The reason the post below and the previous one by Selma are an unjustified overreaction is because it gratuitously generalizes and assigns a deeper meaning to an angry reaction of a Hindu Goanetter in response to a religious provocation against his religion from a Catholic weblink provided in this forum. To jump from any such random impulsive remark to the conclusion that India is close to being a theocracy rather than a functioning democracy would be tantamount to concluding that Goan Catholics in general are anti-Hindu and anti-Indian bigots because of the repeated oafish outbursts that appear on Goanet from the likes of Nascimento, Floriano and Bernado. Most Indians, middle class or otherwise, are not right wing religious zealots. They do not support a theocratic state. They hold diverse views, and make free and independent-minded choices in elections. India is a successful, albeit messy, secular democracy, and will continue to be so, irrespective of which party comes to power. It is however more likely to always elect a party that upholds pluralism and secularism. Moreover, its democratic institutions such as the press and the Supreme Court will never abandon these principles. Here is a nice BBC article on the enduring democracy in India, and what it means to the rest of the world, and why it will always thrive:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6943598.stm Here is a quote from it as to why there is no threat to India's democracy. QUOTE The only foreseeable threat to India's democratic future is the possibility that a political party like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might ride a wave of majoritarian sentiment to become the default party of government. This would threaten India's carefully built pluralist democracy because the BJP, despite its nativist rhetoric, ironically favours a European nationalist idiom, where the nation is home to a majority people. In India's case, this would be the Hindus. If the BJP and its ideological preferences become entrenched in the Indian state, the ethnic violence that has torn Sri Lanka apart could be replicated on a sub-continental scale. That is unlikely to happen. A BJP-led coalition governed India for an entire parliamentary term and failed to make the demographic majority of Hindus a political reality. The republic's statutes and the rulings of their authorised interpreter, the Supreme Court, make it nearly impossible for political parties to fundamentally alter the basic structure of the constitution. Besides, the diversity of the electorate forces India's ruling coalitions into such complex electoral arithmetic that the pluralism so crucial to the Republic's well-being is safe for the foreseeable future. UNQUOTE Cheers, Santosh ----- Original Message ----- From: Carvalho <[email protected]> > > I've been on this forum for about six years and this is the first time > I've come across Sandesh Anvekar's posts. For the first time to be an > attack on the Church does not bode well. > > Sandesh, who professes to have a little more knowledge than a kindergarten > child, should know in Christianity the Church is synonymous with its > religion. > It sees no distinction. Hence an attack on the Church is very similar to > "unbridled criticism of Hindu Gods." > >........................................................................................... > > Lastly, as to the point that I am over-reacting, I don't think so. To > believe that India is somehow a mature, functioning democracy in my opinion > is a > highly optimistic point of view. We are anything but a secular, liberal > society. > We are at best two shades lighter than conservative theocracies with ever > shrinking space in the domain of individual and collective freedoms. > Furthermore, it is naive to believe that only militant, extremist groups pose > a > threat to India. The threat to Indian democracy in terms of its tolerance for > plurality will come from the vast burgeoning Hindu middle-class who for some > reason continue to feed on their own sense of victim-hood and genuinely > believe > that they are under threat of some sort. My favourite line is, "I'm not > an RSS or anything but I believe MF Hussein should be killed." (luckily he > died before it came to that, broken and in exile.) > > Best, > selma > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
