Karnataka   

People cautioned against bid to homogenise society

Staff Correspondent

Media urged to refrain from clichéd stereotyping of minorities

MANGALORE: Intellectuals participating in a national seminar on "Communalism and media" organised by Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike here on Saturday cautioned people to be wary of what they termed systematic efforts by a Hindu rightwing political party and its affiliates to bring about a homogenised society, ignoring the country's pluralistic diversity. They also urged the media to refrain from clichéd stereotyping of minorities.

Inaugurating the seminar, the former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar said it was imperative for Hindus and Muslims to coexist for the salvation of the country. Reminding the Bharatiya Janata Party that India was not a "Hindu Rashtra" as professed by it, he advised it to desist from taking on the role of being the country's culture-bearers. Indian culture, with its diversity, was not the exclusive monopoly of any party, he said.

Debunking the views spread by the Sangh Parivar about Muslim minorities in India, he said answers to many of the questions raised by them could be found in the report given to the Prime Minister by a committee headed by him on the socio-economic and educational status of Muslims in India. "The Muslim population, even at its present growth level, cannot exceed 20 per cent of total national population in the next 100 years," he said.

Attacking the contention that madrasas were a hotbed of terrorist activities, Mr. Sachar said only four per cent of Muslim children attended madrasas.

Columnist Praful Bidwai said the country's diversity did not provide space for a homogenised entity called `Hindu'. There were inherent divisions within the religion. "We cannot have democracy without secularism," he said and assailed attempts to `straightjacket' the nation into one identity, merely because a majority of the population in India were classified as Hindus.

Referring to a wealth of data in the Sachar Committee report on various facets of the Muslim community, Mr. Bidwai regretted that neither the visual nor the print media had bothered to analyse the data. On the other hand, the media was promoting stereotypes about Muslims and indirectly contributing to conditions that created a communal atmosphere in the country.

Writer-activist Arundhati Roy referring to what she termed the pogrom in Gujarat, said it was a clear instance of how one person had subverted the democratic process and undermined the criminal justice system.

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