Chaudhry !

Muskaan Chaudhry

Christina Kellagher

FOUN101

November 15, 2019

India… You’re killing me

India is the largest democracy worldwidewide, with over 900 million eligible voters, in

29 States, 7 territories, with 22 official languages, and every major religion. With Secularism

enshrined into the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, India is home to almost 33 different

religions and beliefs, some being Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Jews, Buddhists and Christians,

with religions like Hinduism divided among major castes under it, making India the most diverse

country on Earth.

Recently, the very soul of India is at stake, with the re-election of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, and his close ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), (Hindi:

“National Volunteer Organization”) Hindu Nationalists have caused riots all around the country,

and the nation is terrified over the idea of the establishment of India as a primarily Hindu

populated country. Although sadly, it completely goes against the Objective Resolution by

Jawaharlal Nehru which was recognized and accepted, and is known today as the Preamble of

the Constitution of India. The Preamble of Independent India reads -

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute

India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,

and to secure to all its citizens; JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status

and of opportunity; and to promote among them all; FRATERNITY assuring the

dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation….do HEREBY

ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”

This set of objectives listed here constitutes the skeletal values of the Nation, that the

writers of India’s constitution ensured were protected. “On August 15, 1947, at the stroke of

midnight, India and Pakistan achieved independence from British rule – signaling the beginning

of the end of the largest empire in history.” The partition of India was a victory that came with a

heavy price, division on the basis of religion. “Their freedom had been hard fought and came at a

huge cost. This struggle for sovereignty took many forms: violent and non-violent, elite and

popular, religious and secular, plural and separatist”. The First President of Independent India,

Jawaharlal Nehru, addressed the nation on 15th August 1947 and gave one of the greatest

speeches of the 20th Century, famously titled “Tryst with destiny". He begins with a vivid

explanation of the struggles of our people, and what it took to achieve freedom for their

motherland. He talks about the lingering pain of struggle and the never-ending support we should

be willing to provide to our brother - Pakistan, and to the world if we can.

“...The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear

from every eye. That may be beyond us, but so long as there are tears and

suffering, so long our work will not be over. And so we have to labour and to

work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India,

but they are also for the world.”

-An excerpt from Jawaharlal Nehru's Tryst with Destiny speech, August 15, 1947

This obviously is a statement that has evolved over the years. Earlier this year, on an

Indian Army Base Kashmir, More than 40 people were pronounced dead when a suicide bomber

rammed into a bus full of troops. According to Indian news outlets the attack was said to have

been conceived by Pakistani nationalists. India responded by sending an airstrike into what they

claimed was a terrorist base, while Pakistan denied any allegations. Although Kashmir has been

disputed territory between India and Pakistan since 1947, this eventually became a test for a

personal nationalist ideals among Indian and Pakistani nationalists. In many ways, this election

was a test of what it means to be Indian.

Over the past few decades, India itself has made national history concerning the Bhartiya

Janata Party was (BJP) individually being elected into enough seats in the Parliament to receive a

majority, for the first time since the 1980s. Historically, Political parties would have to form

coalitions to be able to receive a majority in the Parliamentary houses, but Narendra Modi’s

landslide win had already made history.

Narendra Modi himself has never been accused of inciting extreme nationalism, but due

to his heavy connections with the RSS, and the BJP being a right wing nationalist party, a lot of

people are being motivated into ideals that completely go against secularism. Regardless,

Narendra Modi is a astute politician who is known to give phenomenal speeches, although he

hasn’t been able to achieve any of the promises he made to the people of India while he was

elected in the office. His victory was primarily based off his rags to riches story and promises to

help the poorest in the nation, although most of his policies have had a negative impact primarily

on the poorest in the country and farmers that make about 2/3rds of the nation’s population.
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Modi’s first and most important economic policy, “Demonetization” was something that

even the Reserve Bank of India didn’t think was a good idea, Regardless, Modi went along with

it. His promises were to help the poor, instead, it affected the poorest first. Demonetization

promised to neutralize the corruption in India, but in turn was a massive failure.

Regardless of all other flaws in Modi’s government his re-election only assures Extreme

nationalists of the habitual disconnection between people of different religions and beliefs. The

re-election of the Narendra Modi as Prime Minister was steered in a favorable direction for the

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), a right wing nationalist party. It was mainly supported by his claims

of staking strong action against the terrorist efforts that took place during the feud between two

nuclear armed adversaries, Pakistan and India. Many felt he was a strong leader capable of

making tough decisions in difficult predicaments, and felt they needed no other reason to vote

him back into office. Although Modi’s appointed Home Minister Amit Shah and the rest of his

government has taken some severe action to solidify their right wing beliefs in the eyes of the

public. Mainly reflecting shameless discrimination in any new laws passed by the government

that blatantly go against the Constitution itself.

Modi’s government promised to strip almost 2 million Muslims in Assam of their right to

vote, which if successful will be the largest voter disenfranchisement in history.

The Government of India recently passed two bills that are now Acts on being approved

and implemented by the Prime Minister. First of them being the National Registry of Citizenship

(NRC) which states that every person residing in the nation must have documentation to prove

Indian ancestry. This was allegedly done to safeguard the status of the Hindus that have

immigrated from three countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and have been
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living in India. But when combined with the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) now an Act, it

seems to have a discriminatory clause. In case citizens are not able to show documentation

proving ancestry, when combined with the NRC, CAB protects all illegal immigrants that are

Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and so on. Although it seems that Muslims seem to

have been excluded from any such protection. In case they fail to prove they are not illegal

immigrants they immediately lose any land right and any voting rights. Harsh Mander, an Indian

human rights activist and author, told CNN "I think it is, without exaggeration, probably the most

dangerous piece of legislation that we've had because it amounts to truly destroying the very

character of the Indian state and the constitution,"

The recent downhill turn of events started with the ill-treatment of Students at a college

campus in Delhi during a peaceful protest against the CAB and the NRC. The Nation is

aggrieved and they want answers, although the students united from various colleges in Delhi as

a sign of solidarity. Throughout the term that Modi has been in power people have questioned if

and when he will cross the line. Dexter Filkins, a journalist for The New Yorker states “The

street protests now sweeping India appear to be validating one of the oldest and most trusted

maxims of politics: sooner or later, authoritarians will go too far. The authoritarian in this case is

the Prime Minister of India - Narendra Modi”

The situation in India seems to be progressing rapidly, and although it seems feasible to

have opinions thirty thousand miles away from where this is actually happening, as a woman

born in India, with my roots deeply engrained in India and its culture, and with my immediate

family still residing close to controversial areas, it is terrifying to think that the very foundation

of my beautiful nation is being destroyed in the name of religion. Over the last couple centuries,
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beginning from monarchs that reigned in India, the division on the basis of religion is something

that has basically driven the country from ruler to ruler. The British reign was introduced by the

division created between rulers of different beliefs and faiths, that provided a segue for the

British rule for almost 250 years.

The reason for the establishment of India as a Secular nation, was driven by the fear that

history would repeat itself. For those that grew up with that history, it will feel like a hopeless

deja vu, a senseless war, and a timeless struggle. This pretentious lack of consideration by the

government, seems like an uneducated decision. This will not only cause a domino effect that

will carry out into the future of India but will also determine the future of the younger

generations that will face the consequences, just like we have, and the generations before us

have. I still pray for my motherland, but the time for action is now. The educated voices of the

younger generations have the power to shape our future, don’t silence them, listen to them. India

has always been defined by brilliant minds that have had the power to shape the destiny of our

nation. I just hope our next tryst for destiny, will prove to be more successful and powerful than

the last.
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Works Cited

1. "Constitution of India | National Portal of India." National Portal of India. Web. <http://

www.india.gov.in/my-government/constitution-india>.

2. Roberts, Stuart. "A Tryst with Destiny." University of Cambridge. Web. <http://

www.cam.ac.uk/tryst_with_destiny>.

3. Regan, Helen, Swati Gupta and Omar Khan. "Citizenship Amendment Bill explained: India's

controversial bill that excludes Muslims - CNN." CNN - Breaking News, Latest News and

Videos. Web. <http://www.cnn.com/2019/12/11/asia/india-citizenship-amendment-bill-intl-

hnk/index.html>.

4. Filkins, Dexter. "Has Narendra Modi Finally Gone Too Far? | The New Yorker." The New

Yorker. Web. <http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/has-narendra-modi-finally-

gone-too-far-india-protests#intcid=recommendations_the-new-yorker-bottom-recirc-

similar_83d74580-133a-4534-8eef-bb10ce91815e_cral2-1>.