When the tricolor fluttered high in the sky on 15th August 1947, the world witnessed the birth of the world’s largest democracy. And it also witnessed the onset of one of the worst communal riots ever, with the Muslim and non-Muslim population clashing during the partition of India. With time, everything began to ease and on 26th January 1950, the architects of our constitution laid down the foundation of a secular nation in a written form, guaranteeing equal rights for people of all religion. After 64 years of formation of this secular republic, a senior cabinet minister of the Indian government has gone all the way to undo all the efforts that had gone to make India a secular nation.
Sushma Swaraj’s call to make Shrimad Bhagwad Gita as the national scripture has sparked fury across the nation. The holy book has 700 hymns (shlokas) which holds infinite meaning and conveys life-transforming enlightening philosophical ideas. But Mrs. Swaraj has gone the unnecessary extra mile by trying to impose the book over all the citizens without giving considerable thought to the prospective repercussions. Acknowledging the book to be a guiding light for one’s life is a subjective matter. The pointless step of forcing it over everyone has set a bad precedent for the times to come and is a threat to the social fabric of the nation.
Indian Constitution confers the freedom of religion on each citizen of the nation. Escalating the holy book to the level of national scripture will draw protests and ire from non-Hindu population and will also lead to the breakdown of secularity in the nation, leading to communal riots and massacres. What is astonishing is the way BJP leaders have been found to defend Mrs. Swaraj. Have you listened to BJP Vice-president Dinesh Sharma saying that contents of Bhagwad Gita is not a Hindu-book but is rather meant for the entire humanity. Mr. Sharma needs to be explained that there has been by-far no protests or debates on the contents of the religious book. Nonetheless, however the book may be claimed for the benefit of all people irrespective of religious background, Gita has always been equated with Lord Krishna’s teachings and the tenets of Hinduism.
The Constitution of India clearly forbids the invocation of gods and goddesses, as a part of national ethos. Thus, promoting Bhagwad Gita to the stature of national scripture is tantamount to violating the Constitution. Mrs. Swaraj, who has been nominated and brought to power to represent a culturally and religiously diverse population, must refrain from inciting communally polarized political debates.
Her statement that receipt of the holy book by Mr. Obama has certified Gita to be regarded as national scripture is quite humorous. In that case, if Mr. Modi had gifted ‘biriyani’ to Mr. Obama, the recipe would have stood potent of being declared as the national food of India! The country also wants to know where the slogan ‘Toilets before temples’ by Mr. Modi has gone away at this moment? Won’t it be wiser to hand over mathematics and science books to students in the ailing schools, rather than forcing them to read Bhagwad Gita, thus doing exactly what madrassas do?
The comment by Mrs. Swaraj that “Bhagwad Gita has answers to everybody’s problems…” holds little gravity. Nearly every renowned philosophical book, like Holy Bible, Quran, Tripitaks etc. contain such messages what Gita holds. There lies exactly no point in politicizing the holy book which deserves to be beyond human interference.
A national scripture, if ever declared in India, will translate into such a book that is to be obeyed by all denizens of India. How come we and Mrs. Swaraj in particular, can’t see that such a book already exists in the country. And that is none other than the Constitution of India. It is high time that Mrs. Swaraj retracts her politically-divisive statements and be an example for other leaders to shun the practice of dividing the unity of the world’s largest secular democracy.
