" I don't have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white....." - BOB MARLEY.
So simply said and understood by the great Jamaican singer! Decades gone, yet these words are not so simply heard and followed.....India sowed the seeds of secularism long before independence but what we reaped is far from what was expected. True, democracy is a delicate plant, susceptible to many blights such as sectarian politics, political infighting, rigged polls, but we cannot expect much from the plant when the soil on which it thrives is itself diseased. Unproductivity ( read 'sub-nationalism'), absence of fertilizers (read 'illiteracy'), and most importantly absence of nutrients and water (read 'principles and poverty') are the preconditions for a failed harvest. We can't change history but we can, the perspectives. The platform on which secularism was based had been toxified by the bitterness and hatred that accompanied "the partition". Lakhs of people lost their lives and that too at a time when two countries were beginning a new journey. Much has been said and discussed about the parochialism of the leaders at that time and the sudden vacation of the British from the country, leading to a complete failure of law and order, something that was of utmost necessity while the largest ever human migration. Perhaps, if Viceroy Mountbatten had made Cyril Radcliffe's dividing line public atleast a fortnight earlier, much of the clashes and deaths could have been avoided. The result was that most of the people didn't know on which side of the border they actually belonged. Agitated mobs with survival instincts took to the streets with weapons killing anyone they found from the other community.
Perhaps these wounds in history resurfaces from time to time and still reminds us of the bitterness associated with the events and that which is ready to trigger an outburst whenever a sensitive issue related to religion is raised. Common sense would have us that leaders would do well to not give filip to such issues, given the fact that our literacy rates are still poor and the society is still grappling with the changes brought in my modernisation, add to it the superstious beliefs and religious fanatism accompanying it. The middle class is rising but with apprehensions which shows that the country is evolving and going thrugh the learning phases. It needs dynamic leaders, clean bureaucrats, proper social amenities - homes, hospitals, employment, educational institutions, industries, banks, roads, electricity etc.....all backed up by effective policies and their skillful implementation. India today, is seen as one of the prime leaders in the South Asian region leading a revivel for the ailing economy. But we must realise that being obsessed with GDP numbers and growth rate alone will not do. Neither would holding an Olympics Games!
So what then is the need of the hour?
Nationalistic attitude should repace the sub-nationalistic ones. The leaders need to reach out - they are the panacea to all social evils. I can't single out a leader who has so much of an unnerving nature to pull the masses out for a cause today. Except for political gimmicks, there is nothing new in them. Communal hatred is perhaps the worst evil vitiating the effects of secularism. The 'Ayodhya Ram Janambhumi Temple' verdict is on its way and its no wonder most of us are keeping fingers crossed fearing a clash between the two sides once the verdict is out. Not wanting to take any chances, troops - PAC, RAF etc. have been mobilised. Herein lies our problem. We never take measures when we should and when we can! Had the people in power gone nuts when this very issue of there being a Ram mandir in Ayodhya came up. Instead of taking effective measures then, the issue was politicised for narrow political gains just like we all know. It clearly shows the lack of dynamism and foresightedness in our leaders, two crucial components of leadership. Insted of bridging the gap between the two vulnerable communities, it was only ignited to its peak. This, however is not the time to refresh those bad memories and I would only do so if the verdict goes against the truth. For now, we should embrace peace and tolerance.... Just like Bob Marley said, who are we to differentiate between ourselves when we know we all were created by the same power!
Some other day....
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