Minority Communalism – A Great Threat to the Nation

The controversial Bangladeshi writer Ms. Taslima Nasreen is on the run. Chased away from her own motherland by the Islamic fundamentalist, Taslima took refuge in Kolkata, the bastion of the left parties, which claim themselves to be the champions of secularism. Taslima has incurred the wrath of the Islamic fundamentalists for her writing against Islam. It is shameful that the lady has had even to face the trauma of physical violence by some Islamic fanatics in Andhra Pradesh some time back. Now, the claws of the fanatics have come out openly in Kolkata too. They could not get hold of their prey but they manage to hold the city to ransom for several hours, unleashing terror and rioting on the streets. Their demand was that Taslima should be thrown out of the state.

The CPI[M] which has been so vocal against majority communalism and leave no opportunity to curse the Gujrat riots, seems to have meekly surrendered to the demands of the Islamic fundamentalists. Instead of strongly denouncing the act of the rioters and initiating legal proceeding against them the CPM state secretary Biman Bose pronounced the inhuman suggestion that the writer should go away from Bengal and take shelter somewhere else! The sentimental guy may get shocked to hear such irresponsible and uncaring statement from a public figure. But this, in general, is the real character of out politician. But that is all together a different story.

For the present, the Taslima incident is a symptom of a more serious disease that is fast gripping the nation – the disease of minority communalism. The politician of all huge and colors, barring a few, cannot be ignorant of this fact. But they are maintaining a golden silence over it for petty personal gains. They will rant and rave over the majority communalism but at the same time turn a deaf ear and blind eye towards communalism of the minor community in the hope of cornering the minority vote. The congress party has had used this policy for decades with telling effect in so far as the election results were concerned. Taking a cue from the congress party, now most of the other political parties have followed suit. Political parties may be enjoying power and even a share in the government by using this ploy. But in doing so, they are only pushing the country towards disaster.

Protecting the rights of the minority of the country is the duty of the government. The majority community also has duty towards its minority brethren. They should see to it that they desist from such acts as would put the minority community at a disadvantage. But this does not at all means that the minority community should be pampered and given un-due advantages. But unfortunately that is what most of the political parties in India have been doing all these years. The then Jan Sangh and like-minded parties had termed it as the “appeasement of the minorities” policy by the congress. That appeasement policy is still on. Not only that since the members of the minority community in India have substantially grown in numbers, they have started pressurizing the government in so many ways. While their genuine grievances should be addressed and demands fulfilled, their illegal activities should be dealt with strongly. But that is not happening. From the Shah Bano case to Taslima’s tale the subsequent governments have meekly surrendered to the demands of the Muslim fanatics. From making Urdu second language in various states to attempting to reserve government jobs for Muslims are all examples of the ruling parties’ efforts to woo the Muslim voters. But professing to improve the lot of the downtrodden Muslims of the country is one thing and surrendering before the might of the fundamentalist and their unjustified demands is another. The government and the political leaders of all parties and the right thinking people among the Muslims too – all should understand that the monsters of the minority communalism have grown up and it can spell disaster any moment now. So beware!

Author: Subhash Dey
copyright: openarticlesubmission.com

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