India was never a truly secular state
THE Supreme Court of India has quite rightly banned politicians from using religion to secure votes. But how does Brij Maharaj come to the conclusion that Indira Gandhi’s disgraceful State of Emergency had anything to do with issues of secularity? Other issues were involved.
Right from the beginning the Congress Party failed in ensuring a truly secular state.
Nehru failed to implement a common civil code for all citizens. Consequently, there was a parallel judicial system running in India for the past 70 years or so, with practices such as triple talaak (by repeating “I divorce you” three times, a man can get rid of his wife instantly) and the issuing of fatwas. Recently, the Supreme Court of India had to tell some people that they were not living in Mughal-ruled India, which allowed such archaic practices, and that no religion could claim to be superior to the constitution, which did not allow such discrimination against women.
As for using the word “secular” in connection with Mughal invader Babur, Maharaj should read the Babur Nama for himself.
In his own words the Mongolian invader said Hindus were “an unattractive, unsociable, uncouth and exceedingly numerous race of infidels…” and noted the ecstasy he felt in killing “pagan Hindus” with his own hands, as a Gazi or holy warrior against these infidels in his jihad directed at them. He might have given pragmatic advice to his heirs on how to make themselves less reprehensible to the Indians and secure India for Muslim rule or make it part of Darul-Islam, but no honest historian would call it secular-other than those with communist/Marxist leanings. Debobrat Ghose in his article quoted from members of the communist party. And Maharaj is repeating what they said! And they point out how Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and others made use of the Muslim vote bank. They refer to the “fundamentalists”. Yet Maharaj omits all that and only gets into angst about the RSS. Well it was the RSS that started the revolt against the “special” privileges granted to one religious group (such as the Hajj subsidy) by taking it up with the Supreme Court.
Then the special skeletons started falling out and landing up before the courts! There are bound to be many more, because India was not really secular, but “sickular” – thanks to the shenanigans of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. SANU SINGH Reservoir Hills