SECULAR VERSUS COMMUNAL: A NEW TWIST TO THE DEBATE (18/05/2014)

The change of guards in New Delhi gives a new twist to the “Secular” versus “Communal” debate and the manner these terms have been defined by various political parties for their own political gains. All these self-styled “secular” political parties dismiss BJP as a “communal” party. These so called “secular” political parties continued to raise this bogey of communalism even during the electioneering in a bid to infuse a fear psychosis in Muslims to extract political gains. If the definition of secularism as propagated by these political parties is considered correct, it will imply that along with BJP even the majority electorates have become “communal” during this election leading to a BJP victory. How else the victory of BJP be explained by these “secular” political parties? It is high time political parties redefine what constitutes “secularism” and what constitutes “communal”. To dub BJP “communal” is an insult to majority electorate of India as well. The earlier this realization sets in among these self-styled “secular” parties the better. The stark reality of reverse polarization is before us and hence the politics of appeasement in the name of secularism must stop.