Before we celebrate our legacy of Independence on 15th of August. We must remind ourselves of the horror of 14th of August. When our beautiful country which coexisted peacefully for centuries was partitioned. Mainly because some political leaders crave for unrealistic ‘nationalism’ and ‘religious’ identities.
The Horror of Partition
The horror was so great that probably for the first time, the world witnessed the ‘blood trains’ which carried dead passengers across the borders. It is estimated that about 75000 women from both sides were raped, killed and abducted. .Many abducted women were tortured brutally and had their breasts cut off. Pregnant women have their bellies ripped out by swords in the midst of nationalist and religious slogans. Some women were killed by their own brothers and fathers so they wouldn’t be captured. Many women committed suicide by jumping into the wells and rivers to preserve their honour. Homes and businesses were looted and burnt down. Many families were divided and still remain divided after 70 years of partition. Some have likened the partition of India with the Holocaust of Jews by Hitler.
India and Pakistan after Partition
After horrifying partition two countries were setup, Democratic Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. While India adopted a secular constitution and planted the roots of democratic, liberal and scientific society. Pakistan to this day is unable to determine the difference between the Muslims and non-muslims. A country formed on the back of Islamic nationalism which thinks that speaking Urdu makes them a superior Muslim never really had any Islamic rule on their land. In fact Pakistan has committed crimes which are highly punishable under the laws of Sharia. For example imposing Urdu on Punjabi and Balochi people and discriminating on the basis of colour and language which ultimately gave birth to the land of Bangladesh. Pakistan has been swimming between dictatorship and democracy since 1947, their political leadership is a puppet of the army. The whole existence of Pakistan depends on the fear which they have instilled in the minds of the people that India is their enemy and is a threat to their nation and religion. Sadly, majority of the people of Pakistan are brainwashed and believe this theory told to them by their political masters. They think that they need to always be ready for a war against India and hence there government does not bother to take much measures on the economic growth of Pakistan. India home of of many religions and languages, after adopting a federal constitution focused hugely on economic growth which which makes it much more successful and powerful than any South Asian country. It is also the biggest democracy in the world.
Road ahead
Though India adopted a federal and secular constitution after independence and has run it consistently for over 70 years there has been a tremendous shift in the opinion of the people in the last few years. People have started giving more importance to their religious and cultural ideologies then the constitution of India. Though the shift of ideologies is understandable after 70 years, the speed on which the change have occurred is concerning. People of India are shifting towards a more religious and nationalistic ideology then being a secular and democratic one. Words like ‘constitution’ ‘democracy’ and especially ‘secularism’ are portraited as vituperation. Some have openly demanded to change the constitution and make India from a democratic and secular country into a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. The main argument presented in the favour of Hindu rashtra is that India is the only mainland country which has a major number of Hindu population and therefore they should get their own country which would be run by their own rules and minorities will not enjoy any special rights. The main reason behind the shift of ideologies and political thinking in India is that Indian education system does not teach about the constitution and the rule of law in in the early stage schooling and every citizen does not study law hence they don’t have any knowledge about the constitutional values and they only know what is being fed to them by the political leaders and the media institutions. What the right-wing people describes Hinduism is a very narrow definition of Hinduism and India in general. It is impossible to enlist all the citizens of India as one community where there is a different language in every state and a different dialect in every city. Every state and region has different culture different food and different way to worship God. And the constitution of India guarantees that whatever way you wish to follow your religion and your culture, in the eyes of law all will be the same. And that is what is called Unity in Diversity and that is what gives India a special status in the eyes of the entire world. The example of Pakistan should be enough for the people of India to realise that a country formed on the basis of a particular religion will not be able to survive and grow in the open world economy we live today.
If by reading the second paragraph of this article you in your heart thanked the nature that you did not had to witness those atrocities. Then it should be fairly easy for you you to understand that secularism democracy and focus on economic growth will make your life better rather than unrealistic nationalistic and religious goals.