06-25-2009, 11:45 PM
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Conclusions
The Hindu in India is faced with a unique situation. While he is theoretically part of a majority, he is so fractured ideologically speaking into various ideological groups that he is virtually powerless to influence the politics of the country. His adversaries know this. The entire burden of maintaining a secular state is placed on the hapless Hindu, when the real perpetrators of anti secular behavior lie elsewhere in the electorate. The minority consistently appeal to their minority status to ask for special privileges, knowing full well that the Hindu is powerless and is in reality has no more powers than the Muslim and is for all practical purposes a minority . The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that no political party including the Bharatiya Janata Party will fashion an electoral platform to appeal solely to Hindutva sentiments. The Hindutva vote while considerable, is stuck currently at 23% and shows little signs of increasing, despite the palpable effects of the Hindu renaissance. In numerical terms this is the single largest ideological grouping in the country. However, little attempt is made by the strategic thinkers to coalesce other groups around this admittedly largest single group. In contrast the attempt to garner Muslim votes is unabashedly anti-secular in tone and most of the parties fall over each other trying to appease this second largest group in India. The remainder of the Hindu population appears to be content to be reduced to second class status in the land of their forefathers. Of course the simple answer to this is that the Hindu should adopt a unified stand at least on those key issues that affect the exercise of their faith. However, one constant characteristic of the Hindu, throughout the ages, has been his inability to stay unified even when confronted by blatantly disruptive forces and there seems to be little hope that he will change his behavior anytime soon.
I do not see a practical way out of this impasse. This is evident in the increasing frustration of the 20% of the electorate that regards itself as Hindutva. They see themselves as increasingly embattled and under siege. It is dangerous for the future health of the republic that such a large constituency, even though it may not be a majority, sees itself as helpless to influence the politics sufficiently to advance Hindu causes. Till now the Hindus have eschewed by and large violence as a means of achieving their ends, as the Muslims have done repeatedly using riots as a means of expression in most of the country and using ethic cleansing in Jammu and Kashmir to drive out the Hindu population. The question facing the Hindu is stark. Will he go the way of the Buddhist in India and disappear into the sunset or will he resort to means that he has hitherto been reluctant to use. There is no clear cut answer to these questions and we do not have the ability to prognosticate the future.
[1] Starting around 1880, the French state gradually took over the running of most hospitals, banned catechism from state schools, legalized divorce, removed crucifixes from public offices and required civil weddings at the local town hall before a couple could wed in church.
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