INDIVISIBLE INDIA
We are a single people, genetically of the same stock. Religious divisions are artificial, cultural impositions of conquest. But deep within we are all of the same origin that sprang forth from the soil of India ages ago. Therefore, we should constantly remind ourselves of our racial solidarity, cultural oneness of the Spirit despite surface divergences, and, in tune with it, build up our national integrity, never allowing ugly sectarianism to sully the catholic spirit of our common culture and heritage.
Past conquests have had their spoils and India has suffered the worst depredation throughout her history from alien occupation and the most horrendous dismemberment in the Partition of recent memory.
We must learn the lessons of history and move on now en route to building up a strong polity where the State shall not pander to the vanities of sectarianism and political parties will be held culpable to criminal offence in the eyes of the law if they conduct election campaigning in the name of religion. The State must be entirely separate in its every functioning from religion and its consequent divides.
A new India is awakening to the call of cultural synthesis and national solidarity despite the outrageous attempts to divide the polity that has gone on for the last seven decades merely to win power. And this is happening among the thinking youth who are shedding stereotypical narratives of our national past and trying to forge cross-cultural bonds that in the long run will forge a synthesis of cultures and bring about a renaissance of our civilisation.
What is of additional moment to this discussion is that Hindustani classical music and dance have been the perfect exemplars of Hindu-Muslim cultural synthesis which is proof beyond doubt that we can as yet build our national solidarity on its basis if only we do not allow wily politicians to run away with the game.
I can anticipate critics positing the theological intolerance of Islam as being the stumbling block to attaining this unity but I wish in defence to say that Islam is one and Muslims quite another so long as you keep politics and conversion out of the way. And, by the way, the conversion sanctioned by Islam has nothing to do with spirituality or basic humanity but has everything to do with its political objective of eventual world dominance. How these hindrances are to be removed for the smooth functioning of our polity is for jurists to determine and legislators to sanction in Parliament. The rest will depend on the will of enlightened governments of the future.
India has been partitioned, true. But a day will come when these artificial political barriers will removed in the sub-continent and India will stand supreme as a single nation with the spirit of universal oneness as its guiding light and inspiration.
Bande Mataram! Jai Hind!
Written by Sugata Bose
We are a single people, genetically of the same stock. Religious divisions are artificial, cultural impositions of conquest. But deep within we are all of the same origin that sprang forth from the soil of India ages ago. Therefore, we should constantly remind ourselves of our racial solidarity, cultural oneness of the Spirit despite surface divergences, and, in tune with it, build up our national integrity, never allowing ugly sectarianism to sully the catholic spirit of our common culture and heritage.
Past conquests have had their spoils and India has suffered the worst depredation throughout her history from alien occupation and the most horrendous dismemberment in the Partition of recent memory.
We must learn the lessons of history and move on now en route to building up a strong polity where the State shall not pander to the vanities of sectarianism and political parties will be held culpable to criminal offence in the eyes of the law if they conduct election campaigning in the name of religion. The State must be entirely separate in its every functioning from religion and its consequent divides.
A new India is awakening to the call of cultural synthesis and national solidarity despite the outrageous attempts to divide the polity that has gone on for the last seven decades merely to win power. And this is happening among the thinking youth who are shedding stereotypical narratives of our national past and trying to forge cross-cultural bonds that in the long run will forge a synthesis of cultures and bring about a renaissance of our civilisation.
What is of additional moment to this discussion is that Hindustani classical music and dance have been the perfect exemplars of Hindu-Muslim cultural synthesis which is proof beyond doubt that we can as yet build our national solidarity on its basis if only we do not allow wily politicians to run away with the game.
I can anticipate critics positing the theological intolerance of Islam as being the stumbling block to attaining this unity but I wish in defence to say that Islam is one and Muslims quite another so long as you keep politics and conversion out of the way. And, by the way, the conversion sanctioned by Islam has nothing to do with spirituality or basic humanity but has everything to do with its political objective of eventual world dominance. How these hindrances are to be removed for the smooth functioning of our polity is for jurists to determine and legislators to sanction in Parliament. The rest will depend on the will of enlightened governments of the future.
India has been partitioned, true. But a day will come when these artificial political barriers will removed in the sub-continent and India will stand supreme as a single nation with the spirit of universal oneness as its guiding light and inspiration.
Bande Mataram! Jai Hind!
Written by Sugata Bose
No comments:
Post a Comment