Praising Nehru isn't enough: Congress must admit they failed at 'Secularism'

The Sangh Parivar’s version of secularism is crass majoritarianism, bordering on the xenophobic, but what about the secularism of the Congress and other non-BJP parties? This throws up the question more pertinent to the current political context: can secularism be a rallying point for the parties who have been vouching for it for decades? “Secularism was and remains more than an ideal. It is a compelling necessity in a country as diverse as India… There can be no Indianness without secularism,” said Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the 125th birth anniversary celebration of Jawaharlal Nehru. She was quoting Nehru. Obviously, what she did not mention was her party had failed the grand concept by reducing it to a mere political slogan. That outfits with clear communal leaning have occupied the centrestage right now is clear indication that the Congress and other parties with similar genetic make-up have failed to live up to the principle of secularism in both letter and spirit. The issue is more serious for Sonia’s party, since it faces a threat to its very existence after being wiped off the state after state by the forces which have a dangerously twisted understanding of secularism. There was a time when the party’s powerful combination of Brahmins, Muslims and Dalits ensured the party ruled for majority of the six decades after independence. But with the passing of time, each community has either parted ways or continues to be objective about supporting the Grand Old Party during elections. [caption id=“attachment_1810155” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Naresh Sharma/Firstpost[/caption] “During Nehru’s time there was no need to put the term secularism in the Constitution because at that time, everyone understood and practised it in spirit,” says Dr. Naved Jamal, Assistant Professor, Jamia Millia University. “It was only during Indira’s time that it was inserted in the 42nd amendment to the Constitution, that too without clearly defining it. Since then, political parties have misused it for their political gains,” he adds. The word was derived from the Latin word “saeculum” meaning generation or age in 1851. This was relevant in Europe as a movement to separate the Church from the State, an ideology which shapes contemporary society without reference to the divine. But the connotations of the term have changed over time, especially in India where secularism and communalism are considered two sides of a single coin. While the Congress claims to be the champion of secularism, it has seen losing the support of the minority communities over across the country over the decades. Be it West Bengal or Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Tamil Nadu, the party seems to be in ruins in most states that have sizeable minority population. The regional parties espousing secularism are shrinking in political importance too. The party has not given up hope yet though, “Political fortunes keep changing and they are never constant,” says Akhilesh Pratap Singh, national spokesperson of the Congress. “We don’t need to tell people about our credentials, they will realise it sooner than later,” he adds. But can a political party survive on hope only? After losing the support of almost all communities, it should have asked itself the question why its secularism has failed to win the faith of people. “Secularism stands for Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (composite culture) and the Congress is responsible for systematically damaging it over the past 50 years,” claims Syed Baba Ashraf, Islamic scholar and national secretary, All India Ulama & Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), an apex body of Sunni Sufi Muslims. “They gave control to Wahhabis who promote extremism. Deoband, Nadwa etc. gained prominence as Madrasas took over the traditional Khanqah, Astanas and Dargahs that were Sufi centres of learning.” The Congress has often raised the bogey of BJP and its ‘Hindutva’ agenda in the past, but has failed to promote alternate leadership that can help counter it. But they can draw inspiration from some Mahatma Gandhi himself, as American journalist Louis Fischer had described his visit to Noakhali, West Bengal after the communal riots in 1946. He called it a pilgrimage of penance in which the pilgrim wears no shoes. Sometimes hostile elements strewed broken glass, brambles and filth in his path. Yet Gandhi walked and went about ensuring communal harmony returns to the area. Perhaps the time is ripe for the party to “revisit” the term secularism.