On the slippery slope of religious fundamentalism

The State must assert itself and tell the fanatics that it will uphold the Constitution. That is the least that is expected of the CM

The BJP is the largest political party by membership in India and the world, as claimed by its leaders. Surprisingly, its claim to success lies not so much in its achievements but its openly declared objects of hate -- Muslims, Christians, Dalits, women. Its rise to power has invariably rested on the success of its hate campaigns.

The party became a political force only after the Rath Yatra of L K Advani in 1990, which went to Ayodhya apparently to build a Ram Mandir but ended up destroying the Babri Masjid, as that was the unstated objective. After that, it became the single largest party in Parliament in the elections of 1998 and 1999, but the numbers were not enough to rule on its own strength. That was made possible, in 2014, by Advani’s protégé, who had risen in popularity for “teaching the Muslims of Gujarat a lesson” they were unlikely to forget in their lifetimes.

The fact that the intensity of malice often rises before an election in BJP-ruled states shows that the project is intricately linked to its poll prospects. Communal violence or targeted attacks on individuals of a certain religion have been the preferred mode of aggregating its support base among the Hindus.

These attacks are not a passing mid-summer madness of a lunatic fringe of the party. For instance, the two organisations spearheading the campaign in Karnataka, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), are neither lunatic nor the fringe. They may well be considered the vanguard of the political wing as they take up issues that subsequently become pieces of legislation or executive decisions of the ruling party.

A closer examination of the legislations enacted by the BJP governments in the Centre and in states like UP and Karnataka and the campaigns led by its cadre reveal a systematic and well-orchestrated agenda to disenfranchise and de-humanise the minority groups.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the triple talaq law, the revocation of Article 370 and amendment to Article 35A in Jammu & Kashmir, the division of J&K state into two Union Territories, the ‘love jihad’ legislations in UP and other BJP-ruled states all go far beyond the officially declared agenda of “not appeasing Muslims”.

Karnataka has now clearly overtaken UP with a series of attacks on Muslims, starting with the hijab controversy, calls for a ban on the sale of halal meat, preventing Muslim traders from doing business in the vicinity of temples or during Hindu festivals, telling Hindus not to buy goods from Muslim traders, and now the campaign to shut off the loudspeakers used by the mosques, etc.

All these acts have one specific purpose. Deny or restrict the political, economic social and religious space for Muslims and jeopardise their lives and livelihoods. Never has any government made hatred of a community the basis of its policy as the present government of Karnataka. And worse, the malicious intent is rationalised as a response to demands by the majority community while, in fact, it’s only a small group of a hate-filled, militant cadre that raises these demands -- on directions from above.

What is shocking is the complicity of the ruling party in paralysing the state administration in dealing with these thugs. What should be seen as utter incompetence of the Chief Minister and Home Minister is projected as fulfilling the demands (imagined) of the majority against the ‘other’. When the State acts blatantly against a community, their only hope is the judiciary -- the protector and defender of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. But the promise of the Constitution has failed them repeatedly.

The victims are then left with little choice but to seek extra-constitutional means and go to radical organisations. And that suits the extreme right best, for it wants to eliminate the space for liberal democratic politics so that the majority community is compelled to choose them as their ‘protectors’.

What are the options for the oppressed minorities? Do they choose Gandhian methods of non-violent protest, or do they seek the protection of the Islamic radical groups? Already, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the Al-Qaeda leader, has waded into the hijab controversy. This may warm the hearts of radical groups in Kerala, right on the border of Dakshina Kannada district, close to Mangaluru and Udupi, where the hijab controversy first erupted. Has the Sangh Parivar stoked the dying monster to come to Mangaluru? Already, much blood is spilt on the streets of Kerala in the battles between the Communist party workers and the BJP cadre. Nobody wishes to have the Al-Qaeda cadre come to Mangaluru.

Or, are these attacks on the Muslims of Dakshina Kannada districts a symptom of inner-party fights within the BJP? Why is it that no such issues came up when BS Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister? Was he a more astute handler of differences within the party? Is he a more liberal politician, on the lines of Vajpayee? Are some forces within the BJP trying to oust Basavaraj Bommai?

Bommai is in a bind, not knowing whether to crack down on the rogues within the Sangh Parivar or yield to their pressure and ban Muslims from selling halal meat and trading in the vicinity of temples. And what guarantee is there that the Sangh Parivar organisations will stop at these demands and not come up with something more vicious?

Either way, the path of religious fundamentalism is always slippery, and it will only go down further into a bottomless pit of hate and violence. At some point, the State must assert itself and tell the people, particularly the affected ones, that it will uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. And warn those who take the law into their own hands that they would be dealt with severely. This is the least that is expected of the Chief Minister.

(The writer was formerly a Union Cabinet Secretariat official)