Since its independence  India  has  vehemently  been  trying  to project
    itself as a secular state with equal rights to all religious minorities,
    but is it so? Have the  religious  minorities  lived  as  comfortably in
    India as  portrayed  by  its  successive  leaders  and  governments.  An
    analysis of Indian Psyche, her  social  and political milieu depicts the
    other side of the horizon, which is  bleak, and gruesome? a far cry from
    the truth. The simmering waves  of  Hindu  fundamentalism  in the recent
    years have posed a serious threat  to  the entire Indian nationhood; the
    Muslims, the Sikhs, the Dalits, the  Christians, the Budhs and all other
    minorities, who have  become  victim  of  Indian  Hinduvata.  The  Hindu
    fundamentalists in the garb of  Hindu  revivalism emphasize the teaching
    of  Vedas,  which  describes  Dalits  (the  low  caste  Hindus)  as  the
    untouchables. They are only to perform  menial jobs. The other religious
    minorities are no better. 

    Caste System - Dalit vs. Brahmins 

    India is unique as regards its  caste  system is concerned. It is like a
    pyramid. While the Brahmin is  sitting  on the top, the scheduled castes
    (SCs) are at the lowest level of the  socio-economic ladder. The SCs and
    scheduled tribes (STs) which constitute  15.75 % and 9.12 % of the total
    population respectively, are commonly known as Harijans (children of god
    - A name given by M.K Gandhi). They  are also called Dalits, (Hindi word
    for  "oppressed").  There  are   more   then   150  million  Dalits  who
    conconstitute one fifth of India's  population.  The Dalits and Harijans
    are regarded as untouchables and treated as sub-human. They are deprived
    of all the basic rights. There is no  law which could provide protection
    to these down- trodden  against  inhuman  treatment  of  the upper caste
    Hindus. In the so called secular India,  a Dalit is not supposed to wear
    a shirt, cap or shoes in the  presence  of  a Brahmin. He must pass with
    his head bowed and hands folded  through  the streets inhabited by upper
    class Hindus. Dalits have separate  wells  for  drinking water, separate
    hotels for food and tea. There are  frequent  cases  of poor Dalit girls
    being kidnapped  and  gang-raped  by  high  class  Hindu  boys.  A Dalit
    pollutes the house of a Brahman,  but  a frail and a helpless Dalit girl
    is just a toy of joy for Thakurs, Brahmins and their henchmen. They draw
    pleasure and satisfy their animal instinct  by humiliating a Dalit girl.
    Recently the statue  of  a  renowned   Dalit  leader  Dr.  Ambedkar  (an
    architect of Indian constitution) was disfigured, and a number of Dalits
    who protested against this  desecration  of their leader, were killed by
    police. Many Dalits who  converted  to  Christianity  and embraced Islam
    experienced that these two  religious  minorities were subjected to even
    worst treatment. 

    At the other extreme are the upper  castes  who constitute approximately
    10% of the total population. Most prominent of this upper stratum of the
    society are the Brahmins  who  are  a  mere  3.5%  of  the  total Indian
    population. According to a report  quoted  by Khushwant Singh, they held
    3% of all posts in 1935, which  increased  to  7% in 1982. In the senior
    echelons of the civil  services  from  the  ranks  of deputy secretaries
    upwards, out of 500, there are 310  Brahmins  i.e.  63%; out of 26 state
    chief secretaries  19  are  Brahmins;  of  98  vice-chancellors  50  are
    Brahmins; of 438  district  magistrates,  250  are Brahmins; and out the
    total of 3300 IAS officers,  2376  are  Brahmins.  A Dalit politician in
    Tamil Nadu said, "The Dalit  would  rather  die  than  live without self
    respect".  Upper-caste  Hindu  landlords,  often  in  league  with local
    police, keep the Dalits at bay under  most uncivilised conditions. Their
    plight in the rural  areas  is  pathetic  to  the  extent  that they are
    running from pillar to post for minimum  self-respect and security. They
    want to live without being humiliated and harassed. 

    According to a report prepared by  the  chairman  India's Commission for
    Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, Hanuman Thapa, "There has been an
    increase in  atrocities  committed  on  members  of  the  SCs and STs in
    Maharashtra. As many as 2,500 cases  of atrocities are pending in courts
    besides 3647 cases which are  under  investigation  at  various levels".
    Dalit International Newsletter of Jun  97 reveals, that the untouchables
    are victims of atrocities which  include  murders,  grievous hurt, arson
    and rape. The report further adds  that  during 1989 the figure of these
    crimes was 19422; in 1990, 21245; during 1991, 22424 and during 1995 the
    figure rose to 35262. In  Chundur  (Andhra  Pradesh)  upper caste Hindus
    slaughtered innocent Dalits,  put  their  body  pieces in gunny bags and
    threw them away. In an  interview  to  the  "Hindustan Times", former UP
    minister and founder- president of State Bahojan Samaj Party ( BSP), Raj
    Bahadur, stated  that  the  Dalits  had  been  deprived  even  of  their
    fundamental rights, which led them to abandon Hinduism. They are treated
    worse than animals. Even the  constitutional  provisions  have failed to
    ensure their fundamental rights.  They  had  been deprived of education,
    security, property and health by the upper caste - dominating Hindus. 

    A horrifying report by  UK  based  "Dalit  Atrocity  Committee  of  1992
    reveals that in October 1992 in  village  Kumber  (Rajisthan), over 6000
    upper caste Hindus from 45 villages  gathered at a Chaumanda Devi temple
    with the intention to  teach  them  (Dalits)  a  lesson.  These included
    politicians and a  superintendent  of  police.  Armed  with weapons they
    killed 60 Dalits in a Dalit  village.  They used soaked rags with petrol
    and burnt them alive besides  demolishing  their houses. They gang-raped
    women and mutilated  their  genitals.  Recently  in  Jul 97, upper caste
    police shot dead 10 Dalits  in  Ramabai,  Ambedkar  colony at Ghatkopar,
    Bombay, and  wounded  several  others.  According  to  the  Indian media
    reports, a considerable number of Dalits have embraced Islam in southern
    India. This conversion  is  due  to   their  disenchantment  with  false
    promises made by Hindu leaders  to  improve  their  lot. The only course
    left open for them to shake off their  misfortune was enmasse conversion
    to Islam - a religion of peace, equality and tolerance. 

    Communal tension - Sikhs vs. Punjabi Hindus 

    The Sikhs under the leadership of Master Tara Singh strongly opposed the
    partition of India in 1947. A new  communal  tension  arose at the first
    census in 1961, when large number  of  Punjabi  Hindus declared Hindi as
    their mother tongue,  even  though  most  of  them  could  not speak the
    language. The attempts  of  Punjabi-Hindu  organisation  to make Punjabi
    Hindus give false particulars of  their  mother tongue, further enhanced
    Sikh fears. In the united Punjab, the Sikhs could have held a balance of
    power between the Hindus and  the  Muslims,  but  after the partition of
    Punjab, they were reduced to the position of a minority. They hoped that
    the Congress government, would be  generous  enough  to accommodate them
    and provide them  equal  opportunities  in  every  sphere of life, which
    proved to be a nightmare. 

    Punjabi Suba. Jawaharlal Nehru at the  beginning of 1947 said that there
    was nothing wrong in conceding,  "A  political  area  in northern India,
    where the Sikhs might also freely experience  the glow of freedom". When
    the plea for a Sikh state within  India  was criticized as communal, the
    Akali Dal put  forward  an  alternative  demand  of  creating a Punjabi-
    speaking state. With the creation  of  a new Andhra Pardesh State on Oct
    1, 1953 the demand for linguistic realignment of state boundaries became
    popular. Due to increasing  sentiments  of the public, the government of
    India constituted a State  Reorganization  Commission in Dec 1953, which
    rejected the demand of Punjabi speaking state. It was taken by the Sikhs
    as a breach of the commonly held  and  deeply  cherished secular ideals.
    This was all the more infuriating  to  the  Sikhs, when the principle of
    demarcation of state boundaries on  a  linguistic  basis was accepted by
    the government and implemented  everywhere  in India, the sole exception
    being Punjab. In respect of their demand,  they were perturbed as to why
    the wishes of the Hindu  minority  (45  %)  should prevail over the Sikh
    majority (55 %).  Jawaharlal  Nehru  strongly  opposed  the  demand of a
    Punjabi-speaking state. After his  death  on  27th May 1964, Lal Bahadur
    Shastri, the new Prime Minister  appointed  a parliamentary committee in
    Oct 1965, under the chairmanship  of  Sardar Hukam Singh, the speaker of
    the lower House to look into the  issue  of  "Punjabi Suba". But Shastri
    also continued the policy of Nehru and  was deadly against the by-passed
    the committee and forestalled its report.  Making the 1961 census as the
    basis and the Tehsil ( instead of village)  as the unit was a deliberate
    design to punish the Sikhs. The demarcation  was done on communal rather
    than on a linguistic  basis.  Consequently  merit  was again ignored and
    justice  denied.  It  not  only  increased   tension   between  the  two
    communities, but also led  to  grave  situation  and  communal  rioting,
    instigated by the Hindu revivalist "Jan Singh". To defuse the situation,
    the demand of Punjabi suba was accepted under the Punjabi Reorganization
    Act, 1966. However, it  was  found  highly  unsatisfactory  by  the Sikh
    leadership, who alleged that the Suba was much smaller in size than what
    facts would have determined. 

    Operation Blue Star - 1984. The  6  Jun,  army  operation on the holiest
    shrine of Sikh religion  -  Amritsar's  Golden  temple, on the orders of
    then Prime Minister Mrs Indra Gandhi, highly annoyed the Sikh community.
    To them it was beyond belief that the Golden Temple - the very symbol of
    their faith, could be desecrated  by  the armed forces of a free and the
    so called secular India. For the  last  400 years this temple had been a
    symbol of Sikh strength,  pride  and  self  respect.  Therefore,  6 June
    assault was taken as an  attack  on  the  Sikh  faith  and religion. The
    extremist Sikh leader, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and his followers
    died defending the sanctity  of  their  holy  place.  The five Sikh head
    priests declared 15 July  "Martyrs  Day"  for  those who laid down their
    lives defending the Golden Temple. 

    Besides the general humiliation suffered at hand of the army, there were
    two fostering sores. First, the  attitude  of local Hindus (they account
    for about 48% of million  population),  who welcomed the army action and
    celebrated by distributing sweets as if attending a festival. They feted
    the troops as if they had  just  won  a  victory  in  a war. Second, the
    Indian government and official media  also projected that the Sikhs as a
    whole were seeking secession, backed  by foreign power, and that India's
    unity was threatened if the  army  crack-down  on  Golden Temple was not
    undertaken. The Sikhs had been the trusted  soldiers of the Indian Army.
    Operation "Blue Star" frustrated and  demoralized Sikh community to such
    an extent that Sikh soldiers rebelled  and the then Indian Chief of Army
    Staff Gen A.S.  Vaidya  had  to  appear  on  national  TV  and  Radio to
    broadcast an appeal to  Sikh  soldiers  saying,  "Do not believe rumours
    being  spread  to  undermine  the   confidence   in   your  leaders  and
    comrades-in-arms". An unusual move and the one implying some uncertainty
    in the normal chain of command to enforce discipline. 

    Indian Muslims 

    The Muslims  of  India,  who  make  about  12  percent  of  960  million
    population, are the largest oppressed  minority in the so called secular
    India. These Indian Muslims are being  treated as second class citizens.
    In those parts of India where  the  Muslims  were  in majority, enjoying
    superior social and economic status  for centuries, special police force
    was created to suppress them. The local  Hindu population was encouraged
    to instigate communal riots in which Muslims were not allowed to protect
    themselves and were  subjected  to   merciless  torture  and  cruelties.
    According to Jai Prakash  Naraian,  "The  Muslim  population has been so
    much cowed and demoralized that  they  are not acting according to their
    convictions. They are afraid that if they expressed their real feelings,
    their loyalty will be suspected".  A  prominent Hindu writer S. Harrison
    claims that, "Hindus have a  natural  right to rule in modern India as a
    form of long overdue retribution for the sins of the Mughal overlords". 

    Anti- Muslim Riots. Since its very  inception  India has witnessed Hindu
    Muslim riots which belies  the  claim  of  religious harmony and secular
    stance of the successive Indian  governments.  In the recent anti-Muslim
    riots in Mumbai (Maharashtra),  armed  marauders  of the "Army of Shiva"
    inflicted death and destruction on  terrorized  Muslims, with the police
    often conniving with the Hindu  extremists  in  the killings of Muslims.
    Recent reports  in  some  Indian  newspapers  show  that  the  notorious
    Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh  (  R.S.S)  for  whose  Muslim-baiting gurus
    master-minded the murder of Gandhiji in 1948, have built a power-base in
    the ruling caucus of the BJP. The R.S.S. for whom a united India (Akhand
    Bharat) is an article of faith, wants the BJP in case it sweeps power in
    1998 elections, to run India  as  a  Hindu  state  and  leash the Muslim
    minority. 

    Writing in "Hindustan Times," of  31  July  97, a Hindu Journalist, C.P.
    Bhambhri comments, "The BJP, RSS,  VHP  and  other allied organisations,
    without any shadow of doubt, re  using  the culture and history of India
    to promote the concept of  Hindu  nation  which  was  a victim of Muslim
    rulers and their purpose is to  consolidate  Hinduism  around a specific
    religious ethos selectively  chosen  by  political  leaders". He further
    comments, "The BJP hate list of  Muslims  continues  to unify the Hindus
    against their religious enemy  as  revealed  by  Indian history. The BJP
    will like to re-write the  Constitution  for establishing a strong Hindu
    state". The BJP  advocates  Hindvata,  an  India based on Hindu culture,
    though it claims to respect other  religions.  Many,  especially India's
    large Muslim minority,  are  concerned  about  the BJP coming to office.
    They remember it as the party  responsible  for  the 1992 destruction of
    the 16th century Babri Masque in Ayodhya (UP), which led to bloody Hindu
    - Muslim riots. 

    Hindu Claim on Kaaba. Inspite  of  half  hearted  efforts made by Indian
    authorities during the last  fifty  years,  the  question  of the Muslim
    minority continues to be complex,  critical  and in many ways unresolved
    due to growing influence of  the  Hindu  fundamentalist  parties.  Every
    communal riot has contributed to the creation of the siege mentality and
    the feelings of social outsider  among  the Muslims. The moving accounts
    in the book of M.J Akbar "Riot  after  Riot" published in 1988 leads one
    to conclude that the problem of  Physical  insecurity  really haunts the
    Muslim community. Every assertion of the forces of Hinduvata and retreat
    of secular  political  formations  have  strengthened  the  feelings  of
    insecurity among the  Muslims.  Khalful-Suleman,  in  an  article titled
    "Kashmir is the first defence line  against  Hindu  march," published in
    "Al-Bilad" of Saudi Arabia, dated  3  Feb 98 opines, "During the past 50
    years, there has been tremendous human rights violations and desecration
    of Muslim shrines and mosques in  Kashmir."  Referring  to Hindu designs
    versus Islam, he further adds  that,  "Hindu writers in their books have
    claimed that the Holy Kaaba was in  fact  a  Hindu temple of Rama, which
    was occupied by the Muslims'  prophet  and changed into a Muslim place".
    The Hindu authors  claim  that  this  is  essential  for  the  Hindus to
    retrieve Kaaba from the Muslims. 

    Rise of BJP and its Agenda 

    The Bhartia Janata Party is  the  strongest  political  party in today's
    India. Its ideological roots go back to 1925 when RSS came into being as
    a Hindu revivalist organisation  on  non  political  basis. In 1951, the
    emergence of Jana Sangh was its  political  birth  which merged with the
    amorphous Janata,  a  conglomeration  of  diverse  parties  to fight the
    Congress of secular ideology. In Apr  1980 Jana Sangh group of the Janta
    decided to re-emerge  under  its  present  name  of  BJP. The BJP had an
    advantage over Jana Sangh in that it was more respectable and acceptable
    to the masses. In addition, it had  grown  to become a national party in
    real sense. It started  to  capitalize  on  the killing of Hindus by the
    Sikhs and the mass conversion of Hindus  to Islam in Tamil Nadu in 1982.
    It was during this period that  the  BJP  made  itself financially sound
    with the help of contributions from  Non -Resident Indians (NRIs) and by
    bringing to its fold a part of  the  Indian  bourgeoisie  and feudal who
    used to be the backbone  of  Swatantra  Party.  Even  after discouraging
    results of 1984 elections, the BJP  went  on  consolidating its position
    with the help of RSS, VHP and  Bajrang  Dal  combine. It fully exploited
    the weakness of Hindu masses by concentrating  on the issue of restoring
    Hindu temples, with  the  Ramjanambhoomi  Mandir  heading the list. This
    offensive was combined  with  the  anti-  Congress  (I)  and  anti-Rajiv
    campaigns. The Shah Bano case  was  a  testimony  to  the Congress (I)'s
    concern over the ever growing  strength  of the BJP. How successful were
    these tactics and strategies of the BJP? 

    This was conspicuously apparent in  the  election results of 1989, where
    after it is a story of march toward victory. Its political ascendancy in
    quick succession from a mere  12  seats  in  the Lok Sabha in 1984 to 88
    seats in the Nov 89 elections and  to  123 in the May 1991 elections and
    about 250 to 255 seats in 1998  elections,  is  seen by a faction of the
    Indian society as  a  challenge  to  the  secular  basis  of  the Indian
    constitution, as well as to the  image  by which India wants to be known
    in the international comity of nations. The phasing out of the so-called
    secular forces like  Congress  and  emergence  of  Hindu  fundamentalist
    forces like BJP is a clear manifestation  that India is likely to become
    a Brahmanic state, with no rights for minorities in near future. 

    BJP vs. Indian Minorities 

    The spectacular rise of  BJP,  since  its  formation  in  1980 in Indian
    politics is an unfortunate event for Indian minorities. The party is not
    only anti-Muslim but it is determined to establish a strong Hindu state.
    In 1990, its  president,  Lal  Krishna  Advani  toured  the country in a
    chariot (Rath Yatra), calling on Hindus  to destroy the historical Babri
    Mosque in Ayodhya - a Muslim  landmark  built  on the birth place of the
    Hindu god (Ram). After a  mob  razed  the  Mosque  on  6 Dec 1992, Hindu
    -Muslim riots spread throughout the country and the BJP's strength grew.
    Six years after the party goaded  Hindu  mobs  into destroying the Babri
    Mosque, the BJP still demands that a temple of Ram be built on the site.
    Sometime its leaders opine that they would put up the new structure only
    after some kind of consensus with  Muslims.  But recently its hard liner
    and militant leaders changed their stance in the rallies of Hindu masses
    and again pledged to built a magnificent  temple, thus creating an alarm
    of communal violence. The  Muslims  fear  that  under  a BJP government,
    their separate laws  on  marriage,  divorce  and  inheritance  would  be
    scrapped. The slaughter  of  cow,  which  is  sacred  to Hindus, will be
    banned. K.S Sudarshan,  joint  general  secretary  of  the RSS opines, "
    There are other meats for Muslims  to  eat". He further states, "For too
    long the Muslims have been  appeased.  They  divided our country and now
    they are demanding  job  reservations.  Hindus  are  blamed whenever the
    Muslims start trouble". The BJP's manifesto, released in the second week
    of Feb 98, pounded home its  commitment  to, "One nation, one people and
    one culture". The BJP has  grown  and  thrived  on divisive politics. As
    discussed earlier the party is an  arm  of the RSS, a secretive group of
    militants who aim to transform  secular  India  into a Hindu state. From
    moderator like Vojpayee to  hard-liner  like  Advani, all are members of
    the RSS, a disciplined  civilian  militia  that  fights for the cause of
    Hindu nationalism with  about  1  million  active  members.  The  RSS is
    interested  only  in   creating   ideal   Hindu   citizens,   yet   its
    ultra-nationalist  regiments,  wearing  khaki  shorts  and white shirts,
    represent the ideal of a  decidedly  militant  kind  of citizenship. The
    BJP's extended family also  includes  the Wishwa Hindu Praishad (WHP), a
    group of religious extremists who help  finance political operations and
    enforce ideological purity. BJP  takes  up the Hindu cause by supporting
    WHP's stand to retrieve 300 Muslim  places  of  worship and convert them
    into Hindu temples. 

    Sum Up 

    The Hindu politics since the  partition  of India in 1947 has been based
    on three different themes. First, that  the Muslims were responsible for
    vivisection of Mother India, hence they are anti-national. Added to this
    are their  "historical  grievances"  against  Muslims,  which  makes the
    situation really pathetic. Second,  Nehru  and the Congress accepted the
    Muslims demand of Partition, and later introduced secularism in India to
    appease the minorities, that  is  why  Hindus  have every right to fight
    against the Congress for  their  rights.  Third,  is  the dream of Hindu
    Rashtra (Hindu State), which will satisfy  the demands and rights of the
    Hindu majority. In other words  the  ultimate  desire  of Hindu majority
    seems to fulfil  the  dream  of  Ram   Rajya  (Ram's  rule).  The  BJP's
    manifesto, though much changed and  reformed,  still revolves around the
    same objective. India is totally  a  closed  society,  fundamentalist in
    nature, with secularism as a front piece to deceive the world community