Minority politics is neither new for the Country or for the Congress. For centuries, the Congress party has shown a strange proclivity towards pitting one community against another. Then again, why wouldn’t they? For it has often yielded positive results for them.
Hence, it is not surprising to see the Congress, after a string of electoral losses, once again turn to its trusted tactics: based on minority politics; which is why, in its bid to retain Karnataka, Congress decided to declare the Lingayats a religious minority. Their argument, Lingayats are non-Hindus because their religious leader Basavanna had rejected the teachings and preachings of the Vedas.
Of course, their arguments have not garnered much support with political observers, who were quick to point out that the present move by the Congress is meant to divide the Lingayat vote bank, who presently make up about 15% of the total votes. This, in turn, would help break the BJP’s stronghold, whose chief ministerial candidate Shri BS Yeddyurappa is a Lingayat himself.
While their political reasoning is fairly obvious, their religious reasoning seems to be a tad bit flawed. If we start differentiating between the different sects, the entire Hindu community would become a conglomeration of minority sects. For the simple reason that given the sheer size of the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses, the huge numbers of avatars and divine teachers, even family members in the same household may be followers of different principles, gods, avatars, gurus, etc.
Of course, we know that the state’s move means nothing without the Centre’s approval in place, the move does beg one simple question: ‘Haven’t we had enough to this divisive politics?’
Just how long are we going to allow a political party to pit one person against another? In the past, they were doing it on the basis of religions, post which they moved to castes and now we are encroaching upon sects by pitting one Hindu against another! And this time, they’re pitting one deity against another!
When will the governments realize that what people need is development and prosperity. They want good schools and good education, they want healthcare facilities, they want roads and public transport, they want nutritious food and most important of all, they want employment that will help them pay for availing these services. When will development become the tool for getting votes instead of false promises and enticements, which will fizzle out once the elections are over.
Take the Karnataka government’s Lingayat move, for example! Without the Centre’s approval, do you know what their move is? A promise made on paper, where it will stay once the elections are over and people have cast their vote.
However, it isn’t enough to just point a finger towards the politicians. After all, we all know what their intentions are! But why are we allowing a political party to use us as pawns for their own nefarious reasons? Why are we — as Hindus — not uniting to let them know that even though we may worship different gods and follow different traditions and different paths towards salvation, we are singularly united in our Hindu ideal: Religious pluralism!
