By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: The patronage given to communal forces by the federal government threatens peace in India, says a senior journalist.
“Peace is in danger in India from communal and casteist forces. The government too has contributed to it by adopting a confrontationist stand with Maoists and resort to violence against the people at the slightest provocation,” says Sandeep Sahu, a correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation based in Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha..
Sahu was talking to Matters India on September 21, the International Day of Peace.
“People should not get swayed by communal or casteist propaganda. Civil society must keep them informed about the nefarious designs of such forces and protest peacefully whenever there is violence – by casteist, communal forces or the government,” Sahu said added.
This year’s theme for the day is “The Right to Peace – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70.” It celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the federal and several state governments, believes in the Hindutva, or “Hinduness,” ideology. It is rooted in a belief that the basis of the nation is Hindu majority united around a common culture.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.
The Universal Declaration – the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages – is as relevant today as it was on the day that it was adopted.
For Sister Gladys Edassery of Congregation of Jesus, a nurse at St. Mary’s Health Center, Mauranipur, Jhansi of Utter Pradesh, “India is facing so many problems due to corrupt government. People in political power say that the changes happen for the good of people but that creates more confusion and disunity among the people especially among different religions. And the things that happen in different states in India spoil people’s faith—they have in God and people. It creates enough strides for division and animosity in society.”
For others, to promote peace in India, people need to be educated, empowered and conscientized well.
“I think people have to sacrifice something of themselves for peace in India. People should not receive money from any party to vote and the people must start speaking out and writing about the difficulties that ordinary citizens go through. Peace cannot be created just like that. People should work towards peace and they lack consciousness,” said Jesuit Father Raj Lourdu, who heads the Department of Visual Communication, Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada.
The Indian society is not divisive. It is the Brahmanism that makes the society divisive with its caste approach, he added.
According to him, there will be room for peace when the oppressed realize their status and move towards liberation. It is a long process besides education and empowerment plays a big role. The situation today also shows the failure of the church and NGOs. Thus it appears there is no peace is equal to corrosion of value system.
“I think peace that is preached by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his lies are that the country is peaceful with the rich taking charge of the country. The rich in the form of NRIs, Ambanis and corporate, those bhakts (devotees) who think whatever Modi does is right, and those of us who fail to fight such a regime,” Father Lourdu said.
“I believe that we need to do a lot with regard to conscientization of the public with regard to the misuse of religion and caste. Sometimes we are caught up in our own personal animosities and perhaps sometimes in caste web. And so we fail to drive the point that we need peace. Authenticity is respected people today. The question is whether we are authentic in what we say and do?” said the media educator.
“It is a time of chaos and real and authentic peace in India is a distant dream because of a lack of consciousness among people, which is a sole cause. In the international sphere also tension is surmounting due to the rise of right-wing politics,” said Rajesh Bagh, assistant professor of political science at Kalinga Mahavidyalaya in Kandhamal district, Odisha.
Some Indian Universities are becoming a milieu of violence. Society is sleeping as people face everyday discrimination based on caste, religion, customs, traditions and politics play a submarine role. It will not project the violent face of hegemony. It is the civil society which failed to build consciousness. As it has a good relationship with state/politics, said Bagh, a doctoral student of political science at the University of Hyderabad, Telangana, a state in southern India.
“Civil society groups in India should act or play multiple roles. The key role is to establish educational institutions which hardly involved. Despite many efforts, civil society groups have failed to educate people at large regarding exploitation, subjugation, suppression, oppression, humiliation and discrimination and they have failed to produce the literature of the oppressed. In other states the academia and activists played and playing a major role to make a new political culture,” he said.
“The International Day of Peace is very relevant for India which has a confrontational neighborhood and a divided polity wit much social domestic peace,” said John Dayal, human rights activist, senior journalist, and author based in New Delhi.