JAMMU: BJP’s massive 2014 Mandate was more than just an electoral victory-it was a powerful expression of Hindu disenchantment rooted in centuries of subjugation and persecution. This disenchantment, which had simmered for generations, became more pronounced post-1947, as Hindus felt betrayed by their own leaders in independent India. Rather than undoing the historical and barbaric wrongs of the Mughal and British eras, the Indian National Congress-the so-called flag bearer of the country’s freedom movement- under first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in fact, deepened the wounds of the majority community. Instead of addressing their aspirations, Congress policies often alienated them, leaving nationalists feeling ignored, marginalized, and betrayed. This betrayal of nearly seven decades has been the Mantra of BJP’s unprecedented win under Narendra Modi, bagging 282 Lok Sabha seats out of 543.
Indians, irrespective of religion, region or caste, had expected that independent India would witness restoration of national pride and heritage but the years following proved to be a nightmare for the majority community. While a particular section flourished population wise and schemes tailored for their welfare, the dwindling Hindus saw the policies of successive Congress governments perpetuating their marginalization. What could be the worst case of appeasement than a sitting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh saying on December 8, plans for minorities, particularly Muslims, must have the first claim on resources so that benefits of development reach them equitably. Earlier, under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s government in 1986, the Shah Bano case manifested in the passage of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which diluted the judgment of the Supreme Court and restricted the right of Muslim divorcées to alimony from their former husbands for only 90 days after the divorce. To cite few other injustices meted out to the majority community, the Congress enacted the Places of Worship Act, 1991; freezing the status of all religious sites and denying Hindus the opportunity to reclaim their heritage, while leaving the door open for Muslim claims under the Wakf Act, without any timeline. The cruel fallout of this Act of appeasement can be illustrated by the recent claim of the Tamil Nadu Wakf Board about ownership of the 1500 year old Manediyavalli Chandrashekhara Swami Temple in Tiruchenthurai village in Trichy district. On the contrary, Hindus cannot seek restoration of temples destroyed by Mughals for construction of mosques as the Act, inter-alia, prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947. Hindu temples were brought under government control, with their revenues often diverted for secular purposes. Mosques and churches, however, were left untouched, creating an impression of systematic bias against the majority community.
The Congress appeasement crossed limits by adopting policies that jeopardized the national security with successful attempts made to shield those accused in the Godhra train attack and downplaying terror incidents like the Mumbai attacks, notwithstanding the arrest of Ajmal Kasab of Pakistan. To shield the perpetrators and to generate a narrative of saffron terror by the UPA, a combination of pseudo seculars and left liberals under the Congress patronage worked overtime. Who doesn’t know the Congress policies focusing on dividing the Hindu community along caste lines, weakening their collective political voice while consolidating minority vote banks. The vote jihad in last year’s Lok Sabha elections was more a reality than a fiction as being described by the Opposition. The illegal influx and settlement of illegal immigrants, particularly Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims, causing demographic shifts, is a blot on the so-called secularists, who have done a huge harm to the nation that is beyond repair. They became part of the conspiracy to cause demographic changes, like in Jammu where a Non Governmental Organization from Kashmir facilitated the settlement of Rohingyas in Hindu dominated Jammu rather that the Muslim exclusive Valley.
These few of the many other acts of omission and commission against Hindu interest enraged the majority community so much that they saw a ray of hope in Narendra Modi, who emerged as the face of a new political narrative-one that promised to restore Hindu pride and undo the historical wrongs committed by the Congress and left liberals. The people in large numbers voted massively for the BJP that resonated deeply with a Hindu majority yearning for recognition, empowerment, and justice during the election campaign. The BJP won and is holding the rein of power in New Delhi for over a decade now. The question arises, has it truly delivered?
(TO BE CONTINUED)
