Daily Times

The title of this column may lead a few to believe that I am going to draw happiness and contentment by suggesting that India is equally bad. Let me declare that this is not the case as it is rather about sharing concerns over the way things are shaping up in India, a part of the world that should instead serve as a beacon of hope and a role model for others in a chaotic world.

Extremism is a by-product of our survival toolkit and, hence, to a varying degree, is present in all individuals and human societies. A conscious effort is therefore needed in order to treat the germs of extremism that are innately present in all of us. We will discover that western societies were not always secular and tolerant if we flip the pages of history backwards. Not only did religious extremism reign supreme in many parts of Europe but racist sentiment was also very strong in the ruling elite as racism was practiced widely in society. Since European society experienced the horrors of wars that were stoked by extremist discourse and fascist ideologies it gradually began treating the curse of extremism. Today, not only is racism a criminal offence but now new training programmes are disseminating knowledge about ‘unconscious bias’, which cannot be treated by laws alone. A society can, therefore, not become fully secular just by the force of constitutional declarations.

India is perhaps our only unbroken link with antiquity. It is unique in a sense that it has blended the ancient with the modern. But while a strong bond with the distant past can be a source of strength and stability it can also preserve biases and factionalism associated with the past and may arrest natural social evolution. Indian society has historically remained a communal melting pot. Despite being home to a big population it has always been fractured along castes, ethnic groups and economic disparities. No wonder successive adventurers from Ghaznavi to Tamerlane, Ghauri to Babur, Clive and Abdali to Nadir found the vast plains of India waiting to be conquered with tributes from local rulers. A critical study of history tells us that times do not remain stagnant. What might be a source of strength yesterday becomes a cause of weakness today. Whether Mongols or Turks, in medieval times, chivalry, swordsmanship and motivational leadership were the determinants of successful campaigns. The 21st century is however an era of knowledge management. Till the mid 20th century India had seen occupation under various foreign invaders. The 21st century has proved different for the Indian people. It is known as the biggest democracy of the modern world. In colonial India, the British in India banned the entry of native Indians into their social clubs and, in the accounts of the then writers, a long list of wrongs and deficiencies of Indians can be recurrently found. Today, prime ministers, presidents and mayors of English speaking nations are thronging India to forge trade relations with the emerging economic giant of the 21st century. Yesterday, Turks and Afghan invaders from neighbouring Kabul and Kandahar extracted tributes from rajas and local rulers in India. Today, India is helping Afghanistan stand on its feet.

The growth of knowledge-based societies needs the enabling factors of rationalism, humanism and secularism. If these factors are missing then centuries’ old schisms and wounds will not allow the creative forces of science to serve society. Progress is a very fragile entity. Big countries can easily get derailed if they do not ensure the continuity of an enabling environment. Germany in the late 1930s was developing very well but the Nazi ideology of extremism led it astray. When the present Indian government raises the slogan of vikas (development) as the be all and end all of its existence it needs to be attentive to the teachings of Amartya Sen, the Indian Nobel laureate, who described development as not merely improvement in economic indicators but as expansion in our freedoms. If so many representatives of Indian intelligentsia from all creeds and backgrounds have voiced their concern over growing intolerance and the shrinkage of personal freedoms then vikas loses its relevance.

The cause of concern is not that there are a few extremists who openly indulge in hatemongering. In the UK, the British National Party’s members publicly raise slogans against immigrants. The Ku Klux Khan is known to be a preacher of hatred against blacks in the US. When the situation in the US and UK is compared to that in India what is different is that the fringe in the former has no effect upon the government and its policies. Who can come to the country and who cannot is not decided by the hooligans masquerading as political activists. Unfortunately, in the case of India, the fringe seems to be dictating to the government and has encroached upon the socio-political freedoms of common citizens. More worrying is that the government seems paralysed in the wake of growing intolerance. Political compulsions may be preventing the Modi government from taking stern action against the preachers of hatred and violent campaigners. The narrative of disharmony and hatred is, however, like a tree on fire in a jungle. If left on its own it can soon set the whole jungle ablaze.

The Jessica Lal case was a tragic story of unfairness and a raw deal. Indian society rose to the challenge and turned the tragedy into a shining example of social action. Today, it is faced with a bigger challenge. I hope it proves itself equally capable this time again.

The writer teaches public policy in the UK and is the founding member of the Rationalist Society of Pakistan. He can be reached at hashah9@yahoo.com