Disclaimer: Written by Shail Derashri and Varun Kulkarni, those who supported and voted for BJP and Narendra Modi.
This is the second part in the article series “Modi Government Policies – The Optics v/s The Facts”. It is highly recommended to read this article series in a chronological order. If you have not yet read Part 1, please read it here
Part 2
2019 – 2023: Modi 2.0 is a Hindu Utopia or a Hindu Treachery?
The wait was finally going to be over! The promises were going to manifest into reality! The expectations were going to be met! The “Second-Class Citizen” treatment was going to become a thing of the past!
The golden days of Bharatvarsh were going to shine again! The pride of being a Hindu was going to reign strong! The year 2019 was going to be recorded in history as the year of the Hindu voice when after 30 years of witnessing hung parliaments and coalition governments, the Hindus rallied behind Narendra Modi, and the BJP was voted to absolute power by a thumping majority of 303 seats.
Expectations were that all the pro-Hindu moving targets that this government had promised in its first term but had postponed due to lack of BJP’s absolute majority in the Parliament would be implemented.
Introduction:
Modi 2.0 began its term with a lot of big bangs that kept building up the Hindu enthusiasm. Some of the most iconic pro-Hindu steps taken by this government as its second term are the Abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A in J&K, the bifurcation of the state of J&K into UT of Ladakh and UT of J&K and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). While these decisions were ground-breaking and the need-of-the-hour, their implementation raises questions. The Hindu expectations were not only well-defined but also doable and since Modi 2.0 government has absolute majority it could easily implement the decisions without fear of withdrawal of support from their alliance partners. But then, what happened? Why even after nine years of a “Hinduwadi” government, many pro-Hindu laws await implementation? What do the actions of Modi 2.0 tell us?
- Back-door entry of Article 370
Abrogation of article 370 and 35A came as a major milestone in the Hindu History since independence in 1947. This reinforced the faith that people (Hindus) of Bharat had put in to bring BJP (not NDA) back to power with absolute majority. As much as the optics for this is pro-Hindu, the central government failed to follow through with providing the benefits to the masses. Especially the requirement to be a resident of the state for 15 years in order to claim domicile is like a slap in the face of all the Kashmiri Pandits who, probably, originally owned those lands which they lost during the ethnic cleansing in 1990-91. The government did not make any provisions to create a safe environment to encourage all the Kashmiri pandits to go back to their ancestral land and settle. On the contrary the central government had been opposing the petitions (CMP – 48/2014 and PIL – 41/2014) to dismiss the Roshni Act (which was nefariously designed to legitimize the illegal occupation of land by Muslims in Hindu dominant Jammu region) and make it unconstitutional. And was this the first genocide in Kashmir?
2. CAA and NRC
The 2014 Manifesto of BJP promised that Bharat would be a natural homeland for Hindus across the world. In 2019, the Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Parliament that CAA will be implemented followed by NRC (National Register of Citizens) for identifying illegal immigrants. However, Narendra Modi assured from Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan that BJP had no plans of carrying out the exercise of NRC. CAA – or the Citizenship Amendment Act was framed in 2019 to expedite the process of gaining Indian citizenship for persecuted minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Jain, Buddhist and Christian) of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who had entered Bharat before December 31, 2014 without any documents. In January 2023, the Modi government sought six more months to frame the laws under CAA. This is the 7th such extension which leads one to think if the government really is serious about implementation of CAA.
The infamous Shaheen bagh protest despite being just 15 kms from the Prime Minister’s residence concluded in the 3-Day long 2020 Anti-Hindu Delhi Riots which resulted in over 50 people losing their lives and innumerable Hindu properties damaged. At the protest site, Sharjeel Imam said that if Muslims could occupy the Siliguri Corridor to cutoff North-East from mainland Bharat – an act that was dubbed as “Cutting off the chicken neck”. This was enough to slap the NSA on him and lock him behind bars for good. However, today Sharjeel Imam is out on bail On one hand, the Modi government opposed a petition seeking electricity connections for 200 Pakistani Hindu migrant families, while on the other hand provided UNHRC refugee cards and EWS flats to illegal Rohingyas in Bakkarwala area of Delhi.
3. Ram Mandir
Those who have a “blinded-by-person” loyalty to the BJP are often heard crediting the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya to the stellar luck that Narendra Modi is in absolute power. How justified are these claims? In 2019, the Modi Government filed a writ petition, drafted by Gurumurthy, in the Supreme Court demanding to return government owned Ram Janmabhoomi land (67 acres of undisputed excess land around the 2.77 acres of disputed land) back to the private parties from whom the P.V.Narasimha Rao government in 1992 had nationalized.
If one is to go by the twisted logic that the Supreme Court gave the Ram Mandir judgment under the influence of Narendra Modi, then, by the same logic, all the anti-Hindu judgements of the Supreme Court are also being given by Narendra Modi’s order, for example, the Supreme Court dismissing the petition filed by Kashmiri Pandits who were victims of the 1991 ethnic cleansing of Kashmir by remarking that the case was too old to even gather facts, while the victims of an even older case of 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots of Delhi not just had their day in court, but also saw the perpetrators and instigators of violence go behind bars, and, the 5-acre land to Muslims by the order of the Supreme Court is also given under the influence of Narendra Modi.
Ram mandir construction is under government control and tenders for sculpting structure – walls, doors, bells and the Garbhagrih are being awarded to Muslim bidders and artisans. Ironically, the government awarded temple construction rights to a community known for its visceral hate for idol-worshippers.
4. Bengal and Manipur Violence
In one of the bloodiest post-poll violence that Bharat has seen in a long time, 2 May 2021 marked the beginning of a two-month long brutal violence that West Bengal was about to witness. The result of this targeted violence towards those who promoted or voted for the BJP in the Legislative Assembly elections was that over 7000 women were sexually assaulted, close to 1 Lakh Hindus fled to the neighboring state of Assam and were compelled to live in refugee camps and 25 were murdered. However, the Modi 2.0 government at the center did not impose Article 355 in the State, even as those who voted for the BJP kept crying for relief.
Manipur in 2023 is witnessing a streak of months filled with violence primarily targeted against the majority population of Manipur – Meitei Hindu community. Till the date, over 100 people have died in Manipur, over 10,000 homes have been burnt to ashes, over 75,000 have lost their homes and fled to safer lands. This scale of violence has gripped the state for over 1.5 months, but Narendra Modi has not yet uttered a word of condemnation. However, Article 355 has been imposed in Manipur but the violence against the Hindus of Manipur continues
Conclusion to Part – 2
2019 was being seen as the Golden Age of Hindu politics, but was it really? The Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha said that there were almost 3,400 cases of communal or religious rioting in the country in the five year period from 2016 to 2020. The second term of the Modi government has witnessed an unprecedented and exponential rise in violence against the Hindus of Bharat. This is corroborated by the RULLS (Random Unceasing Low-Level Scattered) violence data gathered from 2014.
What had happened to the poster boy of Hindutva politics? What had happened to the Hindu Hriday Samrat of Modern Day Bharat? Were the Hindu cries not loud enough to be heard by him? Or had the power corridors dampened his sensitivities to the Hindus of Bharat? When tears were shed in the name of Akhlaq and Shabana Azmi’s sprain was enough for Narendra Modi to take to twitter and express his anguish, how did the murders, rapes and targeted violence against the Hindu fail to even touch a chord in Narendra Modi’s heart?
“He is the head of the State and does not have enough time on his hands!”, or “He is taking India to new heights!”, or “How can the congress mess of 70 years be cleaned up in a day?!”. These are the kind of statements one may come across more often than not, but the truth lies in the actions. Given that 303 seats were bestowed upon Narendra Modi by the Hindus of Bharat makes him accountable to not just listen to those who did not vote for him, but also to those who voted for him. Why does the Hindu charter of demands remain untouchable till date? How long will the Hindu have to wait to be heard? How long will the Hindu be bullied by politicians making false promises? How long will the treachery last?
Will our Devatas residing in our sacred Devalayas heed to our “Trahimam”? Or will the new monster of “Triptikaran” devour the last remaining strings that connect Hindus to their civilizational identity?
(Part – 3 to follow)
Authors:
Shail Derashri Chemical Engineer and MBA by Qualification | AEE’s First Woman CEM of Bharat | Internationally Recognized and Awarded Energy Auditor | Root Cause Analysis Expert | Founder of Assets Alive | Student of Truth, Values, Stories and Learnings of Dharma
Varun Kulkarni Mechanical Engineer by qualification, Engineering manager by profession. Youtuber. History Enthusiast. Strong believer of Vedic values and Sanatan. ISHA Volunteer
Very very congratulations beti Shailu . I am so proud of you that in our family one girl have an extra ordinary talente like her grand father and her father . I am so happy to read your article and pray God to give you all success in your life . Love you bettu .
Suman Bhuwa Paris
This article opened my eyes and left my brain with so many questions and confusion. Waiting to read Part 3 of this article soon.