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January 15, 2002
REVIEW: Commitment to plurality
A SLIM book that in 136 pages encapsules a range of issues — what is ‘Indian secularism’, why its values have eroded, the difference between nationalism as advocated by the BJP and Congress, why the BJP is worse than the Congress and other related matters. To follow the writer’s examination of these issues and the arguments he presents makes compelling reading and provides an insight into the very substance of Indian politics.
At the premise he draws a distinction between Western secularism — “a commitment to a public life fenced off from religion” — and Indian secularism which, he states is “a commitment to plurality” in a state that seeks to pander equally to all the religions.
However, this Nehruvian ideal, once ‘robust’ and a stance towards political and constitutional arrangements has now, with time, shrunk to simply one function, ‘protection of minority rights’. The author, Mukul Kesavan, attributes this change, to the Congress failure in its socialistic economic programme with which secularism was linked and the decline of the Congress as a political power.
It is not that the author disputes the focal role of the minorities in the secularist agenda but this should be derived from “larger positions of citizenship and the rights it implies”. When the canvass is shrunk, secularism ceases to be “a guide to political action”.
‘State secularism’ in India today is then marked by patronage of the minorities and ‘individual secularism’ by sentimentality where Indian Muslims are seen as victims of Partition, hence their subordinate position in society. This ‘feel good sentimentality’, he believes, would harden if the Muslims become demanding and press for quotas.
To intellectuals like Chandoke who advocate differential treatment of the minorities by the government to advance their rights, Kesavan’s objection is that such action by the bureaucracy would be ineffective, risky and inconsistent. Instead he upholds measures that would lead to institutionalized sharing of power by the minorities, such as reserved seats, mandatory quotas and separate electorates.
One troubling question often raised is, why did a section of the educated elite in India almost overnight debunk their secular stance? Kesavan’s answer: “secularism for this elite wasn’t a political stance — it was a style choice. And styles change.” In other words, it was not a matter of conviction. Again, this class, several of whose members became BJP supporters, sees the party not as communal but a strong advocate of nationalism. But what brand of nationalism?
Kesavan notes that it clearly differs from the Gandhian nationalism which based its struggle against colonial exploitation and economic subjugation and not on the basis of religion, language and culture. It therefore won support from a wide range of classes. Although there was a token showing of Muslims in pre-Partition Congress, but it had “distinguished Muslims” among its leaders — from Badruddin Tyabji, M.A. Jinnah to Maulana Azad.
BJP’s nationalism in contrast is anti-Muslim in essence, or as Kesavan puts it, “crucially dependent on the presence of Muslims as the enemy other”. This is chiefly because of history and the “mythology of grievance”, and Partition and the tendency to see the Muslims as fifth columnists. The BJP also objects to what it sees as pampering of the Muslim by the ‘pseudo-secular’ state.
Given these reasons, it is not difficult to see why the BJP so easily slips into “chauvinist intolerance” (Kesavan’s words). Polygamy and the high fertility among the Muslims are also irritants to the BJP. This matter has reigned large in party polemics not only among the lower members of Sangh Parivar but also among some senior leaders of the BJP like K.R.Malkani. In an article in The Hindu, he sees the abolition of polygamy and one- sided divorce as an antidote to the problems Muslims currently face: a high school dropout rate, unemployment and high birth rates — an example, notes Kesavan, of using “social issues for political ends”.
Yet another issue of concern is that of ‘Hindutva’. The Sangh Parivar and the like-minded see the Hindus whose sacred rites are within the boundaries as natural citizens of India, while Muslims and Christians who have extra territorial religious loyalties, as holding up the process of Indianisation. They can only be granted full citizenship if they subordinate their cultural preferences to the national culture of ‘Hindutva’. On December 17, 2000, Bal Thackery in an interview to Saamna, went still further. He said that all parties would only become pro-Hidutva if the Muslims were denied the right to vote. Although many may ignore Thackery’s outlandish statements but, notes Kesavan, the party he leads is an important partner in the BJP-led coalition.
This campaign, which questions the loyalty of the minorities and challenges their right to be equal citizens, is gaining momentum. So far, observes Kesavan, the Indian state has resisted the pressure to discriminate. However, when the state succumbs to such demands, identifying itself formally with a religious majority and accords the minorities a second-class citizenship, the stage is set for “chronic violence” and “civil war” — as witnessed in Israel and Sri Lanka.
Although on several occasions the Congress actions have not differed from the BJP, such as the Delhi Congress’ involvement in communal violence, killings in Kashmir, its role in the Babri mosque, etc, but Kesavan points out, the BJP still emerges worse. Not only its actions but also its words have been “explicitly sectarian”; it is committed to Hindutva; it supports the Shiv Sena whose hostility towards the minorities is explicit.
Kesavan does not argue in the abstract but presents illustrations of topical interest to drive his point home. This makes Secular common sense readable and easy to follow. Readers may have minor points of differences, for instance, some Muslims tend to think that Gandhian nationalism laid the basis of Hindu nationalism because of Gandhi’s increasing reliance on Hindu symbolism in the struggle for freedom. But on the whole Kesavan’s presentation is provocative and incisive.
The real test of Secular common sense however will lie in whether it succeeds in convincing at least some educated elite who have turned away from Nehruvian secular ideals to re-consider their stance. For readers in Pakistan, it presents a good summing up of some burning issues facing India today.
Secular common sense
By Mukul Kesavan
Penguin Books, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India.
Website: www.penguinbooksindia.com
ISBN 0-14-302773-5 136pp. Indian Rs150
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