On 28 January 2025, the well known Calcutta day by day ‘The Telegraph’ carried an editorial entitled ‘Rub your eyes: Hindu Rashtra Charter to be unveiled at Mahakumbh on Basant Panchami’. The apparently harmless inside-page article, speaks volumes now not handiest of the insidious but meticulous plans which can be being made, but in addition of the calculated makes an attempt to damage the secular personality of the country and in the long run the sanctity of the Charter of India.
The scoop merchandise highlights {that a} 501-page file, ready via a 25-member committee of students, attracts inspiration from the Ramayana, the foundations and teachings of Krishna, Manusmriti and Chanakya’s Arthashastra. The so-called ‘Charter’ in accordance with the Hindutva ideology, is predicted to be unveiled on the Mahakumbh on Sunday 2 February when the Hindus have a good time ‘Basant Panchami’. Whether or not it is going to if truth be told happen is somebody’s bet; the painful reality alternatively, is that nobody from the ruling regime, who swear via the Charter of the rustic, has had the braveness to mention that very considered propagating such an concept will have to be thought to be anti-national!
The committee which has put in combination this Charter is referred to as the ‘Hindu Rashtra Samvidhan Nirmal Samiti’ and it sounds as if is composed of so-called students of the ‘Sanatan Dharma.’ Swami Anand Swaroop Maharaj, patron of the committee, advised journalists on the Mahakumbh, that their goal was once to make India a Hindu country via 2035. (their authentic plan was once to make India a Hindutva- country in 2025 – the centenary 12 months of the RSS- however their plans failed miserably when they didn’t get the desired numbers within the final Parliamentary elections- to make any undemocratic Constitutional adjustments).
The important thing provisions within the proposed ‘Charter’ come with:
· Obligatory Army Schooling: Each and every citizen of the Hindu Rashtra might be required to go through army training.
· Harsher Punishment for Robbery: The charter proposes stricter punishment for robbery and different crimes. (it sounds as if there’s no phrase on ‘corruption’ – which is the strong point of the ruling regime)
· Tax Exemption for Agriculture: The tax gadget might be made over, with agriculture being utterly tax-free.
· Unicameral Legislature: The Hindu Dharma Parliament might be a unicameral legislature, with participants referred to as Dharmik Sansads.
· Minimal Balloting Age: The minimal balloting age has been fastened at 16 years, with handiest the ones belonging to Sanatan Dharma allowed to contest elections.
· The Rashtradhyaksh, the executive of the rustic, can be selected via three-fourths of the elected participants of the legislature
Swaroop reiterated, “Human values are within the nucleus of our Charter, which has been ready via 14 students from north and 11 from south India. Our Charter isn’t towards different religions however those that are discovered occupied with anti-national actions will face harsher punishment than what’s awarded to them recently…. Over 300 amendments had been made within the Indian Charter within the final seven a long time however our scriptures are the similar for the final a number of thousand centuries. There are 127 Christian, 57 Muslim and 15 Buddhist international locations. Even the Jews have Israel. However the Hindus, whose inhabitants is over 175 crores the world over, haven’t any Hindu country.”
The writing has been at the wall since a very long time now: the assaults at the Christians in 1998-99, in several portions of India and in particular within the Dangs District and different spaces of South Gujarat become World headlines. The Gujarat Carnage in 2002 when greater than 2000 Muslims have been murdered, many extra brutalised or even raped and 1000’s of others having to depart ceaselessly a spot they as soon as known as their house –was once most likely the blackest bankruptcy in submit –impartial India.
Over time, and in particular since 2014, when the BJP seized the reins of energy as soon as once more – each and every effort is being made to denigrate and demonise the minorities of India and particularly the Muslims, the Christians and the Sikhs; they have got additionally been derogatively known as ‘terrorists’, ‘converters’ and ‘khalistanis’, respectively. There’s a systematic transfer to color the minorities as ‘anti-national’! Body of workers and homes of the minority communities are ceaselessly centered
The Judiciary –and particularly, the Ideal Courtroom – has been one bastion of hope for the minorities, given its elementary position and duty in protective the letter and the spirit of the Charter. Sadly, within the fresh previous, the Judiciary at more than a few ranges appear to have abdicated this non-negotiable accountability – of impartiality, objectivity and of now not siding with any specific religion and/or ideology. There are information and different signs to confirm this!
Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting pass judgement on of the Allahabad Prime Courtroom is a vintage instance!
On 8 December, he addressed the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) criminal cellular, in Allahabad Prime Courtroom on ‘Uniform Civil Code–A Constitutional Crucial’. He argued in favour of a Uniform Civil Code and demanded for adjustments within the Muslim non-public regulations. His speech smacked of blatant ‘majoritarianism’ pronouncing that India will have to serve as in line with the needs of the “majority,” that means Hindus! Justice Yadav confident the VHP amassing that because the Ram Mandir was once built in Ayodhya after years of “sacrifices via our ancestors,” the Uniform Civil Code would additionally transform a fact quickly. “Did you believe seeing the Ram Mandir with your individual eyes? However you probably did see it. A lot of our ancestors made sacrifices for it, within the hope of seeing Ram Lalla freed and witnessing the development of a grand temple. They couldn’t see it however did their phase and now we’re witnessing it.”. Likewise, he stated that the rustic would get a UCC. “That day isn’t very some distance,” he emphatically declared. On 17 December, he was once summoned via the Leader Justice of India to seem sooner than the Collegium relating to his remarks. A month later, he writes to the Leader Justice, pronouncing he stands via his remarks which, he maintained, didn’t violate any concept of judicial habits.
The remarks of Justice Yadav are simply the end of the iceberg. There was once the case of a Christian Pastor who had died, being denied the correct to burial in his local village in Chhattisgarh via the village panchayat. After knocking in any respect doorways in his State, his son needed to search justice from the Ideal Courtroom. On 27 January, the two-member bench of the Ideal Courtroom delivered a cut up verdict within the case. It directed that the frame of the pastor be buried at a Christian graveyard 20 km away and requested the State management to supply all give a boost to. Because the frame was once already within the morgue for just about 3 weeks, the judgement didn’t really feel it suitable to refer the topic to a bigger bench.
Justice BV Nagarathna, alternatively, strongly upheld the secular personality of the Charter. In her path-breaking judgment she asserted that, “It’s stated that dying is a brilliant leveller and we want to remind ourselves of this. This dying has resulted in divisiveness amongst villagers at the proper to burial. The appellant says there’s discrimination and prejudice,” She famous that the Prime Courtroom authorised a proposal that displaced the practices being adopted within the village. “The dying of the individual has given (manner) to disharmony because it was once now not solved via the village panchayat. Panchayat has been taking facets which resulted in the case in prime courtroom and Ideal Courtroom.” She pointed to the police affidavit that claims a Christian convert can’t be allowed burial at the village grounds. “That is unlucky and violates Articles 21 and 14 and furthers discrimination at the grounds of faith. The State can’t deny equality sooner than the legislation. How may just ASP Bastar give such a testimony and what was once the authority? it betrays the chic concept of secularism.” Unfortunately, alternatively, the opposite Justice idea differently and the Christian Pastor needed to be buried some distance clear of his village.
On 27 January, Uttarakhand offered and started enforcing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) which maximum criminal and Constitutional professionals in finding extremely discriminatory. It’s obviously aimed toward focused on sections of the minorities- in particular Muslims and Christians. The legislation, amongst different issues, does now not problem patriarchal provisions in Hindu civil legislation, for example, at the guardianship of a minor boy or single lady going to the daddy, and handiest after him, to the mummy. Unusually sufficient the legislation is probably not appropriate to Scheduled Tribes, with the CM pronouncing, “We now have saved our scheduled tribes discussed underneath Article 342 of the Charter out of this code in order that the ones rights may also be safe!” So the query being requested is how ‘Uniform’ is that this code?
There may be lots else taking place all over the place the rustic with reference to the rights of minorities and to the reason for secularism. The tribal Christians in Manipur had been struggling since Would possibly 2023. In UP, a Christian Pastor and his spouse had been convicted underneath the State’s draconian anti- Conversion legislation while a number of others are languishing in prison. In each and every certainly one of them – there’s completely no proof of any wrongdoing, simply that they have been accomplishing prayer conferences or having a Bible of their area. The anti- conversion regulations in different states dominated via the BJP, now not handiest violate Article 25 enshrined within the Charter is but in addition a blatant try to discriminate towards the minorities. ‘Ghar wapasi’ which may be a conversion workout, does now not come into the ambit of this legislation. Amit Shah in his election marketing campaign in Maharashtra promised that this type of legislation can be offered in that State too!
The listing is unending certainly! Mobs stormed the gates and the grounds the Jesuit –run Andhra Loyola Faculty in Vijayawada, challenging that they’re entitled to make use of the non-public premises as according to their whims and fancies. The Prime Courtroom of Gujarat not too long ago upheld the verdict of the Gujarat State for a centralised procedure for recruiting lecturers and principals in spiritual and linguistic minority tutorial establishments. The UP Leader Minister on Republic Day publicly asserted that ‘Sanathan Dharma’ is the faith of the rustic! Then there’s the Waqf (Modification) Invoice 2024 which is meant to be tabled in Parliament all the way through this present finances consultation; A united opposition, alternatively, has slammed the federal government at the passage of the draft document at the Waqf Modification Invoice pronouncing they’d no say, and all their amendments have been defeated, and that handiest the amendments offered via the ruling birthday party have been taken up and regarded as. With horrifying regularity one reads about how minorities are centered for what they devour and put on, see and browse!
Highbrow and social activist Professor Apoorvanand writes an incisive and hard-hitting article in ‘The Twine’ (29 January 2025). The object entitled, ‘The Loneliness of Being Christian in India’, is replete with incontrovertible information. He emphatically states, “however as human beings, we should ask: what sort of nation is it the place handiest Christians have to fret about assaults on Christians, and the remainder of society stays deaf to their issues? The top minister of India problems statements about violence towards Christians outdoor India, however in India, Christians are being attacked and arrested for having and distributing Bibles, and church buildings are being centered. All over Christmas season, he visits church buildings and meets spiritual leaders, however we could the blood of Christians waft. Are handiest Hindus allowed to evangelise their faith in India?
What Prof. Apoorvanand states with angst, is an indisputable fact! There’s a means of their insanity, there’s no doubt about it! The rot, everyone knows, begins on the best! At stake is the secular personality of our country and the way forward for democracy in our nation, which is being destroyed systematically! We should get up now and act with different like-minded men and women!
Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/creator. Touch him at cedricprakash@gmail.com.
