The shameful silence of every non-BJP political formation on the obnoxious practice of triple talaak among the Muslim community in this country actually speaks volume about their muddled thinking on the issue of secularism.  I think the Congress party has to take a major portion of the blame as to how and why such a noble and desirable concept like secularism became a dirty word in India over the years.  Now, I am no advocate for the BJP, in fact, quite the opposite and its new found concern for the plight of the Muslim women could be a result of political calculations, rather than any genuine willingness for reform, but that is beside the point.

  Because the Congress party was in the pole position after independence to lead the country and also the fact that it was in power for the maximum duration since the formation of the republic; every major political party has been influenced by its methods at a subliminal level.  Although you could say that the party promoted a kind of inclusive politics, but its basic approach to a liberal secular polity has been marked by a lack of conviction and a lot of hypocrisy.  The BJP has often accused the Congress of appeasing the Muslim community at the expense of the majority Hindu population.  What is the meaning of appeasement?  According to the Dictionary, when you appease someone, you offer them some concessions in order to maintain peace, even if the person or group you are appeasing happen to be critical of you.  Every democratically elected government does this from time to time for various reasons.  If the Congress and other parties had really appeased the Muslims and positively discriminated against the common people, then, we wouldn’t be having this situation where the Muslim community is languishing at the bottom of every socio-economic indicator in India.  No, the great mass of the Muslim population has not been appeased.  Rather, a disingenuous and cynical appeasement of the religious clergy has taken place that has allowed these fanatics to exercise a vice-like grip on the common people.

   At least about the BJP, you could argue that they have been, if anything, more honest and upfront about their abhorrent espousal of a Hindu rastra and akhand Bharat.  No beating around the bush there, that’s for sure!  It’s the Congress, whose tendency to humor the most reactionary elements of the Muslim community in order to create a bankable vote bank that has enabled the BJP to harness the resentment of the majority of the middle-class Hindu community.  No one in his or her right mind can take exception to the fact that by merely uttering the word ‘talaak’ three times in succession is simply not good enough to get rid of your wife in this day and age.  But the same old skullduggery, same old kowtowing to the fundamentalist section of the community, that is behind the abomination of not supporting the government on at least this progressive agenda of outlawing this medieval practice among the Muslim community.