The December 8th edition of TOI carried a headline “Ninety percent of Indians are ‘Idiots’ ”, a bold and factual statement made by PCI chairman Justice Markandey Katju. Surprisingly the article received some two thousand odd comments which endorsed his views and a legal notice demanding a public apology.
The honorable Justice further says, Indians don’t have Brains in their heads, it is easy to take them for a ride, Indians can be easily led by mischievous elements in the name of religion, and any provocateur agent can incite a communal violence for a meager amount of Rs 2000 in a place like Delhi.
Undeniably hundred percent true, no one can argue against his statements, “Eighty percent of Hindus and Muslims are communal”. Identity politics is the rule of electoral game, both the voter and the candidate covertly agree upon this. Society and the State identify us on the basis of Language, religion, caste, and sex; it’s the Indian state that divides us not the extinct British Empire.
The judge goes a little further and claims before 1857 there was no communalism in India, true, there were no communal clashes in Srilanka either. Independence, democracy and vote power changed the status quo. In British India the Natives had lost all their power, speed of the bullet, Range of the Artillery and fierceness of the sword ruled the nation, the British mastered the art of Governance and Administration.
The Indian society was and still is caste based, the warrior class failed to protect India from foreign Invasion. The ruling castes always did compromises with Mugals by getting into different kind of alliances including matrimonial. Col. Malleson, who chronicled the British version of 1857 states, the Mugals from the days of Akbar to 1857 never, disturbed the caste or Land Administration/ regulation of the Hindus. A sought of non-interference formula always existed between the foreign ruler and the local subjects.
Even in the midst of the great mutiny; when the Mugals were issuing proclamations requesting a joint Hindu, Muslim rebellion against the British; Indian Historian Gautam Gupta’s version of 1857 war records, ‘fatwa was passed at Jama Majid on May 19 1857, by Maulavi Muhammad Sayyid for a holy war against the Hindus as well’.
The Hindus and Muslims may have lived a peaceful life as we live today. Century old Perception difference of each other still remains; the Muslims considered the divided Hindu society as a single entity of kaffirs or Non believers. The Hindus always considered Muslims foreigners or of Low caste.
Religion defined the culture and Administration of this country since the ancient time. Mahatmas and Reformers brought in various rational thoughts to Indian Society. What Justice Katju must understand is India and Indian society is still communal, as it was for past thousands of years. Secular Laws were written just yesterday. One would not need Rs 2000 for a communal violence,one SMS, facebook update or a Love marriage is more than enough for a national catastrophe. To be fair to all Indians, one who takes pride in calling himself a Saraswat Brahmin with his surname also belongs to ninety percent group.
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