The Great Secular Dividers In the name of Equality

During recent general elections, a number of issues became ‘election-issues’, while some others couldn't. Prominent amongst the non-issues was one which had made the youth of India agitated for last 5 years. Many of us observed that very curiously, the Congress party (INC) was not mentioning any of its divisive caste and religion based policies as achievements. During last 5 years in power, the ruling government had made much advancement in dividing India on the caste and communal lines: OBC Quota, caste based reservations in institutes of excellence like IITs / IIMs, increasing creamy layer income limit to Rs 4.5 LPA, PM saying religious minorities have ‘first rights’ over national resources, making ground for caste based reservations in private sector, were all such achievements which could be claimed to belong to the Congress party.

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Now that the elections are over, the government and a new set of 'champion' ministers have started their job again. So we have our senior Minister of ‘Law and Justice’ Mr. Veerappa Moily saying this about his governments plans of installing caste-based quota in private sector:

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“Government favors affirmative action on reservation in the private sector. It will be across the country and for everyone. Industries in both rural and urban areas will have to introduce quota. There is a concept called corporate social responsibility. Corporates must identify the importance of equal opportunity. They must recognise talent and reward it and also encourage others to come forward.”

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On the other hand, now the government has set a higher target for public sector banks to lend loans to Indians looking at their religions first:
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Under the government’s plan to help underprivileged, public sector banks have targets for loans to be given to minorities. The government had set the target for at 13 per cent of the total priority sector advances and last year total outstanding loans to minority communities stood at Rs 82,865 crore - 12.4% of the total priority sector advances. This target has been raised to 15% for the current year. The lending to Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians and Buddhists - notified as minorities for lending purposes - figures in the performance appraisals of public sector bank chiefs. The UPA government directed banks to enhance financial assistance to minority communities in 2007.

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Within weeks of getting our new government, it is clear to see that the old race has restarted. While there is no doubt that our government should ensure proper development of every section of society, this systematic segregation of people on the basis of castes and religions, is like injecting disease-carrying viruses in the veins of our nation.

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When the honorable UPA minister says he wants to enforce caste based quota in private sector companies and yet claims that this is towards ensuring "equal opportunity" in private companies, basically he is acting like a hypocrite. Asking companies to hire based on one's caste and the concept of "equal opportunity" are mutually exclusive. On the other hand, asking banks to "disburse loans to non-Hindus on priority" (note that in the fold of "minority, our government has picked up almost the entire list of non-Hindus except Jains: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians and Buddhists), the government is legitimating communalism and a form of religious-discrimination in government institutions! Still, they would say this is being done in the name of "equal opportunity"!
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Also note the clever signs of "vote bank policies". In case of OBCs, they have increased the "creamy layer" income level to Rs 4.5 lakhs per annum, making sure that these relatively stronger families will grab all opportunities out of the hands of the really poor. The poor amongst reserved castes will always remain poor, and vote-bank remains intact. In case they installed reservations in jobs or education with only "economic status" as the criteria, there won't be any problem - but then there won't be any "vote banks" too! And what is the need of giving loans to Muslims and Christians on the basis of their religions? We should know that under ‘priority sector lending’, public sector banks are required to disburse 10 % of loans to weaker sections, which included scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, small and marginal farmers, artisans and distressed urban poor indebted to non-institutional lenders. Our secular (UPA) govt. included religious minorities (Muslims, Christians, etc) under the same sector. Even earlier, they had kept some specific castes under this sector. If they kept only the later secular categories like “small and marginal farmers, artisans and distressed urban poor indebted to non-institutional lenders”, most needy among these specific castes and religions would also get the benefits of the loans! But this won’t allow our government to make vote banks out of them! It is clear how this ‘vote bank politics’ is getting passed like ‘championing’ the minority cause…

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Now why do I blame the Congress party for these corrupt caste/religion based politics, when almost all political parties do it anyway? I hope you understand that all the examples I presented in this article found their genesis in the minds of a Congress-member. And those who ‘sow the seed’ are more responsible than those who merely ‘follow the lines’.

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Such policies which are unfair, discriminatory, corrupt and which divide Indians on the basis of castes and religions should be done away with. High time the Indian electorate opens his eyes to see how cleverly the Indian National Congress and its governments are doing it to us what the British used to do - divide and rule.