In one classic example of ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’, BJP is all set to hoist India’s national flag in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir on 26 January, Republic day. You don’t need to be a highly intelligent person to discern that hoisting the Indian flag in Kashmir now would jeopardise the fragile peace and tranquillity prevailing in the state. The J&K government in consultation with the Central Government has rightly stopped the BJP leaders from entering the state for their 'Ekta Yatra' (a misnomer in itself, for one could hardly understand how such a divisive act would create ekta or unity). They were not allowed to deplane and were sent back to Punjab.
The BJP, without any concrete ideology other than Hindutva, has often resorted to such divisive measures to gain popularity. The move to hoist the Indian flag in Srinagar shows the party's ideological penury and has politically alienated the party. Even their allies in the NDA have distanced themselves from the BJP. Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav have rightly pointed out that BJP’s move to hoist Indian flag in Srinagar and to gain political mileage out of it is inherently flawed and would only help in ruining peace and normality in the state. When there are lot of other issues that need serious attention from the main opposition party of the country, they are squandering their time and effort in such trivial subjects. The ruling UPA is mired in a lot of controversies, including corruption and financial impropriety. At such a situation the onus is on the main opposition BJP to show some sense of responsibility in countering widespread corruption in the government.
Patriotism, Samuel Johnson once said, is the last refuge of a scoundrel. BJP and its Sangh Parivar elements have often used the garb of patriotism to cause chaos and disorder in the country. Their present move to hoist the Indian flag in Srinagar claiming that they are doing it because of their patriotism is another such move to scuttle the peace movements in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. BJP claims that they are doing this against the separatists of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and all those who oppose them in this subject are unpatriotic. By saying so they are following George W. Bush’s now infamous ‘you are either with us or against us’ theory. It is high time for our political discourse to move away from such divisive theories and concentrate more on logical reasoning. Let us set the record straight that all of us are patriots, though our opinions on national security or national development may be different and at loggerheads.
After Atal Bihari Vaypayee stepped down as the undisputed leader of BJP, they have failed to find a new leader capable of arousing respect among political opponents and the people. Leaders like LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley fall awfully short of people’s expectations. In such a situation it is only natural for the BJP to resort to such desperate efforts to gain some political significance. However as a responsible political party, we expect lot more maturity from BJP. For the sake of peace and security in the volatile state of Jammu and Kashmir, BJP should immediately step back from their intention to hoist the national flag in the state on the Republic Day. True patriotism lies not in hoisting the national flag at place, but in making efforts to bring in peace and development in a country and in doing everything possible towards the achievement of this goal. Let us hope that better sense would prevail sooner rather then later.
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