Religion, race and ethnicity are convenient excuses for fostering fascistic agendas. Although the players are different, the game is played by the same simple, violent rule - deprive one group of its basic dignity and civil rights by appealing to the narrow identity pride and self interest of another. Substitute the name of one fascist (promoting whichever group) with a different one, the message remains unchanged - "my want before yours". Fascists the world over, have different skin colors, dress codes and haircuts - in their hearts, they carry the same rotten core of hatred.
Brian Leiter has a very revealing post (India's Brush With Fascist Theocracy) on the subject of the rise of religious fanaticism in India in the recent years. This topic is of great concern to me and I had thought about addressing it here at some future date. Although religious tensions always played a major role in India's political and public life, when I was growing up, it was kept in check by the optimistic, secular outlook of the majority of Indians. India, at that time had closer ties to the erstwhile communist USSR than the democratic USA. National leaders, at least in public, kept their rhetoric inclusive and relatively free of poisonous religious fractiousness. Student politics at universities tended to be divided between the socialist and the capitalist camps - an ideological debate not a sectarian one. In Indian national and regional politics (except in Bengal and Kerala, two states with long rules by communist governments), religion now plays an overt role in public policy discussions. What is even more disheartening is that the younger generation grown up in the last two decades, has been adversely affected by this unhealthy mind set. Now the young student leaders openly run university election campaigns on "Hindu" or "Muslim" platforms. Many educated middle class Indians are no longer ashamed to give voice to their suspicions of the "other" communities. Communal violence has been frequent in the past years.
Another interesting trend that is on the rise is the closing of the immigrant Indian mind outside India. Most US Indian Hindus used to vote Democrat right up to the 2000 elections. But after 9/11, many Indians revised their world view to fit the "Muslims and the rest of us" stance that Bush appeared to telegraph to the world. In 2004 many Indian Hindus switched party allegiance and voted Republican because that would be "good for India" (read Hindus).
Arundhati Roy has been a clear and fearless voice against religious fanaticism in India and abroad. She has spoken out against the BJP government's fascistic ideals in India and the Bush administration's imperialist designs here. Many in India would like to dismiss the wealthy Roy as a "limousine liberal" or a "comfortable commie" because she dares to shine the light on this violent and ugly side of the "world's largest democracy ". But her net worth is not the issue - her message is.
I should add:
The BJP government lost to the Congress Party in the 2004 Indian general elections. I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on whether the loss was due to 'bread and butter" issues in rural India or because the citizenry got fed up with its communal politics
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