Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:55 pm (PST)
A Tale of Two Reports
Institutionalisatio n of Communal Biases
Ram Puniyani
In the wake of the punishments being mated out to the culprits of
Mumbai blasts of 1993, the logical demand of punishing the guilty of
92-93 Mumbai carnage came up from different sections of society. Many
a delegations met the political leadership to urge for implementation
of Shrikrishna Commission report. This report impeccably pointed out
the role of different leaders, from Shiv Sena-BJP and even some from
Congress in the Mumbai riots. Their crimes of commission and omission
are there for all to see in this report. The present government,
Congress-NCP, had come to power on the promise that they will
implement the report. Despite long years of being in power; they
cleverly sat pretty, giving some flimsy answers about the actions
which they seem to have taken. One sampler will do, for the crime
which calls for few years of imprisonment, they transferred some one
from one to the other department, bravo! Now with the revival of the
pressure from the victims and concerned citizens, again some white
wash is being peddled out with the promise to take action.
At the same time, those involved in the riots threatened against the
implementation of this report. Same political formations had earlier
rejected the report as being anti Hindu, and challenging that if the
report is implemented, it will be the political death of those who
will do so. An argument is being rehashed as to why should the wounds
of the riots be reopened, unmindful of the fact that wounds of the
victims may heal only and only if the culprits are given the
punishment. A subtle threat has been given that its implementation
will bring in more violence. It's clear that those who are the
victims
try to call for justice and those who are the patrons of criminals or
criminals themselves peddle these arguments to avoid their own
punishment and to protect their political interests.
The second report which is under attack is the one related to the
socio-economic condition of the Muslim minority. This report, like
the
previous report on the same issue, Gopal Singh Commission, pointed
out
the abysmal condition of the Muslims, their low levels of incomes,
social deprivation, economic destitution, their being side tracked
from the jobs, welfare schemes and other ladders for progress. As the
present UPA government is trying to take this seriously, is accepting
the idea of forming of Equal Opportunities Commission in principle,
some political elements have termed this affirmative action of the
government being like throwing 'an Atom bomb at Hindu community'. It
is warning that it will take to the streets to oppose this
'appeasement of Muslims'.
There are lots of parallels in the attitude to both the reports. As
such these two reports genuinely reflect the twin aspects of the
problem of the minorities, the socio-economic aspects and the
physical
security. Both have a strong impact on each other and also on the
existence of the community as a whole. One infers from Sachar
committee report that as a community, Muslims are the only one's
whose
economic and social situation has slumped down in last sixty years.
And Shrikrishna report delineates the anatomy of a riot, the
expression of depth to which communalism has sunk in our society. It
demonstrates as to how one type of political leadership, the one like
BJP-Shiv Sena instigates and launches the attack, getting its
legitimization in advance from the propaganda that the minorities are
a threat, are attacking, so we have to retaliate to protect
'ourselves'.
The other type of leadership sits back and lets these elements do
their communal polarization, and also does accommodate some elements
from these parties for the sake of power. Congress which claims to be
secular easily slips when principled actions are to be taken. During
the Mumbai pogrom Congress Chief Minister Sudhakarrao naik was
sitting
pretty paralyzed by inaction and silently supporting the attack led
by
Bal Thackeray. When a delegation of industrialists led by Tata called
upon him to stop the mayhem, he told them to meet Thackeray to
request
him whatever they want. The same party later admitted into its fold
the likes of Narayan Rane and Sanjay Nirupam, who were loyal sainiks
of Thackeray. The third player in the game, the state machinery, the
police and bureaucracy and partly judiciary is infected by the
institutional biases against the minorities and aids and abets the
anti minority carnage in different ways, that's how you see so many
of
police officers blundering and participating in the violence and
getting a pat from their political masters.
Sachar Committee shows that condition of Muslims is worsening. No
democracy worth its pluralism and equality can ignore a chunk of its
society and ignore the affirmative action for weaker sections of
society. Here it seems so far the democratic values have been put on
hold as far as weaker sections are concerned. Here one type of
leadership, the right wing is dead opposed to any affirmative action,
equating it to nuclear attack on the Hindus. The other leadership,
which so far slept over the issue, is hopefully trying to wake up to
it. The third major player the bureaucracy is by now too communalized
to be bothered to let the affirmative action take place. The tragedy
is that on one hand there is no effective affirmative action for
minorities and on the other even the token talk on this issue is
presented as a threat to Hindu community.
Can we let this denigration of minorities go on? One recalls that our
earlier caste system had totally marginalized the low castes. Today
in
the communal scenario another chunk of population is being relegated
to secondary position. Are we creating new type of exclusionary
social
system? Sprawling ghettoes like Mumbra, Bhendi Bazar on one hand
their
absence in the social sphere on the other, totally violates the
spirit
of national community.
Golwalkar, the second supremo of RSS, the most important ideologue of
RSS-BJP and affiliated organizations which are leading the anti
minority tirade, wrote "…non Hindu people in Hindustan must either
adopt Hindu culture…they must cease to be foreigners or may stay in
the country wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation claiming nothing,
deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment, not
even
citizens rights.". One may add to that they will also be subjected to
differential legal system! Are we heading towards this terrifying
vision of the patron saint of RSS-BJP?
(Writer is Secretary of All India Secular Forum)
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