Vanakkam,

Our hearty greetings. The elections to the 14th Lok Sabha held in April-May 2004 marks a turning point in the recent political history of India. It has arrested the onward march of the nefarious forces of fundamentalism in the name of Hindutva and cultural nationalism. The discerning voters of India have woken up to the danger of BJP’s dubious method of following a hidden as well as an open agenda in a multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious country. The Sangh Parivar sought to impose the majoritarian cultural and religious milieu of Hindutva on diverse communities. It was this retrograde attempt that led Gujarat, the State that gave birth to the apostle of non-violence, namely, Mahatma Gandhi, to be turned in March, 2002 as a laboratory to test of efficacy of the inhuman and heartless ideologies of the Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The unity of India is strengthened to the extent the Government upholds and puts into practice the real principle of secularism, viz., separation of the affairs of the State from the pursuit of any religion. The sectarians give a wrong interpretation, a twist, to this principle, when they say that secularism means giving equal respect to all religions. This trend of misinterpreting has encouraged BJP to equate secularism with Hindutva!

This way of “playing with words” with regard to basic principles spells disaster to the very fabric of Indian polity. The common people of India have realised this danger and have given a chance to the progressive secular political leaders to take the country vigorously along a path that would solve the serious problems of scarcity of basic needs, large scale unemployment, social inequality, economic disparity, neglect of villages etc.

Social Justice is adumbrated in our Constitution, but it is more honoured in breach than in practice. Protecting SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities, who constitute more than 80% of our population is highly important. The Common Minimum Programme should insist on this aspect and uphold secular values.

We earnestly appeal to the enlightened leaders and newly elected parliamentarians to rise to the expectations of our humble citizens who have reposed a lot of trust in them and have amply demonstrated it in this historical electoral verdict.

The faith shown by the common people, falsifying the predictions of mediapersons, pollsters, and opinion and exist polls, should be upheld and honoured by strictly sticking to secular values, federal norms and by not forgetting the human factor while resorting to reforms in consonance with the global trend. The need to raise the purchasing power of the masses by providing them employment should not be forgotten in the zeal to effect reforms. Achieving all these things requires universal education, an essential pre-requisite to build a strong welfare state on a permanent basis.

We humbly suggest the formation of a Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) of like-minded secular parties headed by the Indian National Congress in order to chart out a common programme of action, as suggested by Mr. V.P. Singh, and to put it in action in a planned way. We appeal to the leaders to think and act on these lines concertedly and cooperatively to preserve India as a Sovereign, Secular Socialist Democratic Republic.