Editorial, April 7-21, 2003

Editorial Vol. 2 Issue No. 1

April 7-21, 2003

Togadia’s threat

Ever since becoming the international general secretary of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Dr. Praveen Togadia has chosen the shortcut route to remain in the headlines. This self-claimed savior of Hindutva with unfailing regularity made numerous irresponsible comments to hog the limelight. Some of his remarks are so disturbing that the VHP had no other alternative but to disassociate it from such comments. Recent reports suggest that the Prime Minister and his deputy L. K. Advani had lodged strong protests against Dr. Togadia’s remarks on Ayodhya.

Recently, this self-appointed spokesman of Hindutva was in Assam. While in Assam, he warned the people about the danger of unabated influx from across the international border and threatened to reenact Gujarat to save the State. “The Gujarat incident will have to be repeated in Assam in order to save the Hindu people living in the region from the nefarious activities of the illegal Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators living throughout India,” said Praveen Togadia. He alleged that the Islamic fundamentalists are now trying to make Assam a minority land, which the VHP will never allow. While there is nothing wrong in making people aware about impending dangers, but the threat of reenacting Gujarat in Assam should not be taken lightly. We all know what happened in Gujarat. It was a blot on our principle of secularism, which is dear to every Indian hearts. It considerably damaged the India’s reputation as a secular country. International community has started believing that India is not a safe place for the people belonging to minority community. The ‘images of Gujarat in 2002’ has left a permanent scar on the secular fabric of the country. Thus, there is every reason to be worried about Dr. Togadia’s threat. Under any circumstances, nowhere in the country we can allow Dr. Tagadia and his friends to repeat the Gujarat experiment and least in Assam, which is a sensitive border State and still paying the prices of ethnic and communal divide caused in the past. Thus by making such volatile comments Dr. Togadia did a great disservice to the nation. What is perplexing in the entire episode is the silence of the Assam Government. Congress, the ruling party of the State did not even bother to condemn the remarks of Dr. Togadia though it is committed to defend secularism at any cost. Moreover, unlike Dr. Togadia’s recent visit in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal where the State Governments made clear that he was an unwanted guest, Assam Government took no such steps, which could force Dr. Togadia to think twice before making such comments and did not show any intention to take on Dr. Togadia politically. India society is a pluralistic one and it will continue to remain so. No efforts by Dr. Togadia and his friends will be enough to deviate this country from the path of secularism.

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