In a society where hate speech, communal propaganda, stories of divide and discord, false pride of religion, vanity of caste and social policing restricting choice and liberty of people are receiving likes and thumbs up and dominating prime space in media, the future of India’s GenNext would be on the track of confusion and degeneration, economic development notwithstanding.
Liberals today are ridiculed with pleasure and glee. They are gunned as anti-nationals and cultural bastards. This is the price of staying liberal and tied to free thought and expression. It is the liberals who have spearheaded the causes of the underprivileged and exploited sections. The liberal thought has enabled progressive march of democratic politics and economic justice. Liberalism has influenced far reaching changes in Indian constitutional law, environmental legislation, social enactments and criminal jurisprudence. It’s the liberal mind which fuels innovations in science, technology, health and medicine. Liberals have deliberately refused to walk on established tracks and created new paths in music and performing arts. Liberals have provided the voice for the struggle against fascism and State repression. The liberal springs have irrigated the deserts of minority rights and cleaned the dirty ponds of blind faith preserved by religion and caste. Liberals have stood firm for humanism and values of national cum global brotherhood facing the barrage from narrow patriots and regional chauvinists. It’s a paradox that the beneficiaries of liberal thought and struggle are mocking at the open-minded forces in the society and the right-wing politicians motivate their brigade to bark and bite at the liberals.
Without going into the reasons for the current abyss into which secular and free expression has fallen posing serious concerns to a progressive India, it is necessary to repeatedly reiterate that secularism is the best alternative to deal with the issues of a religious and cultural diverse society. In a larger sense, secularism is humanism and complementary to a democratic way of life.
Despite the constitutional guarantee, there has always been a “secularism deficit”. The political events and the social movements in the last decade are of deep concern as they are running contrary to the ideals of freedom and secularism enshrined in the Indian Constitution. In fact, there seems to be a deliberate plan of communal polarisation along with planting the seeds of hatred and suspicion against the minorities. The game is to project religion, culture and lifestyle of the majority as nationalistic and dump the rest as anti-Indian. The brunt is also faced by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the depressed classes as a fall out of constitutional protection provided to the ‘educationally and socially backward’.
Goa, which is proverbially regarded as the community of social harmony and secular mind-set, is too infested with the communal and divisive bug. Despite this, Goa is still considered as the region of a liberal and freedom loving society which can export secular thought to the rest of India. Goa has a tradition of Hindus offering prayers in Church/Cross and Catholics paying tributes in temples. There are many locations wherein the Church/temple festivals are incomplete unless the prayers are offered by representatives of both the communities. This needs to be further strengthened and also widely show-cased. In today’s age of visibility, where lynching dominates breakfast TV, caste honour killing takes the noon time and religious violence storms the night at prime time, mega visibility through media including social media to such traditions of mixing, belonging and togetherness which are prevalent throughout the country would serve the cause of civilised society. Despite the hostile political climate of today, continuous and consistent lobbying with public authorities for free expression and secular approach cannot be abandoned. The effective presence of this thought on social media needs to proliferate multiplier times. Undoubtedly, these tasks will fructify through coalitions with political forces and social groups ideologically tuned to secular and democratic ideals and fighting against prejudice and parochialism.
Just as in sport events, a group of uninformed performers makes crowd cheer to support a team, we need uncritical enthusiasts to support secular causes, rituals, ceremonies, traditions, practices, inter-faith dialogue, inter-religious union and inter-caste comradeship. Events and human behaviour which disturb and challenge the established conventions should be celebrated.
A Hindu offering prayers at the Holy Cross is not uncommon at least in Goa and similarly Catholics invoking blessings from Hindu Gods.
The cause of free speech, choice and secular practice will be served better if we ignore the aberrations and vigorously celebrate the positive flow. Like the crowd on the cricket stadium, let’s revel and cheer the catches, the boundaries and the sixes.
Pure intellectual discourses at high places on free thought and secularism are necessary but not sufficient to inspire for the cause. On the contrary, it could spread pessimism. On the other hand, celebrations at the grassroots level of secular practices and accomplishments of free speech could shape the discourse in positive perspective.
In today’s market-oriented world, secularism though the best product of humanism cries for aggressive and persuasive packaging.
(The writer is an educationist & political commentator)
