***A direct answer to thia big question can't be put in a capsule of or 'no\ iinUm a thorough analysis is made of the prevailing socio-political situation in India, weighing pros and cons in their true perspective. Perhaps then we can give our verdict in affirmative or negative term, writes AMM Shahabuddin.

Aioi has been said and wri iten in the Indian press on the curse of rising demon of religious fanaticism which fa out to make secular India an out-and out Htndusthan in true sense of the term In fact there is no doubt that today a India can no more be called a melting pot' of different religious and aocio-cultural life, making It a dreamland of unity In diveral-ty’ That has now become al-tnoat a utopia India today ia more a cauldron of conflicts, with rising religious passions, mistrust and hatred of each other. The alogan of unity in diveraltv seema to have been waahed out in a flood of vengeance by communal or non-aecular lorcea during the paat decade So aome political pundits have predicted that the gathering thunder-atorm is likely to strike its heaviest lashes on the hopes of India ever-remaining a secular democracy And it it at all happens. it would be due to the political follies ol India's totalled secular leaders

After Nehru DehifB?

The war time British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once declared that "India ia a geographical term It Is no more a united country than Equator." Whatever conviction Churchill had to say this, it proved falae at least during the first four decades since independence when India survived surprisingly as a secular state under the leadership of its first Prime Minister Pundit Nehru and his Immediate successors With Nehrus death, bricks of the building started falling. His daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv created more problems than they could solve, ultimately ending their lives in the hands of assassins. During the Nehruvian era of four decade*. India was ruled on two principles, namely, commitment 1o secular democracy and socialistic economy, of course, with a difference to suit Indian soil.

Thus Nehru gave India a sense ol direction and purpose In a sense, after Nehru came Ilie deluge. India jierhaps fa still groping in search of an all-In dla leader with firm commitment to secularism to lead tlie country against heavy odds created by communal forces. During the past decade. India has seen more of regional leaders popping up to take control ol central leadership. There again the continued infighting for petty gains and rivalries due to so-called personality cult, made a mess in the secular camp. This lack ot central leadership, even of a lesser personality

than Nehru was a shocking blow to the secular forces so long led by the Congress Thal Is what brought about their downfall from power Perhaps the Congress leaders fighting for leadership like kilkeny cats" couldn t realise what harm they are inflicting on the ideology sustained vigorously so far

When the people were disgusted and disillusioned at the growing infighting for power among and increasing corrup-lion cnarges against some top Congress leaders, they abandoned their so-called leaders and looked for new alternative leadership to show them greener pastures’ Such polite cal parties at least some ol ihem. came up with new slogan* of reforms and socio-religious programmes for the regenera non of a new nationaliMii rather Hindu nationalism or Hindulifo as they called it. And they had their field day They made hay while the Congress leaders were busy otherwise So the new contenders lor power rose like shooting •-■ars in Indias political fir iniiiient. The people naturally h-ok lor a change for the better wlien the old guards fail So some regional as well as ail-ln dia parlies like Bhartiya Janata Party IBJP) stole the show al the cost of the dwindling Congress

A Caae at Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Take, for example, the mass-.ippeallng and most successful (•arty to go up the ladder of pop uiarfty — the BJP It has almost reached the pinnace of popular ily within a decade or so. in spile of Its various shortcomings. People started to gather tinder its umbrella with rell gious haio What an innocent name! Bhartiya J Janata Party Kiidtan People* Party)! Overtly, ii carries an aura of secularism at least in its name, not an

.me o! reiigioua fanaticism or i itndamenlalism And no monkey business nt the name 1 religion! But covertly, it is something else. Perhaps it s a true case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, in fact, the proverb "you can't tell a book by its cover’’ is thoroughly applicable to IMP To know it. you «iii have to go deeper

BJP is out to preach a neo nationalism' based on ti nets of Hindu religion. Establishment of a total Hindu Raj in India is

th^summum bonum of BJPs ideology aiming at the rehabil itotion of the lost Identity of the Hindus who constitute more than 85 per cent of about one billion Indian population. BJP believes that the majority community was reduced to a secondary position in India s socio-political life because of I he wrong policy of Congress of too much appeasement of the minorities. particularly Mus lints who constitute about 12 per cent or so of the entire population.

As BJP leader Advani once said: "We toil guarantee minorities equality justice and Ireedom of worship But we toll no longer tolerate the politics ol mlnoritism that has been practised here for the last four decades Advani also declared at a function during his last visit to Canada that ne and hl* party (BJP) are committed to maintaining India as a secular state. But preaching and pr,i being are two different thing* Secularism and communali.*m are contradictory in term — an anachronism, so to say You can’t have milk and tobacco al the same time just as ynu can t lilow hot and cold at the same time. It's a myth, you can go for either of thia, not both

BJP Hita BuITs Eye

So what sort of secularism IMP will practice to maintain India a secular state was demonstrated when BJP and Its Brlners in secularism, like the

S and Shiv Sena, razed to the ground the Babr! Masjid, a 16th i-entury mosque, at Ayodhys on 6 D«ember. 1992 followed by nation wide communal riots In which thousands became vie lima As If. It was presenter! by BJP as just a trailer of the shape of future secular India under its rule when It comes to power Advani had openly advocated religious violence with a secular tinge1 Communal secularism' or secular cornmu nahsin . whatever you call it. The BJP s Ayodhya expedition over Advani declared that "the religious violence racking India today was an inevitable rear non in Hindu society to the (Milli'y ol double-standard and politics ot minontfam '

So BJP. RSS and Shiv Sena showed their "■nuscle" to the lii-lpless and indecisive i ongress Prime Minister N.oaaimha Rao. He landed in tiie field when the game was over. India had to bear the bad

name at home and abroad because of Rao s political folly Rao was playing the rote of a big cat in gloves" which proverbially "catches no mice" So the mice were playing under the very nose of the cat As a prominent Indian columnist said BJP fa not a party which shoots a wild arrow “ It hit the bull's eye. thereby dealing a death blow to India s tong-cherished and much-preached communal harmony As the columnist further said. Ayod-hya incident was a spark for the haystack of hatred piled up over tne years' that finally t aught fire And the BJP. now being the moat powerful strategist in India a politics used this fire to Its greatest advantage lor baking its bread well That was evident from BJPs score board after the last genera) and state elections No doubt, they have lost many wickets but they have impressed their audience' with their wonderful performance

Congreos Limps, BJP

Marches Ahead

To have s clear picture about HJP's success 1n tne field of India s politics let us have a look at their performance, in the light of tneir playing up the Hindutva card during the post decade It would be astounding io note that an out and-out ommunal party like BJP could rise so high within such a short leriod In n well established democratic and secular country like India Something must have gone strong somewhere But where, how and why? The secular leaders of India would have lo do some heart-search ■ng to find the root cause ol Hfr s phenomenal rise

In 19«5 BJP was just skirt ing In the periphery of India a ixxttics to th only two repreoen-lallves In the Lok Sabha (lower house o! parliament) a House oi some 548 seals, ft was the be-glnning ol I Ite game But as sec ul.ii leaders started limping and stumbling in the face of rising religious tensions. BJP marched forward to make good fortunes. Thus in 1991 general elections BJP captured 86 seats, putting other parties, particularly its main rival the ofigrrsa. to lietolderment But ilic Congress didn i wakeup to I he i i|x*Miiitlg deluge Tliej went iino a peacelul long sluuilier And when the Rip Van Winkle woke up. 11 found a differi nf political scenario with astonish-

Ing ctumges The Congress has been both bteraliy and physically thrown into the lumber room of htotory. when ft found that in the 1996 election. BJP and not Congreso. has stood out aa the largest stngle party tn the parliament capturing ifiO seats out of the 537 contested tw them Sc wtthin ten years. bJp has jumped from two to ICO members to Indian Parliament, for the first time dislodging Congress from power after forty years Hence the big question, and the most thorny question that haunts the minds of India s people How BJP could make such gigantic leap forward? And if It continues Its march ahead unchallenged, where thia dreamland of Gandhi and Nrtiru — secular India — wuukl land’

AaOatrfch Pofoey —Ifc-t Dnmfarwna

But most strange thing that Strikes an outsider like me that some Indian poMticai ana lysta are still suffering from complacency They are not at all scared by thia colossal bullish trend of the BJP They BJP think they are far behind to the race for power at the centre They count the number of seats captured by BJP in the parliament they weigh the per erntsgr of their achievement in the different Indian Ststea They argue that In the Parlia mem BJP holds less than one third of the total seats And in the States poofef They are nowhere near the bench-mark!

They dominate only In four States !UP Madhya Pradeah. Gujarat and Maharashtra! out of 26 slates Perhaps these analysts wsnt to encourage Congreaa and other secular par ties to take some more mid-dsy nap. like the proverbial rabbit, to allow BJP to win its steady race Nobody Is challenging I tie truth that BJP has not been to a position In the parliament to take over India • administration. But It can t be denied that it has become a tremendous force to be reckoned with What the BJP fa doing In UP fa well-known. With a strength of 174 seats In a House of 425 they are already flexing their muscle and in the next efectlona they expect to create hiatory. per hape with a sweeping majority, nol only in UP. but also elsewhere So it would be sheer fool ishnesa to close your eye- ohI bury your head under the -^iiida

like an ootricii io aa«v Karif from the desert Morm ladirt Dtetarted Pfetwv

It is. therefore up to the peopie of India to «Mi or oM with the cooftig tidal bore They should think before they are swept away, with their traditional commitment to rkiaouacy and seculariam nd to keep their image up before the world u the largest drmc racy When the Indian Cowpeas is out of power because of its own political follies and lack of foresight, and a patched up hatch potch government to running the adnMniatratkai at the cmitre. the country natM-raftv erestes a bad image before the comity of nationa lor its weak and loitering policies. Who knows that the humiliating defeat of India at the hands of Japan tn the UNGA pofta far a non-pennanent seat in the Security Council was the direct result of this dtstarted and shabby picture of India among some 185 UN meibbcrs India perhaps entered the arena to fight Asia » rising ecenooifc- 0-ant without any homework. The ruling leaders must have been suffering from too much of complacency

Forewarned Mmm Form-mad

Many now apprehend that with a weak and divided Congreae. the BJP the so-cafled champion of Hindu rerivahani or fundamentalism might be the next rulers of India. That would be the saddest day far In dia It would be an unsung and unceremonious end of Gandhi Nehru a secular India Perhaps than only Churchill a predic ttan that India to a geqgrapM* cal term It to no more a united country..." would come true. There is still time for ( ixigreea and other secular farces lo sow the country from that dooms- ' dav It la not the time for them to meaaure how much the cup to full for the Congress or how much it is empty for the communal forces, led by BJP The Congreaa should measure how much area BJP has already conquered and how much the Congyeaa has fast. There Ues the crux As a leading Calcutta En-gllah daily, recently commenting on political situation tn UP. very candidly said "Once the nursery of Indian poiiticiana. UP to now poiaed to be their graveyard " Let the Indian leaders. porticuiarty the Congress leaders take note of this warning before it to too late. The Devti srtll continue "to quote m ripturea for his own ends." aa the proverb aaya. But the leaders should ket forewarned which means forearmed