Good start but many miles to go

It is a universally accepted fact that communal harmony is a must for the developmental process to gain pace. Initiatives for ushering in development inevitably take a beating when the swords are out and castes and communities take rival positions in their battle for dominance.

 It’s exactly a month since the new Congress government took over in Karnataka on May 20 and a report card would show that there has been a clear effort to restore confidence among all sections of society and send out a message loud and clear that no bias or chauvinistic tendencies will be encouraged.

There have been announcements that efforts will be made to reverse the decisions taken by the previous BJP government on the anti-conversion act and the Hijab ban, some of which are now pending in court.

The educational syllabus, which saw a concerted attempt by the BJP in the past four years to delete sections that did not suit its political ideology, and add lessons that further its agenda, is now being reviewed.

One can expect the shakeup to make it as secular and progressive as possible. The minister for higher education has made it amply clear that they will do away with the National Education Policy of the BJP-led Central government, which has come in for flak from various quarters.

Instead, a State Education Policy will be formulated and implemented by taking varsity vice chancellors and teachers into confidence. Efforts are also on to implement the five poll guarantees, irrespective of caste and creed despite the huge financial constraints the government is bound to face.

On Monday, CM Siddaramaiah reached out to the minorities saying there would be no discrimination in the disbursement of compensation among the kin of victims of communal violence. And all the affected families have been promised jobs.

To make sure that the seeds of secularism and unity are embedded in every child and youngster’s mind early, the new government has made the reading of the Constitution’s preamble mandatory in all schools and colleges.

And why not, when the preamble clearly states that the people of India have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic and reiterates its commitment to social, economic and political justice?

In a secular democracy like ours where people of a thousand castes and many religions have lived, worked and flourished together in harmony for thousands of years, any attempt to divide them on religious grounds may yield short-term dividends but are ultimately bound to fail.

There were a host of issues that the BJP in the run-up to the Assembly polls tried its best to play up, and exploit religious passions but looking at the poll results, one can safely draw the conclusion that it did not succeed.

There is a new air of freedom in the state and one only hopes it is not taken advantage of by chauvinistic elements and those who would like to spoil peace to garner political dividends.

 ‘A good beginning is half the battle won’ and maybe the only way the ruling Congress can undo the work done so far, is by engaging in internal skirmishes over the leadership issue.

There are enough signs that the leadership question has not been resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned, which is evident from the sniping at each other by senior leaders of the party in the days after assuming power.

And if this continues unhindered, Karnataka could well become another headache for the Congress top brass like Rajasthan.

This is something the leadership will have to brainstorm over and smoothen out the rough ends, so that the government can deliver the many promises made to the people of Karnataka.