Secular Hindus must speak out, India is 10 years away from civil disturbance, even civil war: former Home Secretary, Gopal Pillai to Karan Thapar

One of India’s most highly regarded former Home Secretary says “secular Hindus are uncomfortable, frustrated” adding “and don’t know what should we do in Modi’s India”. Gopal Pillai said if the present treatment of Muslims is not checked and reversed then India could be 10 years away from danger point which he described as “civil disturbance”. At one point in the interview he even briefly accepted India could face “civil war”.

In this searching and forthright interview, addressing 17 crucial questions, Mr. Pillai said if Prime Minister Modi and his government do not reverse the present treatment of Muslims, which includes cattle lynchings, economic boycotts and othering, “future generations will hold Modi and his government responsible for endangering India”.

This 45-minute interview was arranged at Mr. Pillai’s request after he had seen an interview put out last week with Ziya Us Salam on the question ‘What is it like to be a Muslim in Narendra Modi’s India?’ Mr. Pillai suggested that we should do an interview on the subject ‘What is it like to be a secular Hindu in Narendra Modi’s India?’ In the interview that followed Mr. Pillai said he had suggested this subject because, as he put it, “Muslims should know Hindus support them and do not accept lynchings, boycotts or calls for genocide”. Mr. Pillai said Hindus want to “live in harmony and peace”.

Here is the link to the interview:

In a sizeable section of the interview, where the Prime Minister and his statements or silences are discussed, Mr. Pillai said secular Hindus would be “dismayed and disappointed” by his silence when a Dharam Sansad in December 2021 called for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Muslims. Mr. Pillai said by his silence the Prime Minister “let down his constitutional oath of office”.

Speaking about recent developments in Purola, Uttarakhand, where, after an allegation of love jihad, Muslim shops and homes were marked with an X and where, on Eid, Muslims were not allowed to gather in their private homes to say namaz, Mr. Pillai said all the civil servants involved – whether District Collector or Superintendent of Police – had failed their duty and, more importantly, let down the oath they took when they started their careers. He said they must be punished.

Speaking about how secular Hindus should stand up and defend their secular principles, Mr. Pillai said it is incumbent on every single individual to speak out and say this treatment of Muslims is unacceptable. Mr. Pillai accepted that this could involve some element of personal risk but there is no avoiding it. This is a duty incumbent on every secular Hindu.

I will not reveal more of this interview because I do not want to wrongly paraphrase Mr. Pillai, either in terms of content or in terms of tone and tenor. What I will add is that Mr. Pillai is, as far as I know, the only former senior civil servant who has wanted to speak on this subject and has done so clearly and, at times, forcefully but always analytically and not emotionally.

What I will do, instead, is to give you the list of questions put to Mr. Pillai so that you know the range of issues that he spoke about and the structure of the interview.

Here are the questions:

1) Let me start with a simple and blunt question: what is it like to be a secular Hindu in Narendra Modi’s India?

2) Before I question you further about Modi’s India let me ask how much easier was it to be a secular Hindu when Manmohan Singh or Atal Bihari Vajpayee were prime ministers?

3) Before we talk about how secular Hindus should stand up for their principles and beliefs, let me ask how a secular Hindu would respond to what’s happening in India today. First, when BJP leaders call Muslims Babar ki aulad or taunt them with the words like abba jaan or tell them to go to Pakistan, is this a matter of concern for secular Hindus?

4) These days Muslims are frequently accused of what’s called love jihad, a conspiracy to convert Hindu girls to Islam under the disguise of love. How do secular Hindus view this? Do they see it as a fake and false allegation or do they think there’s truth in it?

5) In this connection, how do you view what’s recently happened in Purola in Uttarakhand? After an allegation of love jihad, Muslim shops and homes were marked with an X, leading many to flee in fear. Then, on Eid they were not allowed to gather in their private homes to say namaz. How would secular Hindus view this?

6) What about the acts in various states making it extremely difficult for an Indian citizen to change his or her religion? Ironically, they’re called Freedom of Religion Acts. Do secular Hindus believe these acts are justified to protect against forced conversion or do they undermine freedom of choice?

7) Now Muslims are cattle traders, they are exporters of meat, they are eaters of beef. Today when they do any of this they are liable to be lynched. Several states like Haryana and Madhya Pradesh give official protection to cow vigilantes. Consequently, many Muslims live in a state of permanent fear. How would a secular Hindu view this?

8) Let’s come to the level of Muslim representation in Indian public life. First, politics. Neither in 2014 nor in 2019 does the ruling BJP have a Muslim MP. At the moment it doesn’t have a Muslim MP in any house of parliament. It hasn’t fielded a Muslim candidate in Karnataka and UP and for 25 years in Gujarat. How would a secular Hindu view this?

9) Muslims are nearly 15% of our population. In proportionate terms they should have 74 seats in the Lok Sabha but they have only 27. There’s not a single Muslim chief minister in any of our 28 states. In 15 there’s no Muslim minister. In 10, there’s just one each, usually in-charge of minority affairs. How do you view that?

10) One more question about representation. In his book ‘Our Hindu Rashtra’ Aakar Patel writes that although Muslims are 15% of the population they are only 4.9% of state and central government employees, 4.6% of the paramilitary services, 3.2% of IAS, IFS and IPS and, perhaps, as low as 1% of the army. Is that understandable or troubling?

11) Let me ask you a direct question about the Prime Minister. In December 2021 when a Dharam Sansad in Haridwar called for ethnic cleansing and genocide of Muslims many people were horrified but the Prime Minister was silent. Would a secular Hindu expect the Prime Minister to condemn such calls for genocide?

12) The Prime Minister frequently talks about 1,200 years of subjugation. That means he considers the Decani and Delhi Sultanates and the Mughals as foreigners. How do secular Hindus view this period of our history?

13) And what about the deliberate attempt to change the names of cities and roads and thereby obliterate India’s Muslim heritage? Is this acceptable and understandable to a secular Hindu or mistaken because it denies the reality of our country’s history and culture?

14) Alright, I have gone through a whole set of issues to see how a secular Hindu would react. I have done that deliberately because I think it is important to establish how a secular Hindu thinks. Now, let me come to a critical question. How should a secular Hindu stand up and defend his secular principles?

15) Because of the way Modi has influenced the country, opposition parties are very apprehensive of standing up for Muslims. They don’t raise so-called Muslim issues. They don’t visit the families of victims of cattle lynching. Practically no one spoke out against the Dharam Sansad calls for genocide. Would a secular Hindu criticize these parties for their pusillanimity?

16) At an individual level what should a secular Hindu do when the divide between Hindus and Muslims is growing wider and deeper? Should he or she speak out, even reach out to Muslims?

17) My last question. This interview has happened because you contacted me after the interview I did with Ziya Us Salam. He answered the question ‘What does it feel like to be a Muslim in Modi’s India?’ You suggested I should do an interview and ask what does it feel like to be a secular Hindu in Modi’s India? It was a great idea and I immediately accepted. But let me end by asking you what moved you to make this suggestion?

Courtesy : Sabrang India

Note: This news piece was originally published in sabrangindia.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights