CHANDIGARH, Punjab—Punjabi writers, artists, and academics have come together to appeal to the voters to take a firm and united stand against communal and fundamentalist ideology. “The very idea of India as a secular and inclusive country founded on pluralist principles is under threat in this election”, they have said while underlining that the appeal was not in support of any particular parties or, but to strike a note of caution.
Among others who have endorsed the appeal, issued on an initiative taken by Spirit of Amrita Foundation, include celebrated poet Surjit Patar Poet, the sufi- singer and musician Madan Gopal Singh, eminent theater personalities Ajmer Aulakh, Neelam Maan Singh, Atamjit, Kewal Dhaliwal, Davinder Daman, and Pali Bhupinder, renowned literary critic Amarjit Grewal, academic Harish Puri, conservation architect Gurmeet Rai, poets Amarjit Chandan from England, Navtej Bharat, Ajmer Rode from Canada, Swarnjit Savi and Gurtej Koharwala, film actor and theater activist Samuel John, novelist Amandeep Sandhu, filmmaker Rajeev Kumar, UK based sculptor Avtarjeet Dhanjal, painter Sidharth, Film actors Rana Ranbir and Karamjit Anmol, and Punjabi singer Balkar Sidhu.
Referring to the ongoing election process in the country to elect the next government, the well-known Punjabi writers and artists said “We have seen many elections where we have exercised this right to change or sustain governments going by our subjective choices. Sometimes our choices were proved right for the country and at times not so. But this election is unlike any in the past,” they said, urging the voters to exercise their right to vote with due diligence keeping that in mind.
I wish to remind these Punjabi intellectuals and activists Hindus or Sikhs (many of their forefathers were booted out from Islamic Pakistan in 1947) to revisit the deceptive terms like secularism, fundamentalism and inclusiveness in Indian context. The term ‘Secular’ did not exist in Indian Constitution until 1976. So why the Hindus and Sikhs uprooted by partition did not migrate to Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq etc but chose to come to India in 1947? Did they first insist on seeing secular certificate from India? The word secularism was imported into the Preamble of the Indian Constitution in 1976 during Emergency by Indira Gandhi. Do Sikhs remember Indira Gandhi as one who enriched Indian constitution by appending the word ‘Secular’ alongside Sovereign, Socialist, Republic? Or as one who ordered the Operation Bluestar? Now comes ‘Fundamentalism’- which means going by the fundamentals of the religion. RSS do not dictate religious choices of a person. It doesnot tell whether they need to worship, pray, read this scripture or the other. RSS does not work on field of religion unlike say Akhal Takht. Its work pertains national reorganization. But inclusiveness does not mean allowing Bangladeshi infiltrators, allowing freedom to Jihadis, or free run to cattle traffickers. Why Nihang Singhs can be secular but RSS communal?