“DEATH OF SECULARISM IN INDIA”

By RAHAT GULFAM MATTOO

This writeup is not about all things that happened in past but what forces me to write up today is the recent incident where 5 men abducted 72 yrs old Muslim man from Gaziabad (UP), kicked him, beat him, forced him to chant “JAI SHREE RAM ” and also chopped his beard. I mean where are we heading. They are the people who are trying to spread hatred and are targeting the right to dignity.’
If we go back to our history, India is regarded since its foundation as a secular state and surely the protection of minorities has been a part of history. After independence, we had the choice and we choose to be a secular nation. The PREAMBLE of the constitution mentioned the word “SECULAR” and the Government of the initial decades makes sure that this is communicated across the country with such diversity. So secularism has been one of the most significant aspects of our constitution. But today the term secularism itself became a problematic one in our current context of India. People in their own country are insecure even in the 21st century. Secularism means giving equal rights and opportunities to and taking an equal stand in the case of every religion. But what is happening right now everyone is polarised in one direction.
A question arises here —Is ISLAMOPHOBIA on the rise in the world’s largest democracy? because of some extremely worrying images and some worrying speculations about the direction that India is traveling in. Generally, ISLAMOPHOBIA is defined as a fear or hatred, or prejudice against a particular religion but in the Indian context, it is deep-rooted only based on the hatred towards that particular religion, towards the people who believe in that particular religion. Every day Indian citizens have been subjected to mob lynching, love jihad issues, etc. I remember an incident that happens during lockdown i,e how the terminology CORONA-JIHAD became so viral without knowing the fact. A vegetable trader who happened to be a Muslim was beaten. All this gives a feeling that if u are a Muslim it is very tough in India. It’s a brutal and poignant truth that islamophobia resides in the minds and hearts of the majority of this country. Do you ever saw those who are performing the lynching, those who are bringing the violent attacks that there is little or no accountability for their actions by the state? Even a state is showing a neglected attitude.
There is a strong belief that islamophobia started from 2014 onwards, but the year 2014 marked the beginning of a year when a massive mandate was given to a political party that has always shown loose threats towards secularism and acted more like a theocratic way. But maybe it has been started in 1992 when in a large country which was secular if u bring down a huge mosque. This led to huge communal riots across the country and somehow took a turn called islamophobia. Apart from India Canadian PM in his speech said that islamophobia is real. The killing of a Muslim family was not an accident it was a terrorist attack. They were rammed under a truck. This attack sparked a national debate. All these things happen because they are motivated by hatred in the heart of one of our communities. Muslim families have often felt uncertain or even fearful when they go out in the streets wearing traditional grab.
At last, I am reminded of the universal message contained in the “Holy QURAN” that “Good and evil are not equal, repel evil with good and be patient”. While our faith asks us to be patient in the face of evil and adversity. Then the ist duty of political leaders is to ensure the security of citizens and to ensure that Indians can be free to live, work and pray as they wish. Let’s end this hate, everybody with little understanding knows that hating is bad. Praying Almighty Allah may help us to get the hatred out of our hearts.

(The author is a freelance writer from Kishtwar and had completed MA in Economic and can be reached at mattoorahat@gmail.com).