Our twisted priorities and neglect of real issues

The long awaited verdict on the Barbri Masjid dispute by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court is out.

Mr Jilani , lawyer for the Sunni Waqf Board, has said that he is partly disappointed with the judgement and will go on appeal to the Supreme court. The Hindu outfits, party to the suit, seem to be satisfied with the verdict. However they too have, like the Muslim petitioners, appealed to people to remain calm. Top RSS leaders too have said that the judgement should not be looked upon as a victory or defeat by either parties. The unity of the nation, they said, is far more important.

Muslims, like Christians, do not believe, that God dwells within man-made structures. A good section of the Hindus too know that man's heart is the dwelling place of God. The Vedas are very clear in this regard. Then why should a dispute over a mosque or temple cause so much of hatred and bloodshed? The pride associated with religion is at the root of it all. God does not authorize killing for any cause…And the fanatics who indulge in destruction are those who are said to be deeply religious! The Masjid issue overshadowed other vital issues of development and caused deep fissures in the social fabric.

Now people will continue to debate the judgement : whether it was fair to both parties. But it must be admitted that the failure to prevent the demolition of the masjid in 1992 was a gross failure of our democratic system. Then the blowing of the issue out of proportion was indicative of the communal virus that could always disturb the peace of the nation.

More secular?

Today the mood is sober. In the 1990s, the BJP leader L K Advani was motivated to go on a rath yathra to unite the Hindus or in other words to promote Hindu pride. While the agenda was to mobilize Hindu votes to ascend to the throne of power, he wore the garb of a religious leader out to defend the interests of the Hindus.

The Masjid was felled in 1992. Those 'heroic' individuals who accomplished the task do not enjoy the same support today in 2010. This was evident from the low profile of the BJP and the call by party leaders to keep the peace as the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court delivered its judgement.

Going by the pronouncements by saints and celebrities on both sides, the people are veering round to the need for peace and would not like any political party resorting to violence any more. There is a shift in favour of secularism. The common man's yearning for peace is finding expression in their rejection of the politics of violence.

There may be more religiosity today among all sections, but their economic agenda had become equally important and the masses are not prepared to be pawns in the hands of politicians to further their private agenda.

Does it mean that the people of India have moved on ? That they are no longer guided by communal passions? One plausible answer is that while people still go by their religious identity, it should be no excuse to indulge in violence. Hindus, Muslims and men of other religions are all against violence. One journalist of a national newspaper, M. J Akbar rightly put it when he said that Indians are now anti-violence. Not yet time to conclude that they are non-violent! .

So much about the Babri dispute which was provoked by the Sangh Parivar's desire to defend Hindu pride. Now the Commonwealth games are also said to be a matter of national pride.

National Pride:

It is repeatedly announced that successful conduct of the Commonwealth Games should be a matter of national pride; and the shoddy completion of projects associated with the Games, a matter of shame.

There is no pride or shame associated with games. It is simply international entertainment for which the nation pays a heavy price by diverting precious resources from other vital sectors.

The games are estimated to cost around Rs 70,000crores . Massive structures have come up to make the games possible whereas for decades the Centre had been unable to find enough storage space for procured food grains resulting in the rotting of millions of tones of grains. Such wastage, while millions go hungry or suffer malnutrition, prompted the Supreme Court to pass strictures against the Government nine years ago. It is against such backdrop the courts had recently ordered free distribution of grains to the poor.

Consider the 10-day entertainment against the basic needs of food and safe drinking water for the masses. After six decades of independence, it is pathetic for the government to admit that basic necessities of life are not available to millions. They live on inhuman slums, on pavements and on the ruins of ancient structures open to the tortures of the weather.

The upshot of the comparison is that the engine of development is being run for the benefit of the well to do and not for the struggling masses. 'Pride' is a middle class value and not a vital element of the toiling masses.

All the tall talk about India becoming a super power should be considered vain boasting whoever mouths such sloganswhen the toiling masses, the underdogs and the Dalits are not ensured a fair deal.

Gandhian ideal:

Gandhiji had a clear vision that the policies of the state should be addressed first to wipe the tears of the poor. Around 1948, he formulated this talisman: ' Whenever you are in doubt or whenever the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.'

For whom are the games being held? For whom are the luxury hotels, the grand malls, fly-overs and stadiums built up ? For whom, all these extravagance? Certainly not for the poor, struggling masses . It m ay be too late in the day to ask such questions. There may be experts justifying all these and more in the name of boosting tourism, trade etc.

The middle class, seeking ever greater doses of entertainment, conspired to hold the games and like many other decisions were swayed into a certain path unaware of the consequences.

One of the banes of this nation is that its politicians can politicize every issue and bypass thereby the canons of right and wrong. The illiterate masses can be easily swayed by appeal to their communal passions.

This is a continued threat to democratic principles. Even after six decades of independence and development, and even after witnessing the horrors of communal flare ups, a fanatic fringe of the major community refuses to learn any lesson. This fringe equates national pride with its narrow religious sentiments and had been justifying atrocities on minorities in the name of majority sentiments.

Change of heart?

If these elements are now lying low, it is not because they have become wiser but because they have become increasingly unpopular and their devious tactics stood exposed. The promise of a Ram temple no longer charms the populace. On the other hand their hateful acts had caused widespread revulsion causing an erosion of support.

Reinhold Niebuhr, a theologian of repute, had stated that man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.

The youth, who are no longer influenced by tradition or the bitter memories of partition are today taking a far healthier issue towards political and economic problems than the seniors. It is hoped that they will be more sensitive to issues of justice and equality and would not allow a repeat of old oppressions. And now they should learn to raise their voice against corruption and injustice. They too must lend a voice to the voiceless .