Ever since becoming the international general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Praveen Togadia has chosen to remain in the headlines. Some of his comments demand serious attention. Some are outright ridiculous. Still some remarks are utterly irresponsible. Yet, all these serve this self-proclaimed champion of Hindutva to remain in the lime light. Yes, one may condemn him, despise him but cannot ignore him because of his unfailing regularity in appearing on the font pages. Some of his remarks are so disturbing that even the VHP had no other alternative but to disassociate itself from such comments. Only recently, Prime Minister Vajpayee and his deputy Advani had taken Togadia to task for his utterances on Ayodhya. While in Assam, the self-anointed Hindutva spokesman warned the people about the danger of unabated influx from across the international border. “The Gujarat incidents 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,” declared 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 re-enacting Gujarat in Assam should not be taken lightly. We all know what happened in Gujarat. It was a blot on our country’s fair name and its commitment to a time tested value system. The Gujarat pogrom 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’ have left a permanent scar on the secular fabric of the country. Thus, there is every reason to be worried about Togadia’s latest ‘offer’ to Assam.. Under any circumstances, can we allow Togadia and his friends to repeat the Gujarat experiment any where in the country, certainly not in Assam, a sensitive border state, which is still paying the price for the ethnic and communal discord of the past. Frankly, Togadia did a great disservice to the nation with his intemperate statements. What is perplexing is the silence of the Assam Government. Congress, the ruling party in the State did not even bother to condemn the Togadia remarks, despite its avowed commitment to defend secularism at any cost. Moreover, in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where he was an unwelcome guest, Assam Government allowed Togadia to go through the state undisturbed.  Togadia is a political phenomenon under a religious garb. He should be taken to task politically.

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