New Delhi : Intolerance is indeed rising in society but it is not likely to last long as communal polarisation has been a cyclic phenomenon in the country and most Hindus are secular, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has said. He also stressed that hate-mongering is not likely to go very far as “the basic ethos of India is secular, which stays”, adding that Muslims in India are still better off than they are in several Muslim countries.
“Yes, intolerance is actually rising… may be for last 5-10 years. It has been in phases. It started with the Babri Masjid dispute, then it subsided. Then it rose again. Elections and vote bank politics perpetuate it,” Quraishi told IANS .
He blamed the divisive vote bank politics for the rising intolerance.
“Have no doubt, India is secular because Hindus are secular. The hate discourse, to my mind, is temporary. It comes and goes, but the basic ethos of India is secular, which stays because of the inbuilt liberal and secular Hindu tradition,” Qureshi said.
“All said and done, the position of Muslims in India is much better than in even many Muslim countries,” he added. Is a large portion of illiterate electorate a challenge in keeping the divisive and communal agendas out of electoral process so that elections are fought on real issues?
“Well, I don’t think illiteracy means the electorate is uninformed. If we achieve 100 per cent literacy that is well and good, but till the time it is not done it does not mean our democracy is useless,” he said.
