[Assam] End discrimination against Hindus

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

End discrimination against  Hindus
— J G  Arora

‘Secularism’  is a sublime concept. It is all-embracing and non-discriminatory. Yet it has  been dragged to dismal depths in India. In a truly secular polity, there should  be no majority and no minority. There would be only humans, only citizens; one  law; one nation; justice to all; injustice to none. But in India, secularism has  come to mean “anti-Hinduism”.

After fighting foreign invaders for  centuries and losing Afghanistan and Pakistan over the years, truncated Bharat  was expected to re-assert itself after 1947. Instead, a fake secularism implying  ‘antiHinduism’ has seized Bharat. No other country has reduced its majority  community to such a helpless entity as India.

One of the major issues  tormenting Hindu society is the outrageous Government control of all prominent  Hindu temples all over India.

Though India is a secular republic and  though secularism commands separation of state and religion, many State  governments have taken over all prominent Hindu temples, which is an  anti-secular action. And, it is discriminatory since only Hindu places of  worship have been targeted for government control whereas no Christian church or  Muslim mosque has been touched.

This is not to suggest that churches and  mosques should also be taken over by the Government. This is just to stress that  since secularism implies separation of state and religion, Hindu temples should  also enjoy the same freedom from Government control as enjoyed by churches and  mosques.

It is also shocking that the State governments are not using  temple income for the cause of Hindu religion. Rather, the Government takeover  has resulted in diversion of temple funds for non-religious purposes and, as in  Karnataka, even for madrassas and churches. Takeover by the State has also  resulted in defalcation of temple funds, closure of many smaller temples,  encroachment, sale and alienation of temple lands and dismantling of temple  infrastructure, which is leading to gradual demolition of Hindu religion.  Because of Government takeover, persons with little devotion to Hinduism, and  even non-Hindus are governing Hindu temples.

The Government control of  Hindu temples and their estates amounts to suppression of the Hindus’  Fundamental Right of religious freedom guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of  the Indian Constitution.

A truly secular state can neither penalise nor  patronise any religion. But the state control of well-known temples in India is  demolishing the self-supporting infrastructure of Hindu places of worship. In  sharp contrast, the Government of India subsidizes “Haj” pilgrimage when not  even one of 57 Muslim countries provides any such subsidy.

Apart from  being the centre of Hindu religious, social and cultural life, the temple is  supposed to be the focal point for learning the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayan,  Mahabharat and Tirukkural etc. from religious scholars. Government control over  important temples is thus effacing Vedic learning and Sanskrit.

That is  not all. Another disability is heaped on the Hindu society by Articles 29 and 30  of the Indian Constitution. These confer special rights only on the minorities  to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. During  deliberations in the Constituent Assembly, it was presumed that the Hindus who  constituted the majority would automatically be entitled to the rights bestowed  on the minorities by Articles 29 and 30. However, in actual practice, these  rights are denied to the Hindus.

In no other country in the world, the  majority community has been deprived of basic rights whereas special privileges  are bestowed on the minorities.

Articles 29 and 30 giving special  privileges to the minorities are, indeed fragmenting Hindu society since many  Hindu sects proclaim that they are not Hindu to get the benefits of these  Articles. Clearly, being Hindu is a disability. As per the Supreme Court  judgement reported as Brahmchari Sidheswar Shai versus State of West Bengal (AIR  1995 Supreme Court 2089), even Ramakrishna Mission, a leading Hindu  organisation, claimed a minority (non-Hindu) status to secure the benefits under  Article 30.

Ramakrishna Mission was facing some problems in its  educational institutions and apprehended Government takeover. To save itself  from the looming danger, the well-known institution claimed a non-Hindu  (minority) religion status to secure the protection of Article 30. Though its  pioneers like Swami Vivekananda were glorious Hindus, the disabilities attached  to Hindu institutions in independent India made Ramakrishna Mission disown  Hinduism and claim minority status. Though the High Court allowed its petition,  the Supreme Court reversed the High Court’s decision and held that Ramakrishna  Mission was a Hindu institution, and could not get protection of Article  30.

Is there a way out? The answer lies in the decontrol and restoration  of the Hindu temples to the Hindu community and amendment of Articles 29 and 30  to extend the rights stipulated therein to all the communities, including the  Hindus. That is the only way to give justice to the Hindus, India’s majority  community.

Since it is the Hindu society that has built and maintained  its temples, the same should be handed back to the Hindus. Like other religious  communities, the Hindus too have a constitutional and fundamental right to  manage their temples, shrines and institutions. And they should not be deprived  of this basic right.

It is baffling that the Hindus continue to suffer  this discrimination in silence. It betrays abject surrender by the Hindus before  injustice; as also incompetence of Hindu leadership. It is puzzling that no  political party has articulated these inequities, and demanded justice for the  Hindus.

Moreover, Articles 29 and 30 have to be amended to ensure equal  rights to all Indian citizens. This is not to suggest that the minorities should  be deprived of any right conferred by Articles 29 and 30. This is only to stress  that the rights conferred by these Articles on the minorities must be extended  also to the Hindus since their religious and educational institutions cannot  surrive under the Government.

India’s Constitution has been amended about  100 times. Surprisingly, however, no one has thought of amending Articles 29 and  30. It is imperative that a Constitution (Amendment) Bill to amend Articles 29  and 30 to extend the rights stipulated therein to all the communities, including  Hindus, is introduced in Parliament at the earliest. Even staunch anti-Hindus  would not be able to object to the said amendment since it would merely extend  the said Fundamental Rights to the Hindus without depriving the minorities of  the same. Any one opposing this amendment would only expose his anti-Hindu  bias.

With the proposed Constitutional amendment, the State would be  debarred from interfering with the social, religious and educational  institutions set up by the Hindus as is the case of the minority institutions.  Educational institutions run by the Hindus would also be free to propagate and  preach Hinduism with the same constitutional protecticrn as given to the  minorities. This amendirient would end discrimination against the Hindus without  inviting any opposition from any quarter.

As per Eleanor Roosevelt, “No  one can make You feel inferior without your consent.” Tolerance is said to be  the virtue of those without convictions. The Hindus have to demonstrate that  they will not tolerate any discrimination. Then and then alone they will not  face any discrimination. – INFA
       
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