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HomeEditorialBJP’s catchword Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is just an empty promise

BJP’s catchword Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is just an empty promise

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A BJP leader seems to be confused these days, some thinks India should be declared as Hindu Rashtra and on other hand they seek minority status for Hindus… The PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeks minority status for Hindus in Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, J&K, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Punjab. Modiji and BJP came to power boasting about Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas. They should focus on pro-poor economic policies and the empowerment of farmers, backward classes, and women that will bring constructive outcomes, where there are equal opportunities for all and the appeasement of none. It’s high time that we need to move beyond this minority-majority dualistic.

Our government is committed to the philosophy of working for the benefit of the last person in the queue. It does not want to look at citizens through the prism of caste, religion, language, or sect. Then why BJP leaders are going harsh on religion. From Ghar wapsi, love jihad to minority status they are creating insecurity, fear and unrest among Hindus. It is estimated that there are around 100+ crore Hindus in India, as on date, constituting 80 per cent of total Indian population. Certainly, Hindu society is presently facing very big challenges. It’s mainly because most people have failed to realise what Hinduism actually is and how it should be practiced. After the British era, the government in independent India hardly made any efforts to restore its lost identity and given the amount of westernisation, it’s really difficult to say whether Hinduism would have a bright future after around a century.

India is the only country in the world with highest Hindu population followed by Nepal and then probably Mauritius. Very less efforts are being made even in India to teach Hinduism and to make people realise how accepting and natural way of life it is. It follows the golden rule of, ‘Don’t treat others the way you don’t like to be treated yourself’ and ‘live and let live’. The ‘Sanatana Dharma’ or Hinduism, as it’s largely called today, is way more far visional and follows very higher level of thinking. It is tolerant towards all other religions and also atheism. But unfortunately, it never received back same amount of compassion. That is also one of the reasons why Hinduism has declined around the world and can also become the reason for its decline in India. Now in India BJP should achieve certain things like Uniform Civil Code, reformation in education curriculum, etc. in a peaceful way and not by hurting religious sentiments of minorities, Hindu population can very well be protected and India can grow as a harmonious society.

If you look at the past, Hinduism has never lost its battle or has been reduced to minority. Hindus have never surrendered to any of the foreign atrocities. Most of the western and European countries were either Christianised or were Islamised within a few decades of invasions.  But India is one such country where, even after foreign invasion of more than thousand years Hindus have managed to maintain a respectable 80 per cent of its population. It’s a massive achievement on its own. History is proof of the fact that whenever Hindus or Hinduism was under any threat, Hindus have reacted with all their might and intelligence to save their identity. That’s the reason why Mughals could not completely convert India into a Muslim country. And that is the reason why Hindus won’t become a minority ever in India.

The Supreme Court, in the 2002 case of TMA Pai Foundation and others Vs State of Karnataka, had ruled that linguistic and religious minorities are covered by the expression “minority” under Article 30 of the Constitution. Since reorganisation of the states in India has been on linguistic lines, therefore for the purpose of determining the minority, the unit will be the state and not the whole of India.

Sharma pointed out that guidelines for the execution of the Prime Minister’s new 15-point programme for the welfare of minorities lays down that “in states where one of the minority communities notified under section 2(c) of the NCM Act, 1992 is in fact a majority, the earmarking of physical/financial targets under different schemes will be only for the notified minorities. Communal politics, which ironically licenses secularism in this country, has been the misery of Indian politics. It can be traced back to the British policy of ‘divide and rule’, the result of which was Partition. The Constitution was a denial of these ideas and the politics that perpetuated them. It rejected the suggestions for a separate electorate for the minorities and the proportional representation system, which it felt would lead to a perpetually enervated nation. But in most policies that have been followed until now, we have seen furtherance of vote-bank politics. The narrative has to change.

Meanwhile the India-Pak relations are strained. Modi government’s policy to help minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh is in news. However, they are barred from buying immovable property in and around restricted or protected areas, including cantonment regions. As many as 431 Pakistani nationals, mostly Hindus, have been granted long-term visas by the government, thus making them eligible for PAN and Aadhaar cards as well as allowing them to buy property, a home ministry official said. The move, amidst the strained India-Pak relations, is in line with the Narendra Modi government’s policy to help minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who come to India after facing alleged persecution in their home country. Such communities are also allowed to obtain PAN cards, Aadhaar numbers and driving licences, take up self-employment or do business, and are allowed free movement within the state of their stay and transfer of long-term visa papers from one state to another. The home ministry had also approved over 4,000 visa applications of people belonging to Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and a few select countries. A total of 6,025 visa applications were received in September, out of which 4,057 were cleared. Prior approval is required from the home ministry for issuing visas to nationals of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and a few other countries.

Looking at all series of event one can clearly say, instead of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, BJP is driven by Hindutva agenda and they might say Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas but it’s going to be Hindu ka saath aur Hindu ka vikas.

 (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

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Vaidehi Taman
Vaidehi Tamanhttps://authorvaidehi.com
Vaidehi Taman an Accredited Journalist from Maharashtra is bestowed with three Honourary Doctorate in Journalism. Vaidehi has been an active journalist for the past 21 years, and is also the founding editor of an English daily tabloid – Afternoon Voice, a Marathi web portal – Mumbai Manoos, and The Democracy digital video news portal is her brain child. Vaidehi has three books in her name, "Sikhism vs Sickism", "Life Beyond Complications" and "Vedanti". She is an EC Council Certified Ethical Hacker, OSCP offensive securities, Certified Security Analyst and Licensed Penetration Tester that caters to her freelance jobs.
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