oppn parties The Country Definitely Needs Prayers

News Snippets

  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
Australia thrassh India in the 4th Test, dim their chances of making the WTC finals, Rohit, Virat and Rahul fail once again
oppn parties
The Country Definitely Needs Prayers

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2018-05-23 08:42:19

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
The Archbishop of Delhi is right. The country is in the midst of a “turbulent political atmosphere.” The home minister Rajnath Singh is also right. India or its government does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of his or her religion or sect. Confused? If both are right, then who is wrong and how is the political atmosphere of the country “turbulent”?

The Archbishop is right because even though the government is not against the minorities (it cannot be, even if it wishes to be, because there are enough safeguards in the Constitution and other laws to prevent that), the atmosphere of intolerance ushered in by those close to the dominant party ruling the country is palpable and cannot be brushed under the carpet.

The home minister is right in saying that the government does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion. No one can accuse this government of that. There is simply no evidence that the government, for instance, has removed all Muslims and Christians from government offices or even stopped hiring them further. But does that answer the Archbishop’s charge of “turbulent political atmosphere”?

The government rightly accuses Pakistan of waging a proxy war against India. At the same time, it is blind to the proxy war being waged against the minorities by either members of Hindutva outfits or people close to them. If the cross-border proxy war is threatening the integrity of the country, the in-house proxy war is threatening to tear it apart in a similar way. Hate is such a demon that it has the power to devour even the person who starts it all. That is why now even the Dalits (who obviously are Hindus but were never made to feel one of us) are being regularly targeted, beaten and killed. The government is not realizing what harm will befall the country by the free hand it has given to these miscreants.

The minorities are under pressure and are a scared lot. Questions are being raised about their eating and sartorial habits. They are being made to feel strangers in their own land and the Muslims among them are being asked to leave for Pakistan. The “us and them” divide was never stronger than it is now. Of course the government is not doing it. But the government is not stopping it either. This is highly deplorable. Leaving aside the political overtones, all right thinking Indians should support the Archbishop’s call for prayers to bring the country back on track.