India is a country of over billion people with diverse cultures, rac­es and religions. A Hindu majority country has Muslims, Bud­dhists, Christians, Jains, and Parsis etc. as minorities. Across its vast swath, these people have been spending their lives together in a hope for a better future. While India is a secular country, mean­ing that there is no state religion and all religions are treated equally, religious minorities often face various problems and challenges in their day to day lives.

Contrary to the ground reality, India has been boasting for its secular image. But the brutality and atrocity that the mi­norities face in India are exceptional. What they are subject to, on daily basis is full of discrimination, communal violence, forced conversions, hate speech, intolerance and legal issues per­taining to their religious rites. This trend of misery for the minorities is especially on rise ever since the BJP led government under PM Modi has taken charge of the country. Today, the Indian minorities truly feel unsafe because the injustice against them has received patronage of the incumbent government.

India celebrates its Republic Day every year on January 26 because that was the day in year 1950 when its constitution was adopted. The constitution gave India’s citizens the power to govern themselves by choosing their own government. This date was chosen in memory of Purna Swaraj (total independence) resolution which was passed by the Indian National Congress on December 29, 1929 at its Lahore ses­sion with public declaration on January 26, 1930. Ever since it is cel­ebrated with festivities and patriotic fervor across the country. This year the Republic Day theme is “Bharat – Loktantra ki Matruka” (India – Mother of Democracy) and Viksit Bharat (Developed India).

The Indian constitution calls for a government of people, by the peo­ple and for the people. It affords leverage to the common man to elect the government which can look after his affairs in the best possible manner. Since India’s constitution asserts that India is a secular nation, this provision is for all the Indian nationals from any caste or creed. The slogans that Indian government has set for the forthcoming Republic Day are apparently striking, yet these are not in consonance with the current environment in India which is charged against the minorities.

The Indian brutality in IIOJ&K was there ever since 1947 but now the atrocities against the minorities have surpassed limits when the Indian government resorted to the killings of Sikh leaders abroad. These horrifying attempts were highlighted by the Canadian and the US governments. Pakistan has been voicing against such Indian crimes on its homeland for many years.

Unfortunately, during the current regime’s term, so many incidents of lynching, torching and torturing of the people from minority popu­lation have been reported in media that one gets horrified. In a coun­try where secularism has been chanted as the slogan for the unity such atrocities by the majority population is a worrisome matter. More disappointing is the fact that this all is being done under the auspices of BJP led government who have emboldened RSS elements to further Hindutva ideology disregarding the basic rights of its citi­zens. Today, the Indian leadership faces a question, are these activi­ties in consonance with the spirit of their constitution, enactment of which is being celebrated on January 26?

Despite much fanfare on “Developed India” slogan, it is reported that about “60% of India’s nearly 1.3 billion people live on less than $3.10 a day, the World Bank’s median poverty line. And 21%, or more than 250 million people, survive on less than $2 a day.” There are sev­eral ways of gauging the development of a country and one way is to measure Human Development Index (HDI) which “measures prog­ress on 3 key dimensions of human development; a long and healthy life, access to education and a decent standard of living.” As per the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2021-2022. India ranks 132 out of 191 countries and territories. This dismal state does not signify that India has stepped into the ranks and files of developed nations.

The Indian leadership needs to comprehend that the development does not come via mere sloganeering; but is accepted in the form of real development of its citizens who have the liberty to live peacefully and participate in all activities especially the political happenings. By chanting slogans of secularism and suffocating minorities, the Indian leadership has resorted to the democratic antipathy towards the mi­norities which is a bigger wrongdoing than imposing dictatorial rule over the country. It is for this reason that every year the Kashmiris on both sides observe Indian Republic Day as Black Day.

The current Indian government has portrayed that it’s the biggest democracy, yet it does not allow dissent in any form. Today, the pro­visions of Purna Swaraj are available only to the handful RSS follow­ers who are vehemently supported by the BJP led government and this does not augur well with the notions of either Mother of Democ­racy or Developed India.

Reema Shaukat
The writer works at Institute of Regional Studies as Communi-cation Strategist and can be reached at reema.asim81@gmail.com