Pseudo Secularism and rights of religious minorities

In the title of this article I have specifically said “Religious Minorities”. These days, people ignore the word religious and talk a lot about rights of minorities. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, minority is defined as “a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group”. Which is the dominant group in India? Are they Hindus?

India is a secular country and there is no dominant group in India. Take the case of Pakistan. Pakistan is a Muslim country and Islam is the dominant group in Pakistan. It makes sense in calling Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan as minorities. Hindus are not a single ethnic group in India and there is no question of existence of any dominant group in India. If an Indian citizen has the right capabilities and qualifications, nobody can prevent him/she from reaching any position. This is because India is a secular country and there is no religious minority in India. I have heard many a times that minority
rights are assured in the constitution of India. The constitution was written immediately after the partition and the minority clause was added in the constitution to make the Muslims on the Indian side happy and comfortable in staying on the Indian side. After 60 years of independence, if the Muslims in India are not comfortable to live in a secular nation like India, the minority status is set in the minds of them. Now, it does not make any sense to allow minority status for any religion in India. To have a feeling of a proud Indian, if the Muslims in India need minority status, their mindset is remaining in the same state as existed immediately after the partition.

Look at another irony in the definition of minority status. Muslims in Kashmir are minority, Christians in Kerala are minority. Both of these statements are not correct. Actually Muslims in Kashmir are Majority and Hindus are minority there. In Kerala, no religion is eligible for minority status. This is because Hindus are only about 53%. In the next census, this will come done below 50%. So, Kerala will have lot of minorities without a majority religion. It is high time that we redefine the minority status state wise. For example, Hindus are minority in Kashmir, No minority in Kerala, Christians are minority in Karnataka and so on. This is because, issues like reservation is done state wise and people basically depend on the rules of the state for admissions, employment etc.

If we allow the status of religious minority to continue to like this, the present minority will become majority within 50 years. Do we hang on to the constitution even then?. To protect the interests of Hindus in India, the Hindus should unite and get the control of the temples in their hand. Otherwise, we know that temples will be ruled by Muslims and Christians within 50 years. Even now, the income from temples goes to the government which is a secular framework. There is no reason for the income from temples to reach the hands of people belonging to other religions.

This is where CPM leaders make funny statements like “Temple property is common property of the people”. CPM leaders have no sense of God or religion. Once a supreme CPM leader said that it is not required to appoint any temple guards because the God should know how to protect himself, otherwise how he can protect common man. Seeing the wealth of the temples, CPM leaders are very much worried about the temple properties. Why no CPM leader says that the income from Velankanni church
should go to the government, because there is contribution from people belonging to all religions.

CPM wants God if lot of wealth is with that temple, otherwise CPM leaders will say that let God take care of himself.

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