The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous by Khushwant singh & humar quarishi

Author:Khushwant singh & humar quarishi [singh, Khushwant & quarishi, humar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mobilism
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Published: 2013-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

LAL KRISHNA ADVANI

(1927– )

My worry today is the rise of right-wing fascist parties in the country. The youth of today should be aware of the rise in communal politics and the dangers involved. If we love our country, we have to save it from communal forces. And though the liberal class is shrinking, I do hope that the present generation totally rejects communal and fascist policies. I shun people who are at the forefront of this communalism, and this includes the likes of L.K. Advani.

When I had first met Advani, I thought he was forthright and clean and able. So we kept in touch. In 1989, he chose me to file his papers for nomination to Parliament, and I supported him by proposing his name as MP from New Delhi. I set my hopes on him because Sikhs were targeted by the Congress in 1984 and Advani seemed to be the only choice. Advani cashed in, and there were photos and banners and what not. But my disillusionment began when he started fouling the atmosphere of the country.

The one event that pitchforked Advani to the centre stage and reshaped India’s politics was his rath yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya, leading to the destruction of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992. He, more than anyone else, sensed that Islamophobia was deeply ingrained in the minds of millions of Hindus; it only needed a spark to set it ablaze. The choice of Somnath as the starting point and Ayodhya as the terminal one was well-calculated. Mahmud Ghazni had destroyed the temple at Somnath; Ayodhya was believed to be the birthplace of Sri Ram—it was bruited about that a temple to mark the birth site had stood there till Babar destroyed it and built a mosque over the ruins. This is disputed by historians and the matter was being pursued in law courts. Advani ignored legal niceties and arrived with great fanfare at the site. Since he was determined to build a new Ram temple at the same spot, the fate of the mosque was sealed. What happened there on that fateful day was seen on television by millions of people round the globe. And repercussions were felt over the world. Hindu and Sikh temples were targeted by irate Muslims from Bangladesh to the UK. There were communal confrontations in different parts of India: the serial blasts in Bombay, the attack on the Sabarmati Express in Godhra, the massacre of innocent Muslims in Gujarat—they can all be traced back to the fall of the Babri Masjid. Relations between Hindus and Muslims have never been the same in India. However, the BJP reaped a rich harvest, won many of the elections that followed and eventually installed Atal Behari Vajpayee as prime minister and L.K. Advani as his deputy.

Advani claims that breaking the mosque was not on his agenda; that he actually sent Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati to plead with those who went on the rampage to desist. If that is so,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.