Communalism, Secularism, Democracy The other long-term development during this period was the visible rise of politics based on religious identity leading to a debate about secularism and democracy. We noted in Chapter Six that in the aftermath of the Emergency, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh had merged with the Janata Party. After the fall of the Janata Party and its break-up, the supporters of erstwhile Jana Sangh formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in . Initially, the BJP adopted a broader political platform than that of the Jana Sangh.
BJP embraced ‘Gandhian’ Socialism’ along with cultural nationalism as its ideology. But it did not get much success in the elections held in . After , the party began to emphasise nationalism as the core of its ideology. The BJP also pursued the politics of ‘Hindutva’ for political mobilisation.
Hindutva was popularised by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, as the basis of Indian nationhood. It basically meant that to be an Indian, one must accept India as their ‘fatherland’ (pitrubhu) as well as their holy land (punyabhu). Believers of ‘Hindutva’ argue that a strong nation can be built on the basis of a united national culture. They also believe that in the case of India, Hindutva can provide this base.
Two developments around became central to the politics of BJP. The first was the Shah Bano case in . In this case a - year old divorced Muslim woman, had filed a case for maintenance from her former husband. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Shah Bano.
The orthodox Muslims saw the Supreme Court’s order as an interference in Muslim Personal Law. On the demand of some Muslim leaders, the government passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, that nullified the Supreme Court’s judgement. This action of the government was opposed by many women’s organisations, many Muslim groups and most of the intellectuals. The BJP criticised this action of the Congress government as an unnecessary concession and ‘appeasement’ of the minority community.
Ayodhya Issue The Ayodhya issue, as the second significant development, was deeply rooted in socio- cultural and political history of the country pertaining to different perspectives from various stakeholders. It involved contentions regarding the birth place of Shri Ram, one of the most holy religious sites, and its legal ownership. The significance of Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi site can be judged by the fact that the -year long history, starting from , is marked by numerous conflicts which are also documented in Lucknow, Barabanki and Faizabad district Gazetteers. A three-dome Do you know?
There is a very interesting incident dated November , when Nihang Sikhs captured the Janmabhoomi site and performed Puja and Havan, before being forcibly ousted by colonial administration.