From: seetam@hub.eng.wayne.edu (Seetamraju Uday Bhaskar Sarma)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: .... On secularism & India Part I ...
Date: 21 Jan 1993 17:14:03 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

		Part II

What the heck happened to the millenia of history in this part
of this world.?  Do U see any trace of it in the govt, the lifestyle of
the city people? Do U see it in the education?  DO U see it in the
outlook of people, do U see in the dreams of the future of these people?
No trace of it.  It might as well not have existed.

I am serious.  Lets suppose, india had a totally different history.  Now
what would change in today's india? -- suppose that india had
a majority religion called Sada, and that there is a clash between the sad-ists
and the muslims (for some god-forsaken shit, or whatever).  Can someone
please tell me if the secularist's behaviour or their lives would be different.
Can U show me one institution, in that country we ran away from, that is based
on THE PRESENT CULTURAL MILIEU (Leave alone the history).

Initially democracy is what the secularists were aiming for.  Then they saw, that
the majority community can vote to pulverize all their stupid notions.
And so then, it was respect for the law.  What law ?  Law that can be
amended by a govt voted by a majority and amended by following other laws
that tell U how to modify the 1st.
So, now its basic human beliefs, and god knows what next.

Two communities clash.  The arbitrer was not the supreme court or any
court till the final round was played.  But the secularists deemed themselves
the `moral guides' and the `sitting judges' to the whole drama of the past
decade.  If the law and democracy was really something that was so holy
then why weren't such avenues pursued earlier?  No one knows.

It is a farce being played out to keep the label `uncompromizing'
on hindus.  What prevented the mob-ism that was demonstrated at ayondhya,
and has shown itself in BBY, from having recurred in the past?
Do U sincerely believe, only a secular education can make a peron
tolerant to other religions?  Do U sincerely believe that rules and laws
can stop a person or persons from snatching something that he feels is
denied to him?  Why cant the onus of controlling violence be placed on
each person, and let the person decide.  Do U sincerely belive, that
the average man, unaware of western ideologies will behave like a savage?

If something is denied by an external force, protest is inevitable.  Force
begets an equal and opposite reaction.  Leave the power in the hands of
whoever gets the majority.  And convince me that once the hindus get to
power, the people ruling will be the `indian-mafia' (now, the sangh is an
equivalent to the word mafia in the secularist dictionary).  And convince
me that the hindus would start persecuting the muslims.  And convince me
that once the BJP is in power, it will give way to the hard-core right -
i.e., the RSS/VHP.  And convince me that : there are no humans among
hindus, who will `vote' to prevent anything bad to the muslims : or that :
: they will be a silent majority.

And convince me that this streak of radicalism in hinduism is a random
happening in history.  And that the hindus who watched from the sidelines
as outsider after outsider dragged a trail of destruction thru the subcontinent
were not the ancestors of the people of today.   That the hindus of today
are as aggressive and possessive as anyone can be, unlike his ancestors.
That he no longer deserves to be called hindu, as there is a world of difference
between the hinduism, that the secularits scream is dead, and the
hinduism that is practised today.

And convince me that the hindus would avoid bismillah khan's shahnai
recitals, or that hindus will refuse to work together with prof. kalam,
or that bhabha reactor will be renamed... etc...   I cant fathom the
cause (or the fear) that forces the secularists to behave the way they do.
Violence cannot be suppressed.  Even in 5000 AD, the UTOPIA that's the
stuff secularists dreams are made up of, will also have killings simply
because there is always the fringe element.  But because of the fringe
behaviour, U have no goddam right to tie up the rest.  Law cannot
force a person to behave.  Its responsibility.

I dont care about the RJB-BM dispute, personally.  But what I care about
and want to see is THINGS LIKE THIS : Whoever wins the next elections,
congress or BJP, I dont care : when they are stepping into the parliament
for the first time for the new session, I want to see an arati being done
to those WHO LIKE IT DONE.  To the `others' who dont like, either walk
in earlier or later.

If U see religion or bigotry in that arati, go to hell.

Seetamraju Udaya Bhaskar Sarma
(email : seetam @ ece7 . eng . wayne . edu)

Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.pakistan