New Delhi: Even after 66 years of independence, Indian politics remains as divided and fragmented as it was at the time of independence. We are witnessing the same sectarian divide dominating the political discourse. We are still debating whether we should be more secular or less communal. Have we moved on from 1947 psyche or not? It seems the hangover is still persisting without showing any tangent sign of abatement.
India, that was a wonder, was divided on religious grounds and is still mired in the same sectarian politics. The 1947 division was supposed to solve this problem once and for ever but it always remained a mirage. The countrymen loved the idea of secularism but the political class tinkered with the basic philosophy of secularism that, originally, rests on equal treatment to all sections of the society without differentiating them on the basis of caste, creed and religion.
But political expediency forced the ruling class to introduce gentle appeasement of the vulnerable section of the society along with periodical and rhetorical chanting of secularism. The politics of vote bank overshadowed the need for genuine secularism. This kind of blatant appeasement had its reaction as well. To counter the vote bank politics of the ruling party, the right wing opposition came up with its own brand of nationalist politics.
While the vote bank politics rested primarily on appeasement and keeping the minorities under constant fear of communal backlash, the right wing nationalism started targeting the undue favour that was being offered to the minorities and in the process started targeting the minority community itself. If communalism is to be properly defined and understood then both sides indulged in communalism of convenience.
