, majority-minority syndrome, pseudo nationalism, real or perceived fears of conversion etc. need to be addressed on priority and with sincerity. No religion could be above the security and integrity of the country, over all well being and progress of the society, rule of law and constitutional morality. How this could be done? It is big question and my off the cuff and humble suggestions are:-

Majority-Minority issue should be dealt with sensitivity and mutual respect both by the government and the civil society respecting the secular credentials of constitutional arrangements and also the emotional aspects of the majority community; the main stream of the society. India that is Bharat is not a ‘Hindu State’ but from centuries together, it is called ‘Hindustan’. This fact cannot be ignored to respect and accommodate the sensitivities of ‘Hindutava’ elements. Similarly, the Muslim minority, as big as more than 200 million, made India as their home by choice in the wake of partition in 1947 on the premise of ‘two nation’ principle. They carry the ancestry and legacy of their forefathers who happened to be the rulers, good or bad is not the issue, not only as Muslims but Hindustanis too. The Hindu majority should stop taunting them of their religious lineage. What is their fault or crime in taking birth in a Muslim family? The Mughals came and assimilated with the main stream of the society and made Hindustan their home. They remained with the society in thick and thin and fought for the freedom of India standing and marching with Hindu brethren against the colonial forces like Portuguese, French and British. Much more could be written on this aspect but I stop here.

Muslim minority, in the larger interest of the society and going by the spirit of the constitutional set up and spirit, should stop harping and insisting on some of small irritants like Hijab, Madrassa, Ajaan, Muslim personal law etc. to integrate with the main stream of the society with open mind and magnanimity. I say so not to harm the identity of the Muslim community but to underline the fact these attributes or traditions are not prevalent or practised in the ‘Muslim World’ universally. There is no harm in going by the ‘Common Civil Code’ in a democratic set up.

Conversion is a ‘non-issue’, to my mind. It is a bogie. Generally, one remains what one was born. Only a microscopic fringe changes or converts due to various reasons; social, economic, political, and religious or let us says by coercive way. Why the majority Hindus with as large and mind boggling size, more than 110 crorers, should fear or worry? There is no point in making this an issue. Of late, it is surprising to note that even Sikhs are threatened by Christians, Hindus and Sikhs are threatened by Buddhists. Conversion has many aspects and one of major one, to my mind is caste and bias against the socially oppressed and depressed sections of the society. Instead of opposing conversion, it is desirable to address the social ills of society like caste system and graded inequality prevailing in the society. Conversion is a difficult decision and generally no one easily succumbs to go ahead. Let us introspect ourselves before raising this biggie.

Demographic imbalance is yet another non-issue. Of course, increasing population is a matter of concern which may be addressed in the national population policy, as deemed appropriate. But the flagging the so called imbalance and blaming the Muslim minority for this is not correct. By such non-issues, minority community gets threatened and defensive and tends to generate avoidable friction and strife. The fact of the matter is that undue population increase is an offshoot of ‘poverty and illiteracy’ as a vicious cycle. Muslim minority and dalits are on the receiving end. With their socio-economic empowerment, demographic imbalance would automatically disappear.

More such points may be listed to stem the rot in the communal harmony. PM Narendra Modi addressing a meeting in Gujarat to commemorate Sardar Patel said that ‘For India, its unity has never been a compulsion, but has been its uniqueness.’ He added, has “This unity of our country has been an eyesore for our enemies. Not just today, but for thousands of years and even during the period of our

slavery, all foreign attackers did whatever they wanted to do to break this unity,” He underlined and said, “Those forces are still prevalent, they want to make the people of the country fight in the name of caste, region and language, he said, adding that history is also presented in such a way that people cannot stand with each other.” Rightly so; we the people of India should be cautious and mindful of divisive forces in the name of ‘caste, religion and language’ as alerted by PM Modi. There is a rider, if I venture to say candidly, to the approach and thinking of the majority community and the currently ruling party in this regard. We should stop digging history which could not be changed and wiped out. We are to live with it and strive to make India strong and prosperous in the coming years perusing the lofty ideals of “Sab Ka Sath-Sab Ka Vikas-Sab Ka Vishvas”, the professed mission of PM Narendra Modi. I conclude this with a poetic assertion of Allma Iqbal:-

Hawaida  Aaj Apne Zakhm-e-Pinhan Kar Ke Chorun Ga
Lahoo Ro Ro Ke Mehfil Ko Gulistan Kar Ke Chorun Ga

I will surely exhibit all my hidden wounds today
I will surely change assembly to a garden with blood‐mixed tears

Jalana Hai Mujhe Har Shama-e-Dil Ko Souz-e-Pinhan Se
Teri Tareek Raaton Mein Charaghan Kar Ke Chorun Ga

I have to light every heart’s candle with hidden pathos
I will surely create bright illumination in your darkness

Parona Aik Hi Tasbeeh Mein In Bikhare Danon Ko
Jo Muskhil Hai, To Iss Mushkil Ki Asan Kar Ke Chorun Ga

If stringing these scattered pearls in a single rosary
Is difficult, I will surely make this difficult task easy