Divide and Rule: From 1900 to 2000...

Some hundred years back, when the British were finding it difficult to control the riots and mutinies against their rule in India, the British came up with a wonderful tactic which was good enough to make them continue their rule for another half a century. Their idea was ‘Divide and Rule’ policy. They initially started favouring Hindus and went against Muslims who were in the fore front during the 1857 struggle. After 1900s they started favouring Muslims. Though the community who they favoured changed constantly till 1947, they made sure that the age old enmity between Hindus and Muslims always remained afresh. This separatism reached its climax when they decided to split Punjab and Bengal into west and east thereby completely separating Hindus and Muslims both physically and mentally leading to creation of India and Pakistan in the end.

And why am I stating this well known fact now? After sixty years of independence?? Let’s make a quick view of the present Indian situation! Every form, every application and almost every ID card in India has columns like ‘Religion’, ‘Community’ and ‘Caste’. Indian Constitution proudly brags that India is a secular state and every Indian has equal rights – ‘Right to equality’. Here is an excerpt of what was given about right to equality in my primary school book, “Blah… blah… blah… All rights universally apply to all citizens, irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed, color or Gender. But certain provision is provided to minority classes for their upcoming.” This last clause of ‘minority class’ constitutes almost 70% in Tamilnadu and around 50% average all over India. Since when did 50% and 70% percent become minority??? I was informed by someone that when constitution was initially formed it was framed in such a way that the privilege was made only for a few years. Then why did it extend till now?

Politics! Apparently, our politicians too find that Divide and Rule Policy is the best way to rule when they are rotting in their own corruption. Split the population into factions, make them brood over their own sect of people, never make them realise the truth and most important of all constantly remind all the important vote sections from which they could extract votes that they are a minority and shower them with more privileges. We have moved a long way from the real caste discrimination when higher class used to discriminate the weaker sections, to self-discrimination where people condemn themselves to the ‘backward classes’ so that they extort maximum possible privilege. It even gets worse: One such ‘community’ still does frequent strikes and bandh demanding the Government to discriminate them to a further backward class. The Government too happily encourages them indirectly. India has degraded from the point where discrimination was seen as cruelty to the point where discrimination is self-inflicted!

So ultimately, I don’t find much difference between India before independence and the present India if you minus the technological developments. The British plundered our wealth for their country in the name of Colonialism and Imperialism and remained in power using the divide n rule policy. At present the politicians plunder our resources, deposit them in tax haven countries and make people ensconced within their shells of caste, community and religion, a modified and better version of divide and rule!!!