India
lekhaka-Jagdish N Singh
Like
its
predecessors,
the
saffron
government
too
continues
to
discriminate
against
Hindus.
Muslims
are
considered
a
minority
even
in
the
States
where
they
are
in
majority
but
not
vice
versa.
Since
the
BJP-led
NDA
government
under
the
leadership
of
Narendra
Modi
came
to
power
in
2014,
a
few
analysts
have
voiced
apprehensions
from
time
to
time
as
to
the
nature
of
the
State
of
India.
An
analyst
claimed
that
the
Modi
government
seeks
to
create
a
“Hindu
state…
where
citizens
with
other
religious
beliefs
are
tolerated
but
have
second‐class
status.”
Another
analyst
branded
the
events,
such
as
the
Ram
temple
construction
in
Ayodhya
and
revocation
of
the
special
status
of
Jammu
and
Kashmir,
as
“a
calculated
move…
to
consolidate
the
new
majoritarian
polity
in
India.”
Yet
another
analyst
has
come
forward
with
an
‘assessment’ that
“Hinduisation
of
India
is
near
complete…
The
country’s
secular
and
inclusive
ethos
are
already
beyond
repair.”
And,
to
top
it
all,
one
more
analyst
prophesied
that
India
would
become
a
Hindu
Rashtra
by
2025?
In
a
letter
to
Prime
Minister
Modi
in
April
this
year,
over
a
hundred
retired
senior
civil
servants
claimed
that
the
administration
of
law
under
his
government
has
become
the
means
by
which
“the
minorities
can
be
kept
in
a
state
of
perpetual
fear.”
Dispelling
Hindu
Terror:
Smita
Mishra’s
book
Lt.
Colonel
Purohit:
The
Man
Betrayed?
aces
it
One
finds
there
is
absolutely
no
substance
in
such
assertions
against
the
Modi
government.
India
is
far
from
moving
towards
any
type
of
theocratic
State,
wherein
the
State
accords
primacy
to
the
religion
of
the
majority
community.
In
India,
there
is
no
such
primacy
to
Hinduism,
the
religion
of
the
majority
community.
The
present
India
is
basically
a
secular
State
which
gives
preferential
treatment
to
the
followers
of
non-Hindu
religions.
Like
its
predecessors,
the
Modi
government
cares
a
lot
for
the
minorities
in
the
country.
It
does
reach
out
to
the
minorities
on
the
occasions
of
their
important
religious
festivals.
In
a
message
on
Christmas
yesterday,
President
Droupadi
Murmu
said,
“I
extend
my
heartiest
greetings
to
all
the
countrymen,
especially
Christian
brothers
and
sisters,
on
the
festival
of
Christmas.
This
festival
is
a
symbol
of
peace
and
brotherhood
for
the
entire
mankind…
The
festival
of
Christmas
inspires
us
to
treat
each
other
with
love
and
kindness.”
In
his
message
on
the
occasion,
Prime
Minister
Modi
too
tweeted:
“Merry
Christmas!
May
this
special
day
further
the
spirit
of
harmony
and
joy
in
our
society.
We
recall
the
noble
thoughts
of
Lord
Christ
and
the
emphasis
on
serving
society.”
It
may
look
symbolic
but
it
proves
that
there
is
no
basic
change
in
the
approach
of
the
Modi
government
towards
the
minorities
as
compared
to
the
previous
non-BJP
predecessors.
In
fact,
after
the
Modi
government
took
over,
it
launched
a
campaign
to
provide
basic
amenities
to
ensure
educational
empowerment
of
minorities.
During
the
first
term
of
the
Modi
government
between
2014
and
2019,
the
representation
of
minorities
in
the
Central
government
employment
increased
from
just
about
4.9
per
cent
to
9.8
per
cent.
Rather
the
fact
is
that,
like
its
predecessors,
the
saffron
government
too
continues
to
discriminate
against
Hindus
in
their
own
country.
The
term
“religious
minority”
refers
only
to
Muslims,
and
to
some
extent
to
Christians,
but
the
religious
communities
who
are
minorities
in
its
true
sense,
like
Parsis,
Sikhs,
Buddhists
and
Jains,
have
been
left
out.
Muslims
are
considered
a
minority
even
in
the
States/UTs
where
they
are
in
majority,
such
as
the
Union
territory
of
Jammu
and
Kashmir.
So
are
the
Christians
in
Meghalaya
or
Nagaland
where
they
are
in
majority.
On
the
other
hand,
the
government
considers
the
Hindus
a
majority
even
in
the
States/UTs
where
they
are
in
minority.
How
Uddhav
Thackeray’s
Maharashtra
govt
tried
to
cover
up
murder
of
Hindu
pharmacist
Umesh
Kolhe
Moreover,
the
government
controls
the
religious
affairs
of
Hindus
but
not
that
of
the
other
religions.
According
to
a
report,
there
are
5,00,000
temples,
7,00,000
mosques
and
35,000
churches
in
this
country.
In
2022-23,
the
Central
government
collected
a
revenue
of
Rs
24,000
crore
from
just
six
Hindu
temples.
However,
it
collects
no
such
revenues
from
other
religious
places
at
all.
The
government
continues
to
discriminate
against
Hindus
in
the
area
of
education
also.
Article
30(1)
of
our
Constitution
states:
“All
minorities,
whether
based
on
religion
or
language,
shall
have
the
right
to
establish
and
administer
educational
institutions
of
their
choice.”
Unlike
the
minorities,
the
Hindus
cannot
establish
and
administer
the
educational
institutions
of
their
own
choice.
Moreover,
the
Modi
government
has
taken
no
steps
to
annul
or
amend
the
1991
Religious
Worship
Act,
which
is
highly
discriminatory
towards
Hindus.
It
has
been
used
to
deny
the
Hindus
their
fundamental
right
to
take
control
of
their
ancient
temples
and
worship
in
them.
The
Act
is
also
being
used
to
deny
Hindus
their
right
to
perform
rituals
in
their
own
temples.
For
instance,
Hindu
women
had
been
worshipping
in
the
Shringar
Gauri
temple
in
Kashi
Vishwanath
for
centuries.
In
1993,
the
then
Mulayam
Singh
Yadav-led
Samajwadi
Party
government
in
Uttar
Pradesh
stopped
it.
However,
there
is
no
evidence
to
show
the
Modi
government
being
ever
soft
to
Hindus
or,
for
that
matter,
even
to
followers
of
other
religions
originated
from
India
like
Sikhs,
Jains
and
Buddhists.
According
to
a
noted
academic,
Hindus
are
“eighth
class
citizens”
in
India
today.
Many
Hindus
have
been
living
in
Jammu
since
they
were
displaced
from
Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir
(POK)
in
October
1947.
The
Indian
government
has
not
yet
granted
them
even
the
economic
compensation
that
had
been
promised
to
them.
(Jagdish
N.
Singh
is
a
senior
journalist
based
in
New
Delhi.
He
is
also
Senior
Distinguished
Fellow
at
the
Gatestone
Institute,
New
York)
Disclaimer:
The
opinions
expressed
in
this
article
are
the
personal
opinions
of
the
author.
The
facts
and
opinions
appearing
in
the
article
do
not
reflect
the
views
of
OneIndia
and
OneIndia
does
not
assume
any
responsibility
or
liability
for
the
same.
Story first published: Monday, December 26, 2022, 12:33 [IST]
#Hindus #discriminated #lot #country