Election in India- Mere apprehension of a common voter.

I may be wrong, totally wrong, but I am inclined to share the trepidation of many in the country that India may no longer be what it used to be if a government under Mr Narendra Modi is formed at the Center. If it would be jubilation at one end, there would certainly be frustration at the other end. It may be sheer apprehension but one is skeptical about the secular posture that Mr Modi is trying to bring about. He may be having better intentions but I don’t think it would be safe to conclude that he will be able to free himself from the saffron brigade with different units.

India being a large Country with people following different faiths unevenly spread across the territory, it will be an act of playing with fire if a division on the basis of religion is even thought of by the administration or somebody in the pretext of acting on their behalf. It goes without saying that any action will have a reaction followed again by another action and so on. My little knowledge on the subject says that religion is a very subtly sensitive issue which can turn uncontrollably dangerous if not handled with maturity and care. It won’t be in the interest of the nation to maintain a population with mutual suspect and contempt.

It would be worthwhile to remember the words of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in this connection that peaceful co-existence is not an option but a compulsion. What a deep and farsighted vision! 

Yes, co-existence is compulsion due to many internal and external factors peculiar to India. Therefore our governments should be sensible enough to handle the issue deftly. We must have leaders who are powerful enough to keep their followers under control. Politicians, irrespective of the parties they belong to or the ideologies they believe in, should exhibit the wisdom to avoid raking up religious sentiments. Religion, caste and regions have been widely used by many, including our politicians, for their own gains. They have been part and parcel of most of our elections too, though passively. But I think this is the first time in the history of Indian democracy that religion has been polarized as a main issue and we know why.

I somehow have started getting cold feet on imagining a government by NDA under Mr Modi in the center. Firstly due to the overconfidence that will be gained by the supporters of Hindutva and secondly due to the inexplicable reactions of the minorities on different pretexts along with many other internal and external reasons about which I don’t want to be explicit. I just wanted to say that we do not want a situation similar to that of sitting on a time-bomb which may explode any time.

The voting is almost coming to an end and there is a four days waiting for the results. I don't care who comes to power. But whoever it is, please remember that we, the people, want the peaceful co-existence to continue; whether by option or by compulsion.