EDITORIAL

Saffron Octopus Ups The Communal Ante

VARIOUS developments during the course of the week clearly reveal a systematic effort being mounted to up the communal ante in preparation for the forthcoming elections in some  important states of the country later this year and the general elections next year.

Leading the list is the resurrection of the demand for the protection of the   cow.   The prime minister himself has led the pack of the RSS drumbeaters on this issue.  A private members bill has been moved in the parliament demanding an all-India anti-cow slaughter act.

It needs to be recollected that in the later part of 1966, a militant demonstration of "sadhus" stormed New Delhi leading to police firing on the demonstration.  Consequently, for the first time after independence, the BJP's earlier incarnate, Jan Sangh, won seats in the parliamentary elections in Delhi and came to control its municipal corporation in 1967. Capitalising on the popular disillusionment arising out of the anti-people Congress policies, the Jan Sangh entered into coalition governments of opposition parties in some states.  Clearly, the BJP is seeking to once again "reap" such electoral benefits. 

According to the Indian Constitution, the issue of legislating any such Act falls exclusively in the domain of the state assemblies. Many states in the country already have such a law in their respective jurisdictions. To enact a central legislation would require an amendment to the Constitution which cannot be anything but a severe erosion of the federal character and spirit of the Constitution. This is true notwithstanding the fact that the directive principles under Article 48 of the Constitution exhort the state's "to take steps, inter alia to prohibit the slaughter of cows".  The directive principles do not purport to alter the allocation of legislative topics and the consequent competence of the state assembly to legislate. 

Apart from the legal untenability of such a move, it must be clearly understood that the parliament cannot determine the dietary prescriptions of the Indian people.  Those who venerate the cow and elevate it to the status of a holy cow are welcome to maintain their sentiments.  And, the law of the land will protect these. The same law of the land will also protect the rights of those who do not subscribe to such an opinion.

Clearly, the issue is not one of constitutional legality or legislative competence. It is designed to exploit the emotions of the people for political electoral gains.   Ironically, it is these very gau rakshaks (cow protectors) who through the economic policies that they are implementing have turned out to be gau hatyare (cow slaughterers).  Having allowed unrestricted import of agricultural products into the country, especially dairy products, this Vajpayee government has created unviable conditions for those people who nurture and breed cows. Milk, curds, cheese, butter etc are being marketed by multinational corporations with dairy products coming in from the highly subsidised European and the US farmer.  Consequently, the domestic producer of these items is being driven to bankruptcy, despair and at times suicide!  When he cannot take care of himself, how can he protect leave alone nurture the cow? 

Concurrently, the issue of excavation at Ayodhya ordered by the Uttar Pradesh high court has been pounced upon by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to advance its agenda. On the one hand, its leaders opine that this has opened the way for similar claims at over 30 thousand places where they claim that mandirs have been destroyed.   Thus, the Ayodhya campaign is slated to be expanded beyond the traditional claimed disputes in Mathura and Varanasi.  On the other hand, the VHP leaders have also made it abundantly clear that in case the results of these excavations do not substantiate their claims, then they are not obliged to be bound by such a verdict!  The classic case of having a cake and eating it too! 

In any case, as emphasised elsewhere in the issue, such archaeological excavations do not have any bearing on the current litigation which deals with the title suit of the disputed land. The ownership of any property under the present Indian Constitution cannot be determined by antiquity!  It will be determined by laws governing modern India. 

No package of whipping up communal passions by the saffron octopus can exist without spreading hatred against the minorities. The Gujarat government is currently carrying out the survey of the Christians in the state says the All India Christian Council (AICC). It is on the basis of such surveys that the RSS and its communal hoarders identify their victims in riot situations.   The target for the next edition of a pogrom in Gujarat seems to have been identified. 

As events unfold, many other contentious issues that have the potential to rouse communal passions will all be raked up.    The RSS pratinidhi sabha has decided that its ideological mascot shall be Savarkar. His concept of cultural (read Hindu) nationalism is counterposed with Gandhi's Indian nationalism.  This is the only agenda left for this RSS-led government to retain sections of its social support in a situation of universal intensification of popular discontent.

Finally, keeping in mind this growing popular discontent, the government has, once again, rolled back its budget proposals by withdrawing the hike in fertiliser prices. This is being projected as the pro-farmer face of this government.  Indeed, if this were true, why were the hikes imposed in the first place?  The people will surely see through such perfidy and deceit.

It is, thus, necessary for us to recollect the ancient wisdom that has filtered down to us through the ages: "for the evil to succeed, the good only has to remain silent". 

The time has come for such silence to be broken.