Phony Secularism

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Hurriyat leader and the Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir seem to have a problem with Gandhian philosophy and a fellow-muslim, the J&K Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, espousing these causes. Check out this story reported on Times Now channel. Geelani has even sarcastically suggested that the Chief Minister, of whom I am no great admirer of, change his name to Ghulam Gandhi Azad!!

Even for someone like me, hardened over the years by incredibly stupid, inane and uncivilised statements made by politicians, this was shocking. A couple of no-good religious fanatics are questioning a democratically elected Chief Minister of an Indian state for asking people to follow the teachings of the man whom Indians consider the Father of the Nation?? Incredible!

Will they get away with it? Most probably. Will the media play this up the same way they play up utterances by certain other religious groups? I doubt it. Will the Chief Minister or the party he represents, treat these reactions of these clowns with the contempt it deserves? Oh no..on the contrary, am sure they will soon be grovelling before these two and the religiously intolerant groups they represent.

Which brings me to the question, what is secularism? Secularism fundamentally represents all practices that are free from religion. This, of course, is the universally accepted definition of the term.

But in India, the term has another meaning, perpetuated constantly by the Congress, the Left and other parties that claim they are left-leaning, liberal etc. These parties, by their reactions, actions, or the lack of it at times, have deliberately twisted its meaning to allow some religious groups considerable leeway in matters such as extremist views, while they come down extremely harshly on others. In other words, they practice a phony kind of secularism.

Religious extremism, indeed extremism of any kind, does not have a place in the civilised world and has to be dealt with an iron hand. Now if this is of the right-wing or the left-wing type should be immaterial and a truly democratic and secular nation should show no tolerance whatsoever for these kinds of dangerous thinking.

But with phony secularists at the helm, this is, at least for the time-being, a tough ask!