India is the largest democratic country in the world. But in recent years we have deliberately lowered its dignity. Every passing day, the democratic set up of the country is being attacked for personal gains. The trend has become malignant. The situation is so grave that very recently the Supreme Court had to ask persons occupying high public office not to make any controversial statement. It’s a pity that the day when the Supreme Court made this remark, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar proudly announced ban on Padmavati. The Bihar Chief Minister reportedly stated that until and unless controversial scenes from the film were deleted, his government would not allow the film to be screened in the State. One can cite numerous other instances to prove the point that these days we are living in an intolerant society. We have simply forgotten that polarity is the driving force of India. It is time for us to realize that by fighting amongst ourselves either in the name of Padmavati or Indu Sarkar, we are actually weakening the foundation of this great country.
Why are we talking about Padmavati or Indu Sarkar only? Forget about Art & Culture, Indian plurality is being attacked in every sphere of life every day. On December 1, results of Uttar Pradesh Municipal Commission polls will be declared. As the ruling party of the State, which captured over 300 seats of 405 seats in the State Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is almost certain to win this election. But in the run up to the poll, we witnessed efforts from the ruling party to divide the electorate on communal lines. Even the state’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was no exception. In a meeting while addressing the gathering the Chief Minister stressed that anyone saying good about Pakistan would be crushed. Another BJP leader threatened a lady belonging to minority community of grave consequences if she did not vote for BJP. Another leader of the same party who has taken oath to uphold the dignity of the Indian Constitution went a step further. He threatened severe punishment to all those irrespective of caste, creed and religion who will not vote for the saffron party.
It seems that there is a deliberate ploy to divide Indian society. No one will buy the argument that it is the prevailing mood of the country. So the question arises who is indulging in such divisive politics? Are they doing it deliberately to damage the social fabric of the country? It would not be appropriate to cast any aspirations on anyone without having concrete proof. But over all, it can be said that everyone is contributing generously to finish plurality, the hallmark of Indian society permanently. Forget about Yogi Adityanath or any other BJP leaders as they have joined politics with a particular mindset. But what our so called secular forces doing? The so called secular forces are simply condemning the incidents keeping an eye on their respective vote banks. They have shown no intention to take on the divisive forces head on, virtually leaving an open field for the enemies of the country. Till the so called secular and democratic forces take the fight to the opposition camp, Indian plurality will continue to be attacked relentlessly and regularly.
