In the 1980s, the then Supreme Leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP) Deng Xiaoping decided to focus exclusively on economic development. He realized that in order to make China’s dream come true, the economy shattered by Mao’s decades of faulty policies would have to be revitalized.
The decade saw rapid economic growth and infrastructure development in the country. Foreign investors and technologies were invited to China. When her own colleagues in the party protested, accusing her of promoting capitalist policies, Deng shut her down with the retort that she “doesn’t care about the color of a cat as long as it’s catching rats”. . This ruthless pragmatism and the courage to set aside ideologies for the greater national good has helped China reach where it is today.
The developing world is now debating these issues. Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist James Carville quipped in 1992, “It’s the economy, idiot.” Countries are catching on to Carville’s economic mantra, bypassing ideological hamstrings. Anyone who visits the Saudi Arabian pavilion at the recently concluded Expo 2020 Dubai will attest to the progressive and ultramodern presentation of the mothership of Orthodox Islam. Live images of race cars soaring with Saudi women on wheels captivated and astonished every visitor. The same is the case with the countries of Asia and Africa.
But, sadly, we are arguing about communal polarization here. Leaders of the opposition are writing op-eds like in India, in every street corner, Hindus and Muslims have crossed swords. This may fit the political narrative for some, but it will certainly hurt the country’s global narrative at a time when the leadership is relentlessly pushing the agenda of development and prosperity for every Indian. No other leadership appreciates this imperative better than the current leadership. 2020 will be the same for India as the 1980s were for China. A decade-long focus on the economy could uncover the country’s latent potential and make it into the club of developed nations.
Talk of polarization may be premature. Indian social leaders need to stand up against the forces of hatred and violence
Pundits who have pointed fingers at the central government or some Hindu organizations for this alleged polarization have a sinister agenda – they want to divert the national discourse by dragging the name of the prime minister into it. But the government’s actions speak volumes about its vision of inclusive and development for all.
Communalism will hurt India’s prospects, but its exaggeration will hurt us even more. Is the Indian society of 1.3 billion people really polarised? Should some fringe elements be elevated to the status of ‘makers of the national narrative’ for a vast country like ours? Isn’t that tantamount to calling the entire American society racist, just because some reprehensible incidents of racial violence took place there?
India’s communal problem is centuries old and it arises from time to time. It may be a ploy of sorts, but isn’t it on the part of some political leaders to pretend and take a moral high ground when their own wardrobe is filled with horrific skeletons of communal orgy ?
This is not to reduce the potential threat that communal elements pose to the national fabric of India. At the time of independence, we had paid a heavy price for this, whose Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated now. These elements, be it Muslims or Hindus, do not and should not represent our respective mainstream communities. Merely turning away from responsibility for one’s actions is tantamount to being a communal apology. This requires creating a civil society response.
Social media is partly to blame. It is democratic not only in nature and spirit but also in noise and chaos. As shown on Twitter or Facebook, perceived injustice affects even the sane people. But the problem is that different stories and images circulate between different recipient groups, leading each to believe that their religion is under attack from the other. While the image of an attack on a Hindu procession attracted widespread attention among Hindu user groups, similarly provocative images of a mosque or acts against a Muslim group made their way to Muslim user groups. So the important lesson is that the social media narrative should be viewed with greater equality and fairness and it allows the establishment of law and order to take necessary action against the culprits.
All these events are not even fictional. Every hate speech will have consequences; Every rape threat actually translates into a real incident. So the social leadership should immediately come forward, condemn and clearly state that such words and acts have no place in civilized discourse.
After independence, India indulged in minority communal politics for vote bank by the same parties which are promoting morality today. Communalism gives rise to communalism. That brand of politics of appeasement in the country is over for good, hence the opposition is calling the new system majoritarian politics. The minority leadership must reconcile its new position and end such minority-majority distinctions. Learning to live in harmony with the rest of our mainstream national society should be seen as an important obligation.
It is also important that the Muslim leadership come out of Wahhabist orthodox interpretations of Islam that seek to pit Muslims against non-Muslims and promote separatism and exclusivity. The return of ‘hijab’ and ‘niqab’ debates is symptomatic of this, as well as the rise of violent, ultra-radical organizations such as the Popular Front of India (PFI). A more inclusive and humane Islam promoted by organizations such as the Nahdlatul Ulama, a 90 million strong Islamic organization in Indonesia under the dynamic leadership of its president Yahya Chollil Stakf aka Pak Yahya, should be the way forward for them.
The reaction of sections of Hindus, including some wearing saffron robes, is also completely non-Hindu. Talk of violent language and destruction of an entire community smacks of his attempt to denigrate Hinduism. It is worth noting that mainstream Hindu organizations such as the RSS have distanced themselves and denied such allegations.
Talk of polarization may be premature, but the Indian social leadership needs to stand up to the forces of hatred and violence by calling for peace, inclusivity and a nation-first narrative. India’s narrative of the decade should be “this is the economy, idiot!” The responsibility is on all of us.
The author is Member, National Executive, RSS and Member, Board of Governors, India Foundation