Indian democracy the enemy of secularism.

Glorified as the world’s largest democracy, India is a shining beacon to democracies all over the world. I’m sure that when you stare into an oncoming light in darkness all but the light becomes invisible, much like a car coming head on with full beams. So also, the beacon that Indian democracy is makes the remained of the beacon tower invisible in the darkness. What I mean by this elaborate metaphor is that even though India is proclaimed a shining beacon, the tower that holds up this beacon is rotten and dark, and in the blinding night it is all but invisible.

The secularity that our country upholds is under a constant threat from the very democracy that runs our country. The Indian democracy, its political structure allows many parties, and fragments of many parties. With the multitude of political organizations vying for a share of the ruling seat and with each political formation seeking its own agenda, what one has, is a party representing only a certain fixed ideal, or a religion. As the whole country has time and again witnessed religion becomes a powerful overriding factor in the quest for votes and electorates.

We have the extremist cases who have their fixed notions of a nation, ideally a religion centric nation. Not only now but at the time of independence. Who can blame them? After all is not our country surrounded by countries that have fixed state religions? Granting these extremists the benefit of doubt one can claim that it is their insecurity and that they would like to have a nation based on their own religion completely. However, the seemingly yet unproved, state sponsored killings that the Gujarat riots were show that these extremists are not a limited faction but a properly planned, organized, maybe even legitimized, political plot. The mayhem with ensued from the Gujarat riots was not unprecedented in our history. The ineptitude of the state government to call in law and order is not unparalleled. The riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination carries the same stamp, maybe to a different degree. To illustrate, it would only seem diligent to look at the reaction time that peacekeeping forces took in responding to these orchestrated outbursts. In contrast to this is the reaction time of the very same peacekeeping forces in the very same places to a natural disaster. Case in point the Bhuj earthquake.

Advocating a viable solution to this problem, viable but not fool proof, is to convert the Indian democracy to the pattern of the United States. Wherein every Tom, Dick and Harry with a personal agenda can not form a party and promulgate a shallow notion.

As a student of literature being inclined to take the middle path I would see both sides of the same coin, however, I would only address the issue on the other side in order to defend my own stand. Starting with arguments that show how USA’s democratic functioning would not suit a country of our diversity. To raise such a question is foolish, but not inevitable. Simply because it is guided by the preconceived notion that diversity does not exist in the States and that they are all the same lock, stock and barrel! Next is the fact that each political formation in our country has an agenda which may not be incorporated by anyone else, my only response to this would be the suggestion that political ideals for which a party stands should be fused allowing a greater base of ideals for the two parties to represent. Lastly, to claim that political parties based on religion are a separate agenda and cannot be encompassed in a two party state since India has many religions. Such a claim in itself should be blasted. Has not the world shed enough blood over religion? Has not India contributed to this rampant desecration of humanity for long enough? Learning from past mistakes is what the wise do. Yet ever and anon we indulge in these flagrant mistakes. Have not our political heads had enough of this foolishness? And if they have not why should Indians pay the price, in blood, for their foolishness!! Nay, why should we allow fools to head our shining beacon??? Just so we have a rotten beacon tower?