These days, the secular politicos, the super-secular minoritiy leaders and of course, the secular than thou media invariably begin their day with the invocation: Modi must go! And non performance of this ritual in whatever public forum that one finds himself in, be it Parliament or Prime Time, is automatically construed as an act of utmost barabarity, worse than even Modi ‘ s alleged atrocities.
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The battle-lines appear to have been drawn decisively. There was no attempt to be coy or to hide real intent, be it in Goa or Guwahati, with both the Prime Minister and the one purportedly in waiting, raising the level of their rhetoric as never before. Going by current political jargon, the voices emanating from the two lateral corners of India
The prism of the present is too narrow a looking glass to view the happenings in the country. Whether one desires it or not, India ‘ s future lies in the past and it would take a truly biased outlook that is also steeped in ignorance, to believe otherwise.
From glossy magazines to colourless politicians, secularism continues to top the charts as the flavour of the season. Its imminent death combined with the growing dread of ‘ Hindu Fundamentalism ‘ are brought out in all their alarming glory so much so that one is led to believe that but for these defenders of the secular faith, the country would have already courted nemesis.
The oft repeated refrain of the secularists is that the sanctity of the Constitution has to be upheld come what may and that the religious freedom as enshrined in it is sacrosanct. Now, let ‘ s face it squarely, Indians are secular and tolerant not because their Constitution orders them to be so.
“She seemed to pause at the right places, emphasised the crucial points and spoke with a becoming passion. Though she had a prepared text, her delivery was impressive.”
One can see it coming. Or rather see him coming. The long dead icon of the Dravidian philosophy, whatever it means, is all set to be resurrected by, you guessed it right, Kalaingar Karunanidhi, the self-styled favourite co-born of the famed father.
Indeed, one should wholeheartedly welcome Jayalalithaa ‘ s annadhanam scheme as well as the spiritual classes in TN temples for their sheer boldness. It is not often that politicians with all their secular baggage muster the strength and courage to come up with such initiatives in the prevailing political milieu.
The garb of neo-secularism is a devious decoy, a sheepskin that camouflages wolves of the most dangerous kind. Real secularism lies imprisoned in the depths of the average Indian’s heart, like the doddering old king in vintage tamil MGR starrers who is kept in underground captivity by a villainous diwan even as an imposter takes his place.