Comment

It’s that time of the year when political parties are struck by the desperate urge to display concern for minorities. For the past several years, December 6, the day Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya 17 years ago, was marked by an almost ritualistic disruption of parliament. Mercifully this year, it happened to be a Sunday and parliament was spared the disruption.

The relief might, however, be short-lived given that parliament will begin debating on Monday the report of the Liberhan Commission set up in the aftermath of the demolition, and it will not surprise me if some parties use the opportunity to reignite communal passions.

A brief trailer of what one can expect in the debate was witnessed in Rajya Sabha after extracts of the report appeared in the media. For the first time in many years slogans such as ‘Ya Ali’ and ‘Jai Sri Ram’ were raised in the House. And the two indulging parties were the SP and the BJP — one a self-proclaimed champion and protector of minorities and the other of the majority community.

It’s no coincidence that both parties currently find that the ground has slipped from under their feet and consequently, find them in the political doghouse. At a time these slogans may have found a resonance in both communities. Not anymore. Both parties gained immensely from communal polarisation. The BJP registered a phenomenal growth. Itsrepresentation in Lok Sabha went from two to 180, while the SP’s strength went up to 40.

But somewhere along the way, both parties lost touch with the ground reality and failed to gauge the silent but significant shift of both communities away from the politics of confrontation and polarisation. They failed to understand that the country has moved on.