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I am taking two key lines in the preamble of the Constitution of India . “Secular” and “Liberty of thought , expression , belief, faith and worship”. Two Christian majority states in the Northeast are due for elections . This critique aims at assessing the mood of the electorate in these two states about how they view the BJP as a non secular party .
As per Ministry of Home Affairs , there were 3,399 riots of religious and communal nature from 2016 to 2020. Muslims have suffered the most . Increasingly , Christians and Christian Churches have also been attacked . Christian institutions who have been engaged in the service of health , education , charities etc for decades have been affected with the restrictions imposed by the amendments to the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA). Besides in the name of “forced conversion” all kinds of attacks and harassments are being inflicted on Christian churches and worshippers . The goons of the Sangh Parivar who committed the violence while the authorities are indifferent or even penalized the victims.
India is now holding the presidency of the G 20. The presidency is actually by rotation and the term is one year . India took over from Indonesia as per the alphabetical order. The Modi Government has made it look as if India has earned it and the euphoria and hype generated is enormous . Government of India is pulling all the stops and invested all the resources to impress upon the G 20 member countries that India can truly be a Vishwa Guru of the world . Prime Minister Modi has been using phrases and idioms like “can we catalyse a fundamental mindset shift to benefit humanity as a whole”? “join to make India’s G 20 presidency , a presidency of healing , harmony and hope “. Government of India is also taking the G 20 to the States . In Nagaland , the Horn Bill Festival was one of the main cultural events which the Government of India wanted to showcase the G 20 presidency. ”. Also among the several fora created is the Religious Forum or R 20. The BJP is very keen to capture power in the Christian majority states of Meghalaya and Nagaland .
Prime Minister Modi visited Shillong on December 18, 2022 , ostensibly to celebrate the golden jubilee of the North Eastern Council . He also inaugurated several welfare schemes online across the Northeast . Since then bill boards , hoardings and posters , ‘Modi for development and BJP for Meghalaya’ are hung and displayed at every junction , market place , vantage points etc in cities , towns , localities , villages and even in public toilets . The underlying reason was however to launch the BJP election campaign in Meghalaya.
Few days ago , the RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat stated that “Hindu society is at war , natural for people to be aggressive. This war is not against an enemy without , but against an enemy within ”. Sounds that the enemy within , is worse than the salami slicing of China . Bhagwat also talked about conversion. In the past Bhagwat has been talking that everyone living in India is Hindu . Bhawat also visited Shillong and among other things he was taken by the Seng Khasi (Indigenous faith) to the their sanctum sanctorum and partook in the puja.
In Nagaland , the BJP has more less become indistinguishable as a non secular party and is fighting the elections in alliance with a regional party. It is not as much yet in Meghalaya. Top BJP leaders are banking on the Modi for Development slogan . BJP regional and local leaders are canvassing that BJP is not anti Christian . They are also highlighting on the call made by Prime Minister on the Pope while in Rome and that the Prime Minister had also invited the Pope to visit India .
BJP inroads into the States in the Northeast has been phenomenal especially in Tripura , Assam , Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur . They have been sharing power in Nagaland and Meghalaya . Not yet in Mizoram. Polling in both Meghalaya and Nagaland is due on February 27 and the results is on March 2.
In the last elections in 2018 the BJP managed to get two seats in a house of sixty in Meghalaya. This time it is expected they will get more . Why? The financial resource of the BJP is limitless . They have put up candidates in all the 60 constituencies . It looks as if increasingly people are ready to sell their souls for temporary earthly gains .
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