For 5,000 years, there was no constitutional provision to grant equal human rights to all men and women, irrespective of gender, caste and religion. Political power rested with men born of high castes and rigid social discrimination was prescribed, forbidding education for women and low-caste dalits (untouchables). In fact, all religions promised exclusive nirvana or paradise, but only for their own flock. Today, we know there is no exclusive blood group that divides humanity in terms of gender, caste and religion.
When the British arrived in India, there was no unifying national authority and superstition, polygamy and child marriage were common social ills. We used to burn widows alive (satis). “Not less than 5,000 men (Hindus) held the protest meeting in Calcutta against banning the satis and legalising re-marriage of widows. The Brahmins in a body bewailed their hard fate that the ancient caste of Hinduism was attacked by a foreign government at the instigation of outcastes” (December 8, 1855.)
However, in 1950, the Indian constitution chartered a new mission for the future generations: equal rights to all citizens irrespective of gender, caste, region and religion. These fundamental rights include equality before the law and prohibit discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, gender or place of birth. There is no caste, religion or family with divine parentage destined to rule the nation in the cyber age. Yet, all political parties have focused on ‘vote-bank politics’, promising sectarian, caste and communal quotas and reservations.
Historically, women, the poor and dalits were disfranchised at all times. Karl Marx (1818 to 1883) was the first philosopher to say: “Workers of the world unite” and the women, the dalits and the black slaves were the most oppressed labour force in the world. When the Communist Revolution took place in Russia (1917), the European people faced unprecedented politico-social reforms. That was the age of reason and revolution when women’s voting rights and the commons were enacted in Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden, and the US. In the UK, women got their voting rights as late as 1928.
Geographically, South Asia is an inseparable entity but all the South Asian community member states are facing sectarian violence and discrimination. The formation of the South Asian Democratic Union will strengthen the democratic progressive forces pitted against entrenched religious and sub-regional politics. The formation of the South Asian Union, therefore, is to be the main agenda of all political parties. Some smaller states naturally fear domination by the ‘big bully’ (New Delhi). But in a union, no ‘nation-state’ is deprived of its sovereign national identity. All member states keep their flag and parliament. Within the union they can work together for common security, scientific and disaster management. As we are advancing towards globalisation, it is necessary that the new parliament declare its Science Technology Policy (STP).
As the two nuclear weapons states face each other, peace and unity are the only ways, in the 21st century, to live together or perish together. During the last two decades, South Asian academics, social scientists, artists, writers, journalists and, above all, women and human rights activists have been engaged in friendly exchanges. Progressive civil rights activists, actors, industrialists and academics of the South Asian states have actively demonstrated their willingness to be united in the pursuit of peace and progress.
During the last 10 years, the Congress-led government entered several nuclear defence aero deals. Each deal offered agents of the ruling party 10 to 15 percent “service commission” (bribe) in foreign banks. During the last 10 years, New Delhi’s government had entered several secret international deals. The new parliament must ask for details of all these secret deals.
The government of India had the names of those who have amassed Indian wealth in foreign banks. After swearing in the 16th parliament, the new government should place before the house the entire list of rich VVIP defaulters of the income tax laws. The new government assures parliament that within the first 100 days of the swearing in, Indian money will be transferred back from the foreign banks into the Reserve Bank of India. The new government assures the nation that: a) it will not enter into any high-tech nuclear defence deals without parliamentary approval, and b) to encourage research and development in home institutions and industries. The government will formulate its science policy on energy, transport, agriculture, nuclear defence and disaster management. A clear road map for futuristic 21st century development is long overdue.
A futuristic development policy should declare: a) ‘naukar’ (servant) and ‘naukari’ (job) are terms that are politically incorrect in a democratic society; b) renewable hydro-solar energy policy to be the basis of industrial development; c) the South Asian community must be free of all nuclear weapons and nuclear power deals; d) to save forests and protect agricultural land it should ban the burning or burial of dead bodies, which should be disposed by cremation in solar power crematoria, and e) no airports are necessary within 500 kilometres of towns and cities.
The writer is convener of the Campaign for South Asian Democratic Union, director of the Science Policy Centre and author of India’s Nuclear Odyssey