The Hindu : Be firm

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 08, 2003

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Opinion - Editorials

Be firm

THROUGH ITS PERSISTENCE with the "trishul diksha" ceremony, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is not only attempting a nationwide mobilisation of the adherents of Hindutva, but also cultivating religious fanaticism and sowing seeds of communal violence. Apparently unshaken by the experience in Rajasthan, where its international general secretary, Praveen Togadia, was arrested for defying a ban on tridents, the VHP is deliberately raising apprehensions in the minds of the minorities and throwing a challenge to law-enforcing agencies in different parts of the country under the guise of organising a religious ritual. The VHP international president, Ashok Singhal, claims "trishul diksha" is a right under Hindutva, and the VHP vice-president, Giriraj Kishore, says the ceremony is entirely religious in nature. But the tridents, in the hands of workers of the VHP and other Hindutva outfits, have a record of aggressive display and provocative politics. Even senior leaders of the BJP distanced themselves from the "trishul diksha" finding it difficult to defend the sale and distribution of sharp-edged weapons in public places. Indeed, there was no consensus on this issue at the three-day conclave of RSS affiliates in New Delhi where the different members of the Sangh Parivar agreed on coordinating their activities. The Sangh Parivar organisations though united in their goals, are divided on the means, and not all of them found the VHP activities acceptable.

And, just as there is no agreement among RSS affiliates on "trishul diksha", so too there is no concurrence among Congress Chief Ministers on how best to deal with the trident distribution of the VHP. While the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, ordered the arrest of Mr. Togadia, and the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit, demanded a ban on the trident programme, the Kerala Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, has given the go-ahead to the VHP in Kochi. On critical issues such as these, it is important that Chief Ministers do not allow political considerations to play a part in decision-making. Of late, there have been accusations that Mr. Antony favours a soft approach to Hindutva outfits. Evidently, the political compulsions of the Congress in Rajasthan and Delhi, where the BJP is the main rival, are different from the political compulsions in Kerala, where the Left is the chief opponent. But, what makes any decision on ceremonies such as "trishul diksha" difficult for the Government is the invocation of religious symbols. In the same way it exploits for political purposes the "trishul diksha" ceremony, the VHP would seek to capitalise on a ban on trident distribution by whipping up religious sentiments. In either case, the very nature of the activities of the VHP ensures trouble for the law-enforcing agencies. The greater the resistance from the state, the more determined the VHP becomes in carrying through its brand of provocative politics. There are now plans for "trishul diksha" in two lakh villages across the country, according to a VHP office-bearer, Surendra Jain.

While VHP leaders have assured the National Commission for Minorities that they would not undertake activities that hurt the feelings of minorities, the experience of the past, particularly with respect to rabble-rousers like Mr. Togadia, has been very different. Indeed, the practice of Hindutva organisations such as the VHP is to take advantage of the democratic space available to push their majoritarian agenda. For the VHP, any public programme is a means to create a communal divide. And the result of the hate campaigns of the VHP was very much in evidence in Gujarat. As the VHP invokes Hinduism in the cause of Hindutva, the Government would have to be cautious and firm at the same time. There is a need to rein in the Hindutva outfits firmly, underlining the supremacy of the rule of law.

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