Khandamal Points the Funeral of Indian Democracy
(Thomas D’Silva)
Vaishali (Ghaziabad), Feb 18: Through the long, dusty and highly populated villages of Khandamal, in Orissa, the slain body of Swami Lakshmananand was taken on a procession for two days with ‘slogans’ inciting sentiments neither religious nor secular but communal, claiming 38 lives and rendering over 25000 homeless in December 2008. With houses gutted, lives lost, people displaced and property destroyed, the sane minded citizens sighed, “It was indeed the funeral procession of Indian Secularism”!
Mr. Anto Akkara, the author of the book, ‘Khandamal: A blot on Indian Secularism’, addressing the staff and students of National Institute of Social Communication Research and Training (NISCORT) presented the picture of the communal frenzy which shamed India before the world. Which had made the Home Minister of India, P. Chidambaram to term it, “a blot on the face of Orissa”, and Mr. Paul Pradhan, director of an NGO had bluntly put “spineless administration”.
It may be recalled that on August 23, 2008 Swami Lakshmananand along with three other Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Leaders were killed in his ashram allegedly by the Maoists. But the ‘khanda’ tribals predominantly of a particular religion blamed the followers of another religion who were mostly from ‘panha’ caste. This led to reaction and communal tension. Added to this trouble was the allegation of lured and forced religious conversion and the attempt at reconversion. Casualties were heavy and the scars beyond repair: a nun, Meena Lalita was gang-raped, Fr. Bernard was critically injured and later died in the hospital, several institutions and places of worship were razed to the ground and the houses gutted. Once friends and peace loving neighbours turned sworn enemies!
The administration which seemed siding with one community was slow in acting. And when it did act, it lacked the will and vigour. “There was a heavy institutional bias”, explained Mr. Akkara with examples which could even stand legal scrutiny. There were 1300 FIRs filed but the police arrested only 632 of whom 27 are convicted. Manoj Pradhan, a BJP MLA has been sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment in this connection.
Politically, the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) cut off the relationship with his erstwhile coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly elections of 2009. He won with absolute majority but has done little in the secular front. There is a relative peace in Khandamal now. Mr. Akkara hoped, “that it is not a graveyard peace”!
The most pertinent question is why khandamal incident happened at all. The causes enumerated by many are doubted and debated. But one thing should never be forgotten: that tolerance is the key. A true democracy can flourish where there is freedom of thought, expression and belief. Will India with a boast of ‘the largest democracy in the world’, learn from the past and find meaning in ‘freedom of religion’ to prove that it is truly a Secular country
No comments:
Post a Comment