I watched some of the interviews of Dr. Subramanian Swamy sometime back, and I didn't think that they were worthy of any serious attention. These interviews were largely ignored by mainstream media also and even all major political parties gave it a pass, no one really made any big deal out of it. But on second thought, I think these types of views should be questioned, especially when they come from some political figure who might play a key role in the major national party. I think Dr. Swamy gave these interviews as a part of a promotional campaign for a book he wrote recently. I can understand his desire to popularize his book to boost its sales, but any sane person with a rational mind would have thought twice before making any statements like the one he made during these interviews. Dr. Swamy is a well-known politician and educated person, nowadays he is also a prominent member of the major national party like BJP. There is a very high probability that if BJP comes into power he might hold some crucial ministerial position in the future government. It is really unfortunate to see that such a person is saying that all Indian Muslims (or all non-Hindus including Sikhs, Christians, etc.) should first acknowledge their Hindu ancestry to get their voting rights.
Only Dr. Swamy knows why he said these things and what he really meant, but his statements clearly display his intolerant attitude toward other religions and faiths. I wonder on what basis he links Hinduism with being Indian. I don't think there is any relation between these two things. Why does anyone have to accept or even acknowledge their ancestors if they don't want to? I personally don't care who were my ancestors, or what religion they followed. I am very happy with my present and willing to work hard for a better future. Does this make me any lesser Indian than others who prefer to acknowledge their ancestors? Being a law-abiding citizen who respects the law of the land is not enough to get a voting right? Why acknowledging my ancestry is important for my voting rights? Why government is interested to know my or my ancestors' religion? Can Dr. Swamy give any satisfactory answers to all these questions? Dr. Swamy's aim behind the insistence of this ancestry acknowledgment is clearly to create some unnecessary controversy. Imagine what will happen if a person with so much bias against a particular community or religion gets some cabinet portfolio that designs policies for the citizens of India. Will he be fair to all communities? I hope people who are going to vote in this election ask these questions to concerned people.
Only Dr. Swamy knows why he said these things and what he really meant, but his statements clearly display his intolerant attitude toward other religions and faiths. I wonder on what basis he links Hinduism with being Indian. I don't think there is any relation between these two things. Why does anyone have to accept or even acknowledge their ancestors if they don't want to? I personally don't care who were my ancestors, or what religion they followed. I am very happy with my present and willing to work hard for a better future. Does this make me any lesser Indian than others who prefer to acknowledge their ancestors? Being a law-abiding citizen who respects the law of the land is not enough to get a voting right? Why acknowledging my ancestry is important for my voting rights? Why government is interested to know my or my ancestors' religion? Can Dr. Swamy give any satisfactory answers to all these questions? Dr. Swamy's aim behind the insistence of this ancestry acknowledgment is clearly to create some unnecessary controversy. Imagine what will happen if a person with so much bias against a particular community or religion gets some cabinet portfolio that designs policies for the citizens of India. Will he be fair to all communities? I hope people who are going to vote in this election ask these questions to concerned people.
I believe this is an intentional move by Dr. Swamy to create polarization of votes during this election. He is a very clever and shrewd politician. I think he is playing this card to please the gallery, to make traditional BJP supporter happy, and to make them feel assured that their pro-Hindu ideology is not all lost in this development saga. I think Dr. Swamy himself knows that this policy is impossible to implement in India, but this is a political move to reap some short-term political benefits and some money by boosting his book sales by creating some controversy. But by doing this, he created a really pathetic image of himself. The government has no business to interfere in the private matters of law-abiding citizens. Citizens should be free to choose whatever religion they want to follow, they should be free to change it at any time, and any religious affiliation or acknowledgment of ancestry should not be a prerequisite for citizenship, voting rights, or any other fundamental rights of citizens. I hope Dr. Swamy understands this and will correct his mistake.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Links:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVm-BhvKZw0#t=271
2. Swamy to head BJP’s action panel
