In the ongoing election, the opposition has succeeded in making appeasement politics its core theme. The twice defeated Congress leadership is keen to grab power without working hard, without understanding the pitfalls of pursuing appeasement policy and without listening to public discontent. To delve deep, one must understand the origin of appeasement in international politics.
“Appeasement, the policy of making concessions to the dictatorial powers to avoid conflict, governed Anglo-French foreign policy during the 1930s. It became indelibly associated with Conservative Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain”.
http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/appeasement.html Chamberlain met Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Without consulting the Czech authorities, he pledged to give Germany all the areas with a more than 50 per cent German population. France was persuaded to agree. Hitler demanded all the Sudetenland. On 30 September, Britain and France agreed to his demands. Chamberlain was confident that he had secured ‘peace for our time’. By not resisting the temptation of achieving fake peace these leaders emboldened fascist forces to drag the world to fight World War 2 shortly.
The Indian National Congress which had been the brainchild of British bureaucrat A.O Humes started appeasement much earlier. Gandhi supported the Khilafat movement initiated by the Maulana Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali. The idea was to strengthen the Indian freedom movement by roping in Indian Muslims as well. This move was as good as supporting ISIS to control terrorism. The major outcomes were:
• Validation of the idea of the Muslim state.
• Mopla massacre of Hindus in Kerala.
• The seed for the partition of India in religious grounds was sown.
Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar had written, “The (Khilafat) movement was started by the Mohammedans. It was taken up by Mr Gandhi with tenacity and faith, which might have surprised many Mohammedans. Many people doubted the ethical basis of the Khilafat movement and tried to dissuade Mr Gandhi from taking any part in the Movement the ethical basis of which was so questionable.” (Pakistan or Partition of India, pages 146,147).
Another popular leader, Annie Besant described the event in her book 'The Future of Indian Politics', as: “They murdered and plundered abundantly, and killed and drove away all Hindus who would not apostatize”. Gandhi projected it as a part of the freedom movement. It took the nation 100 years to discover the truth.
“A three-member panel, which reviewed the entries in the fifth volume of the dictionary, brought out by the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR), is understood to have recommended the deletion as it felt that the 1921 rebellion was never part of the independence struggle but a fundamentalist movement focused on religious conversion. None of the slogans raised by the rioters were in favour of nationalism and anti-British in content, it noted”. The Hindu, August 22, 2021.
Post-Independence the appeasement multiplied
The list is endless,
• Ignoring the right of the king of Jammu and Kashmir under the instrument of accession, Nehru insisted on Sheikh Abdulla heading the government, but he failed to see that Abdulla launched the ‘Quit Kashmir’ movement, independent of the ‘Quit India’ movement. Nehru had to eat his words when he jailed Abdulla for conspiring against India, helping Pakistan to annex J&K and inciting communal disharmony. This appeasement cost India four wars starting in 1948 to Kargil in 1999. Many books have been written on this debacle and many more can be written as new facts are discovered.
• In a Hindu-majority nation Nehru appointed Maulana Azad first education minister who was a scholar of Islam. He influenced Gandhi during the Khilafat movement. The only qualification Maulana had to hold this post was his resignation from Congress presidentship in favour of Nehru. This selection also exposed the incompetence of Nehru, as Maulana himself declared Nehru incompetent as PM in his memoirs, these pages were released 30 years after his death.
• Post partition the houses vacated by Muslims who left for Pakistan were kept vacant, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru supported this policy saying if Hindus and Sikhs were accommodated, it would “push out” Muslim residents. This was the worst solution possible as it formalised the distrust permanently. The Hindu and Sikh refugees lived in camps while their properties left in Pakistan were being enjoyed by the Muslims. The secular thoughts were implemented without taking care of actual citizens. When the prime minister doubts the integrity of helpless Hindu victims and makes them suffer it reflects on his poor understanding of Indian culture. This move resulted in Hindus leaving the neighbourhood areas as they were minorities in these zones and there came a time when Friday prayer gatherings used to become violent. There used to be a curfew in areas around the Jama masjid. It is not strange that people having links to the parliament attack and other anti-national activities were getting shelter and support in these pockets. Police have to think twice before entering these areas. A Muslim youth held a revolver on the forehead of a policeman during the 2020 Delhi riots.
• Congress managed to rule uninterrupted projecting itself as a saviour of the Muslim community. All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) was formed in 1973 to protect and promote the application of Islamic Personal Law among Muslims in India. It is a non-government organisation which has been empowered like a statutory body that represents the interests of Muslims. Instead of implementing a common civil code congress promoted this distorted form of secularism.
• During the emergency, the family planning drive implemented forcefully led to differences. The newly formed Janta party grabbed the opportunity and Shahi Imam of JAMA Masjid Delhi actively campaigned for it.
• Post 1977 every political party joined the race, U.P Bihar, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala went too far to appease. Salary to imams, government aid to madrasa, creation of Haz houses, subsidy for performing Haz, Iftar parties by political parties. The present-day mafias being eliminated in the state of U.P. were nurtured during the rule of these parties.
• The Waqf board was given the power to claim properties without proving credentials in 1995. Section 85 of the Waqf Act states that if you cannot satisfy the Waqf Board Tribunal that it is your land, then you will be ordered to vacate the land. The decision of the Tribunal will be final. No court, not even the Supreme Court, can change the conclusion of the Waqf Tribunal. Section 40 of the Waqf Act states that when the Waqf Board lays a claim on the land of a person, it is not the responsibility of the Waqf Board to prove the claim on the land, but the real owner of the land has to prove the ownership of his land. (TOI September 26, 2022)
The ongoing appeasement is a ticking time bomb
As happened with Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement with Hitler, India is facing a similar situation. These aggressive groups keep demanding more and political parties eagerly respond. Bharat Mata ki jai, singing of the national anthem is being challenged. Objecting to the implementation of Adhar, CAA, and every reform has become the norm. during the COVID pandemic vaccination drive in Muslim pockets became a challenge.
Formation of extremist organisations like Hizbul, Lashkar, and SIMI to PFI, the list of banned organisations is endless. National Investigation Agency is fully busy nabbing these elements.
Appeasement is helping hardcore criminals to become legislators
Political parties have gone the extra mile to protect these anti-national goons charged with murders, extortion, grabbing of land etc, it is a pity that the recently killed mafia king was elected to the assembly and parliament on different occasions. His associate took up this incident to the Supreme Court. The mastermind of the Delhi riots in 2020 was a corporator. Mastermind of Sandesh Khali is a legislature of the ruling party of West Bengal. Had it not been a complaint of money laundering being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate the state police would have looked the other way. The daredevil goon attacked the officials on duty.
The appeasement is sympathetic to anti-national elements and demoralising the law enforcement agencies
Till the NDA government came to power, Kashmiri militants who are now in prison were enjoying police protection,
Heads of the political parties shed tears at the encounter of these goons. The integrity of martyred soldiers or para-military persons is challenged. It took years to defend and win the case, filed against the Delhi police for the Batla house encounter. Karnal Singh, the officer who spearheaded the operations in Batla House, narrates a minute-by-minute account of the chain of events in his book of the same name. it was due to his commitment that the case saw the conviction of the terrorist and a clean chit to the crime branch of Delhi police. Present-day politicians have all sympathies for terrorists but have no feelings for the family of the martyrs. Surgical strikes against terrorist camps in POK were mocked. Supreme Court which upheld the death sentence of Afzal Guru is being blamed when slogans are chanted, “Afzal ham sharminda hain tere qatil zinda hain” ( we are ashamed that your killers are still alive).
Way forward
Political parties have no spine to stop appeasement. A man with a mission is needed as did TN Sheshan the former chief election commissioner, He eliminated over a hundred electoral malpractices and reformed the election process. Major among these were enforcement of election code of conduct, Voter IDs for all eligible voters, limit on election candidates' expenditure, and appointing election officials from states other than the one facing polls. He curbed several malpractices like bribing or intimidating voters, distribution of liquor during elections, use of government funds and machinery for campaigning, appealing to voters' caste or communal feelings, use of places of worship for campaigns, use of loudspeakers and high-volume music without prior written permission.
Indian democracy has surmounted many obstacles but appeasement is most challenging as no one wants to bell the cat. Recent court cases against the Waqf board and other issues indicate that the public is fed up and not ready to tolerate it any further. The Electorate of the most affected state has given Yogi Aditya Nath a second term despite being called a bulldozer Baba. It indicates that public is comfortable with leadership which does not believe in appeasement.
Next month the result of the ongoing election will be declared. A government elected with a single party majority should enact and implement a law that restrains the political parties from appeasing a community, cast or religion.
We have played foul with the spirit of the Constitution from day one. It is high time that the government promotes the spirit of” Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas” which should include Hindus in CAPITAL LETTERS.
By Rakesh Kumar
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)
Comments (2)
N
Point well made
M
Very well explained immediate need to stop appeasement politics