Omkar Dattatry
India is the largest secular democracy of the world, where people of different religions live and grow together. Coexistence is the basic principle of India and the people belonging to various faiths live and coexist together. The shining feature and doctrine of unity in diversity is the practical principle which is the guiding principle the people of India. There is great and urgent need to protect the secularism, pluralism, unity in diversity, tolerance and last but not the least the coexistence principle and its practice on the ground. Tolerance which is in the blood and flesh of the majority community needs to be guarded against its erosion and all of us should protect tolerance which distinguishes India from rest of the world. But alas lately the country is slipping from these cherished principles and there is intolerance and conditions of communal strife in the country which is very unfortunate? What is happening across the country is unfortunate and there is great need to arrest the growing trend of communalism in the country if we have to march on the path of all round development and this development is possible only if we remain united because united we stand divided we fall is not only a theoretical postulate but a practical principle as well and there is need for unity among different sects and communities but what is happening in the country is the antithesis of secularism and pluralism. What is going on in different states of the country in the name of religion is shameful and unacceptable as it has no place in our secular democracy. The brutal and barbaric killings are taking place in different parts of the country brings shivers down our spine and we hang our heads in shame on these unfortunate happenings. Some radical elements are busy in heinous crime of beheading innocent people and have given a savage and inhuman slogan of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ which reminds us of the barbaric days of orthodoxy and conservatism of the ancient past. It is very sad that we seem to be moving towards dark-age from the days of scientific development and great civilization. All these negative developments bring bad name and disrepute to India among the world nations. It is very sad that on very flimsy grounds the people of the majority community are being killed brutally by the radical elements of the Muslim community ostensibly for posting their views on the social platform in support of the suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma.It is against the law of the country that the radicalized youth of the Muslim community have taken law into their hands and are pronouncing verdicts of punishment and in fact are beheading people of the Hindu community with sadistic pleasure. It is a very sad commentary on the plight of the majority community that its members are targeted and killed in most inhuman manner which has no parallels in the history. The radicalized youth of the Muslim community should not be allowed to take law into their hands and no one can be given punishment by the fanatics and fringe elements simply on the allegations of uploading posts in social media in support of Nupur Sharma. There is constitution and law which can dispense justice in all cases including unfortunate disrespecting if any of the Prophet Muhammad and so the law should be allowed to dispense justice in all matters. But what is happening in the country in the name of religion is very alarming as the radicalized and indoctrinated youth of the Muslim community are taking law into their hands and are committing heinous crime of beheading innocent Hindus simply because of their posts on the social media purportedly favoring Nupur Sharma. India is governed by the constitution and law and Sharia law has no place in the country which is inhabited by people of different communities and so it is only the supreme document that is the constitution which governs India. The radical and indoctrinated youth of the Muslim community should know that Sharia law is not applicable in India and thus they should desist from committing heinous crimes against the people of the majority community. The radicals try to provoke the majority community so that communal disturbances will take place in the country. But the majority community deserves kudos and appreciation for not falling prey to the machinations of the fringe elements of the Muslim community. Thus the Hindu community has shown tolerance and restraint and has not retaliated. This restraint and tolerance of the majority community should not be mistaken as their weakness. The people of the country in general and the minority community in particular should know that the patience of the Hindu community is waning and this will lead to retaliation of those who commit heinous crimes against the innocent people. Thus the tolerance is the first casualty and it is decreasing day by day because of the attitude of the minority community via its radicals. This lack of tolerance is reflected in the syndrome of tolerance versus intolerance and the country is invaded by the cult of in tolerance which is dangerous for the communal amity of the country. It is very alarming and disturbing that the country is heading towards somewhat civil war conditions where there is clash between the tolerant majority and intolerant minority and this situation is very alarming and dangerous for the stability and communal harmony of the country. It seems that we are heading towards communalism and communal strife which is the very negation of our principle of Sarva Darma Sambava and so we should protect and guard our tolerance and communal harmony so that India will have a place of pride in the globe. However what is going on in the country is very unfortunate that people belonging to majority community are being killed brutally by the radicalized youth of the minority community without an y remorse and it points to the savageness of the radical elements who are hell bent to destroy the communal harmony. It follows that the country is heading towards communal disharmony and uncertainty which is against the secular tenets of the land. The minority community youth should not take law into their hands an d should desist to dispense somewhat Sharia like justice to those who upload posts in the social media favouring Nupur Sharma.There is no place for Sharia laws in our secular democracy which is governed by the constitution and the law. Mohammad Arif Khan, Governor of Kerala has rightly said that the people should not lookout for Sharia law in the country which is not governed by Sharia but instead they should look towards the Islamic countries where the Sharia law is in force. Therefore all of us should guard and protect the secularism ,pluralism and tolerance which unfortunately is waning due to the thinking, approach and actions of the radicalized elements. There is great need to preserve the secular and plural character of the constitution so that the tree of secularism will flourish and give shade to people belonging to different faiths. But what is witnessed in the length and breadth of the country is very alarming as it is revolt with the secularism and tolerance which is dear to all of us. There is very grim communal harmony and communal disharmony is on the rise exponentially which is a cause of concern to all the right thinking people. India is unfortunately heading towards chaos and confusion and communalism which are the negation of our principles of secularism and tolerance and we should fight to uphold mutual harmony and brotherhood if we have to march on the path of development and progress. In brief it can be said with certainty that the country is heading towards communalism and intolerance thanks to the attitude of the minority community. But all of us are duty bound to protect secularism, mutual coexistence and communal harmony at any cost.