By Sudhanshu Tripathi
As is very much clear that now India must turn into a political asylum for all, particularly Muslims of all sects where so ever they are residing, for which the protest over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheenbagh in Delhi and few other places in the country is sincerely being carried over by the Muslim women for the past two months. In fact, the continuing agitation has had its very violent and gory past in the month of December 2019 wherein many people were killed, including police personnel, besides destruction of hundreds of millions of public property in almost all over the country. But the real force behind the ongoing political show is being provided by the political parties to nurture and consolidate their respective vote-banks, thereby making it a vicious game of vote-bank politics between Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and almost rest of the other political parties. It is in this context, the popular emotions are being aroused by the fire brand political leaders through their aggressive speeches of both the BJP at the centre and the sitting in power Aam Adami Party (AAP) in the state of Delhi, which is contesting again the impending state assembly elections there. Not only that these leaders are also aiming at future elections in India as well.
This is why these political parties are repeatedly harping on the almost settled issue of CAA and NRC by taking sides either in favour or against, just to arouse communal passions which have already drawn deep and wide fault lines between Hindus and Muslims not only in Delhi but also in all over the country. And that has now bitterly ruptured the not so very healthy evolving yet reasonably peaceful social fabric of our country. Even those political parties which consider this Act appropriate and also very timely are also opposing it as discriminatory to Muslims because it, in their view, is contrary to the noble gospel of Secularism, as enshrined in the Constitution of India.
In fact, the BJP led NDA government at the Centre is well within its constitutional obligation to take all necessary measures to ensure national security and integrity of the country which is particularly under serious threat due to mounting threat of terrorism and also global terrorism, particularly continuing cross-border terrorism being exported from Pakistan, and also due to regular intrusions into Indian territory by Chinese forces. Further, both Beijing and Islamabad are consistently colluding against India’s national interests as they are hell-bent to cut size the fast elevating profile of India not only in Asia but also at all global forums at this crucial juncture when global geo-politics is shifting towards East. Added to these threats are the ever rising numbers of illegal immigrants entering inside the country’s territory through its porous borders facing Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar etc.. Despite such grim scenario of national security in India, most of the non-BJP political parties including the AAP are continuing their efforts to let the protest anyhow inch forward with the passage of each day so that their respective vote-banks may remain intact or even increase in their favour to ensure their victory in the Delhi elections. In is strange that even after completing more than fifty days of protests in Shaheenbagh, these protesters have not yet expressed their desire to talk to the government with a view to resolve the issue at stake. They have no delegation as yet to represent them which may discuss the continuing logjam with the government so as to arrive at an amicable solution. This shows that they have no genuine reason to continue their agitation and just want to brow-beat the NDA government so that it may revoke the CAA and future planning for NRC forever. Obviously this will boost the morale of likely infiltrators who want to destabilize the country at the behest of our neighbours, particularly Pakistan and China. In fact, their continuing penetration and consequent settlement inside India has already changed the demographic profile of India where majority may not in distant future will become minority.
As obvious, all these pseudo-secularists are today very much worried due to enactment of the CAA because that will cause them dear in terms of votes in future elections in the country. While the genuine beneficiaries of the act viz. Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsees and Christians are undoubtedly the really needy minorities who are suffering the untold ghastly and brutal repression and various other kinds of inhuman and barbarous suppression in Pakistan and Bangladesh and also in Afghanistan, the Ahamadia, Hazara and Pashtoons sects within the Muslim community are also suffering the similar treatment by the majority Muslims, particularly in Pakistan. Obviously the beneficiaries of this Act will not vote to the non-BJP political parties, hence these pseudo secularists will lose the forthcoming elections in future and evidently fail to capture political power to rule the country that they had been enjoying by riding over the crest of the en-mass voting in their favour since the very independence of the country.
Again, as obvious, the BJP will succeed in consolidating its vote-bank through this enactment and thus will remain in power for long time to come. But this likely harsh reality very much baffles all these non-BJP groupings as they had long succeeded in keeping the BJP away from power by turning it as untouchable. Indeed, this likely fear is haunting them deep down as their political shops are on the verge of permanent closure. Unfortunately, these non-BJP political parties are earnestly singing the same tone with a view to overshadow the BJP by once again castigating it as untouchable. Ka Ka Chee Chee very aptly sounds here. Despite these undesired brouhaha the CAA is now a reality which all countrymen must acknowledge in the larger interest of national security. After all, India can’t become a soft pasture for all infiltrators and intruders to enjoy safe-heaven in its territory who then indulge into criminal and terrorist activities against the country.
Against this emerged grim scenario, the best course will be to defeat such pseudo secularists forever, whichever political party behaves in this manner, so that the true cause of welfare of people at large may be accomplished and common interests of humanity may be served in right earnest. Evidently, the role of We the people of India, becomes very crucial here who must now unite for sake of unity and integrity of the country as well as common interests of their own by overcoming their petty and narrow selfish interests defined in terms of cast, community, language and region etc., so as to strengthen and consolidate India as a nation once again. This may happen as nothing is beyond human endeavour.
Prof. Sudhanshu Tripathi, U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University, Prayagaraj (UP)
