Politics | From vibrant diversity to crippling uniformity?

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MA Kalam

Those who played no role in the freedom struggle leading to the independence of India do not seem to realise what being free means. Free here stands for not being shackled by obscurantism, bigotry, intolerance, and a host of similar narrow-minded and inward-looking thought processes. India, as a country, has been for eons a receptacle of multiple practices in terms of ethnicity, religious pursuits, languages spoken, and umpteen great and little traditions.

Having been home to a high degree of heterogeneity, India has always claimed that she harbours ‘unity in diversity’. Though a bit clichéd by now, the phrase ‘unity in diversity’ does indeed reflect that multiculturalism has hitherto been the hallmark of the Indian state. This led the present author to argue elsewhere that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution would be more appropriate if it is modified to read “We the peoples of India….” instead of the existing “We the people of India….”.

Of late, in many a country, states and establishments are accommodating diversity by catering to the comfort and well-being of the immigrant minorities, some of whom are relatively more recent migrants in those countries, compared to the settled-for-thousands-of-years various communities that inhabit India.

All over the USA, Spanish accompanies English (of the American sort) in official communications, notices, posters and billboards. In a city like Bradford in west Yorkshire in England the typical official notices and handouts from the municipal council and other state authorities have Hindi, Punjabi, Bangla, Gujarati and other Indian languages appended along with English!

Canada has actively promoted multiculturalism and manifestly advocates that to the extent of approximately one per cent of its present population could be allowed annually as immigrants. Besides the diversity come across all over Canada, the heterogeneity of Toronto is remarkable as more than 50 per cent of the population of Toronto is foreign born.

Now, what is it that the State’s acolytes are attempting in India? The reverse of what we understand and could learn from the above examples in terms of multiculturalism. Union home minister Amit Shah propagates a common language, Hindi, is more than adequately qualified to unite India.

Not satisfied with that declaration as regards language, he has gone further to hint that India has to have just one (political) party. No prizes for guessing what the party has to be. So, once we are done with one language and one party, pray what next? All the peoples (yes, in plural) of India to be mainstreamed and steamrolled into one religion?

Not many in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), nor the various attendants of the BJP at different levels, have thought it fit to question the thought, creed and ideology of the home minister. Those from the opposition parties have no doubt raised their voices and questioned Shah’s statements. Sadly, what vigour or might does the Opposition carry in the India of today.

Tapas Roy of the Trinamool Congress says “he (Shah) is speaking in the voice of Hitler and Mussolini. People of this country have always believed in the diversity of languages and cultures”. CPI(M) MLA Sujan Chakraborty says: “They (BJP and RSS) played no role in the country’s freedom struggle. The BJP and RSS have no faith in the country’s Constitution... They do not believe in equality and favours (sic) uniformity over it”.

Criticism, disapproval or censure matters very little to this government and the BJP which has never manifestly condemned lynching and criminal offences against the hapless minorities and underprivileged groups in India.

While it is possible to concede that diversity is a given in India, as a democratic republic it is imperative to work towards pluralism, which signifies “a condition in which minority groups participate fully in the dominant society, yet maintain their cultural differences”. That is where the rub lies; that is what we are not able to achieve in India. Our goal has to be to proceed towards sincere pluralism.

MA Kalam is dean — administration and regulatory affairs, and professor of anthropology, Krea University, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. Views are personal.