Why religious thought polluters are the biggest menace to Indian economy, society and culture

By Sudhansu R Das 

Religious thought polluters are the biggest menace to the economy, society and culture of India. Though polluters work silently with covert intention to mislead people to satisfy their lust for power, pleasure and comfort; religion is often misused world over to mislead a mass of illiterate and backward people.  The government needs to have a step by step approach to end the influence of the thought polluters over tender minds before more communal and ethnic strife disrupts economic, social and cultural equilibrium of the country.

Inclusive democracy is the key to good governance. There is an urgent need to groom young politicians in the country who will be capable of winning elections purely on the basis of their contribution to the society, culture and economy. Over the years freebies have devastated the country’s political ethics, work culture, economic and social fabric; weak political leaders who can’t win elections in their own capacity use freebies as potential tools. Well groomed young leaders can prevent further deterioration. This task rests with the media, intellectuals, the teachers, the social workers and the educated youth. Media should bring to light the good social work of the capable young leaders. The media’s search for truth should be relentless which should not end even after establishing an inclusive democracy in India; an inclusive democracy is the real power of the people which has immense potential to build a strong and prosperous nation.

The country has wasted 76 years in search of inclusive democracy. It is unjust to blame politicians for this state of affairs.  The educated and the so-called conscious people with extreme apathy, intellectual jugglery and opportunism contribute to the growth of a society which no longer produces quality leaders, social workers and religious reformers who can check the thought pollution. Price rise hit the social workers hard.  The average school fee per child is Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 per month in a good school; the average cost of food along with nutrition costs Rs 25,000 to Rs 35000 per month for each family. This has an adverse impact on the volunteers who once had little worry for a living. The government can revive the voluntary spirit if it controls the price rise in the area of education, health and food.

This is high time for all the educated people irrespective of their age to build a good and vibrant society which will be the solution to all kinds of pollution in India. All the senior citizens who have no financial problem should not hibernate in isolation; they should do social work like free teaching, development of sports, reforming their own religions, creating awareness about environment and cleanliness; they should make social work as a part of life. They can motivate people to revive water bodies in their area and plant native trees. This work will help them live a better quality life after the 60s and 70s. Those who have got enough from the society need to return the society’s debt without rethinking. Old age is the best time for social work. The word “old” should be removed from the mental dictionary. The youth should be engaged in education, sports, culture, education, skill development and social work; this will keep them away from the thought polluters.   

Media should keep a hawk eye on the religious ideologues who pour poison into the tender minds and push them into the path of hatred and violence. India is home to multiple religious communities; the majority of the people from those communities have branched out from one mother culture which was prevailing in India in Vedic time and beyond. The Budhist, the Jain, the Sikh and the Hindus belong to one family according to history. Though the Muslim, Christian and the Zoroastrian religions have not branched out from the ancient Indian religions, their members have internalized the Indian culture and contributed to the economy, social and cultural life of the country. All the communities have become the members of one India family. The thought polluters in the guise of religious preachers contaminated the minds of people belonging to the vulnerable sections of the society. All the religious places in India irrespective of religions should have a CC Camera network connected to India’s Intelligence departments who can keep track of thought polluters.

Communal tension and ethnic violence tear apart the economy and social life of a country.  India cannot afford to wait and watch the violence and damage its economy and social life. The Nagpur communal violence injured more than 30 police personnel and one IPS officer who dared to douse the communal fire. Had the intelligence with advanced gazettes sensed the smoke before it turned into a fire, this situation could have been avoided in Nagpur.  Now the only objective of the intelligence departments is that they should identify the thought polluters and the rioters; they should bring them to justice.

There is a need for an unbiased ruthless iron hand to crush the seeds of hatred; the safety of the nation is always above any religion. The country should not be witness to any single respectable Indian citizen leaving his locality, village, town or city due to hatred, fear or anxiety. A citizen is not supposed to lodge a police complaint to protect his right; it’s the duty of the police and intelligence agencies to find out the threat to the citizens and eliminate the threat within no time. Fear for danda should go down into the spine of the hate mongers; no offender the big or small should escape punishment they always deserve.  Let the places of worship emit love and fellow feelings. The country should make it loud and clear that enough is enough of the polluters.

India being a culturally rich nation should preach to the global leaders how war, aggression and hate breeds war, aggression and hate of greater intensity. Nobody should think of others as innocent and weak. If you beat the innocent and weak repeatedly they will become ferocious wounded tigers and pounce upon you. This is nature’s law. Indian culture and civilization has no room for hatred; it has produced brave men and women who have shown exemplary courage to safeguard this culture of love and fellow feelings.  India can qualify to talk the language of love and peace if it achieves the position of strength: physical, moral and military strength. There is absence of Kshetriya power who were the embodiment of courage and wisdom.