Religious exclusivism making a comeback in Indian politics

The Mahakumbh festival, a mass Hindu pilgrimage that attracts the largest congregation of devotees, is turning out to be a popular hotspot for Indian politicians too. With a year to go before general election, the principal protagonists of politics are making a beeline for the holy assembly. From Sonia and Rahul Gandhi – ruling Congress’ twin soul — to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) infamous Narendra Modi, nicknamed the “butcher of Gujarat” for presiding over the gruesome communal riot in 2002; the list goes on.
Quick to realize the political significance of such a socio-religious gathering in a pre-election year, India’s political juggernauts having expertise in blending divinity with electoral politics are leaving no stone unturned in wooing the majority community. Who in his or her right mind after all would not like to seize this opportunity of nurturing Hindu sentiments given the fact that they form the single largest vote bank in India?
But when a religious platform with ascetic value is used for political propaganda, the apprehension of divisive politics getting precedence over developmental and social issues in the run-up to 2014 elections gains ground. Hindu hard-line organizations with affinity to BJP are already engaged in spreading the message of a depraved ideology — that blames Muslims for ruining India’s highly developed ancient past and traditional cultural heritage — among million pilgrims.
In a very subtle way, the holiest and the most auspicious of the Hindu religious fetes is being misused for propagating extremely contentious subjects including implementation of uniform civil code, removal of Article 370 from Kashmir which gives the trouble torn state a special status, deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants and construction of Hindu mythological deity Ram’s temple in Ayodhya at the site of an existing Mosque built in the 15th century and destroyed during a religious frenzy in the winter of 1992.
This outreach program has been carefully planned to coincide with an informal politico-religious discussion from where the Hindu saint communities are supposed to give a clarion call for Narendra Modi’s ascendancy to the prime ministerial post.
Ironically, the name that is being presently bandied about the most as BJP’s answer to Rahul Gandhi is the one and only Narendra Modi, a politician with a habitual inclination to cultivate the radical Hindu psyche. He is projected as a messiah who alone can channelize the sentiments and aspirations of a cross section of Indian middle class apparently feeling frustrated by the ruling dispensation’s dismal performance in the economic sphere.
Even, the top 100 industrialists in India, whose total asset amounts to one fourth of the country’s gross domestic product have no inhibition in recognizing their favorite Narendra Bhai as an inspirational role model and equating him with Mahatma Gandhi — Gujarat’s most visible and revered son of the soil. As bizarre as it may sound, these hundred gentlemen hold the string of democracy in India, remotely controlling the formation of government and manipulating policies. As long as their economic interests are safeguarded, they will be more than happy to turn a blind eye to the agony of those slaughtered, raped and displaced Muslim men, women and children still awaiting justice.
The scars are fresh in the minds of the community and empirical evidences reveal that Muslims are the most discriminated against and deprived compared to other religious minorities in Modi’s vibrant Gujarat — a stigma that cannot be erased so easily.
Can Gujarat’s current brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan’s glamour and flamboyance overshadow the dark reality reflected in tailor Qutubuddin Ansari’s priceless photograph seeking mercy with folded hands during those horrendous days of communal hatred? It might be easy for BJP’s poster boy to brush aside the communal killings of 2002 as an aberration. But will it be the same for those who lost their near and dear ones despite moving on in life with a lingering wound deep inside, having received no assistance or official encouragement whatsoever?
As the chorus for Modi grows louder by the day; it is clear that he will be assigned a major role prior to the 2014 general election. Finding themselves painted with the same brush along with the Congress as far as corruption is concerned and devoid of any alternative issues that can cut the ice with the electorate, the BJP is all set to embrace a hard-line posture yet again, moving away from the Atal Behari Vajpayee era.
But the problem with Narendra Modi is his failure to shed the “Merchant of Death” image and unlike Vajpayee he does not possess that inherent skill to bring all sections of a diverse Indian society on one platform. No wonder why, under Modi’s leadership, the BJP failed to field a single Muslim candidate in the recently concluded assembly polls in Gujarat. Moreover, Modi is unacceptable to a large majority of the regional political outfits which flocked toward the BJP, having been attracted by Vajpayee’s moderate face in 1998.
To appease both committed voters and their hard-line ideological mentors, the party will inevitably juggle with their options as fervent plea for a resurgent Hindu nationalism will surface occasionally amid secular pronouncements.
In the face of BJP’s clever ploy of muddling the issues by tactfully packaging their rigid stance with inclusive nationalism, the Congress might be tempted to adopt a more right-wing approach to counter its political opponent. Such an evolution is latent with the danger of India turning into an unofficial ethnic democracy — the last thing that this pluralistic nation is in need of.