Does India have to be in a state of permanent polarization?: Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi, Apr 16: Hatred, bigotry and intolerance were "engulfing" the country and if not stopped these would damage the society beyond repair, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has alleged. In a newspaper article, she called upon people not to allow this to go on and urged them to stop "this raging fire and tsunami of hate" that will "raze all that has been so painstakingly built by past generations".
"An apocalypse of hatred, bigotry, intolerance and untruth is engulfing our country today. If we don't stop it now, it will -- if it already hasn't -- damage our society beyond repair. We simply cannot and must not allow this to go on. We as a people cannot stand by and watch as peace and pluralism are sacrificed at the altar of bogus nationalism," she said in an article in 'The Indian Express'.
"Let us contain this raging fire, this tsunami of hate that has been unleashed before all that has been so painstakingly built by past generations is razed to the ground," Gandhi wrote. She quoted Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's 'Gitanjali' to say its verses were "all the more relevant and have heightened resonance" now. "Over a century ago, the poet of Indian nationalism gave the world his immortal 'Gitanjali' of which perhaps the 35th verse has become the most celebrated and most quoted. Gurudev Tagore's prayer, with its seminal lines starting, 'Where the mind is without fear...' is all the more relevant and has heightened resonance today."
In the article "A Virus Rages", the Congress chief asked, "Does India have to be in a state of permanent polarization?" She alleged that the ruling establishment clearly wants the citizens of India to believe that such an environment was in their best interest. "Whether it is dress, food, faith, festivals or language, Indian are sought to be pitted against Indians and the forces of discord are given every encouragement -- overt and covert. History -- both ancient and contemporary -- is continuously sought to be interpreted to promote prejudice animosity and vengeance," she claimed.
Her article comes in the wake of the Hijab row, violence during Ram Navami and the clash in the Jawaharlal Nehru University over serving non-vegetarian food in the hostel mess on the occasion. Gandhi alleged it was a "travesty" that instead of utilizing the resources for creating a bright, new future for the country and engaging young minds in productive ventures, "time and valuable assets were being used up in attempts to refashion the present in terms of an imagined past".
Noting
there
was
much
talk
from
the
prime
minister
about
acknowledging
India's
diversity,
she
claimed
the
"harsh
reality"
was
that
under
the
ruling
dispensation,
the
rich
diversity
that
defined
and
enriched
the
society
for
centuries
was
"being
manipulated
to
divide
us
and,
worse,
to
harden
and
get
more
firmly
entrenched"
in
them.
"The
rising
chorus
of
hatred,
the
unconcealed
instigation
of
aggression
and
even
crimes
against
the
minorities
is
a
far
departure
from
the
accommodating,
syncretic
traditions
in
our
society."
The
Congress
chief
alleged,
"There
is
something
else
more
insidious
that
is
part
of
this
new,
grand
divisive
plan
to
keep
India
in
a
state
of
permanent
frenzy.
All
dissent
and
opinion
that
are
opposed
to
the
ideology
of
those
in
power
are
sought
to
be
ruthlessly
stifled.
Political
opponents
are
targeted
and
the
full
might
of
the
state
machinery
is
unleashed
against
them".
In
the
article,
she
claimed
that
activists
were
being
threatened
and
sought
to
be
silenced
while
social
media
particularly
was
being
used
to
"propagate
what
can
only
be
described
as
lies
and
venom".
"Fear, deception and intimidation have become the pillars of the so-called 'maximum governance, minimum government' strategy," Gandhi said. Sharing a screenshot of the article on Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, "Every Indian is paying the price for the hate fuelled by BJP-RSS. India's true culture is that of shared celebrations, community, and cohesive living. Let's pledge to preserve this." Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge shared an online link of Sonia Gandhi's article on the microblogging site and said, "The sense of hatred and animosity is prevalent in the nation, constantly fuelled by the ruling party BJP." PTI