The Lok Sabha election results reflect that India is not a “Hindu Rashtra”, said Nobel laureate Amartya Sen at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Wednesday.
“India is not a Hindu Rashtra has been reflected in the election results.
He asserted that there is a need to be politically open-minded when India is a secular country with a secular Constitution while rejecting the idea of turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra”.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ is appropriate.
Speaking about the BJP's defeat in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat where the Ram Mandir was built, Sen accused the ruling party of overshadowing the country's true identity.
The Lok Sabha election results reflect that India is not a “Hindu Rashtra”, said Nobel laureate Amartya Sen at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Wednesday.
After arriving from the United States last evening, Sen expressed disappointment over the “continuation” of putting people behind bars “without trial” under the new dispensation, PTI reported.
“India is not a Hindu Rashtra has been reflected in the election results. We always hope to see a change after every election. Some of what happened earlier (during the BJP-led central government) like putting people behind bars without trial, and widening the gap between the rich and poor, are still continuing. That must stop,” Sen said.
He asserted that there is a need to be politically open-minded when India is a secular country with a secular Constitution while rejecting the idea of turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra”.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ is appropriate. The new Union cabinet is a copy of the earlier one. The ministers continue to hold similar portfolios. Despite a slight reshuffle, the politically powerful are still powerful,” he said.
The economist recalled his childhood days when India was under British rule and people were jailed without trial. He blamed the Congress and present BJP government for the situation that occurred at that time.
“When I was young, many of my uncles and cousins were put in jail without trial. We had hoped that India would be free from this. Congress is also to blame for the fact that this did not stop. They didn't change it... But, this is more in practice under the present government,” he said as quoted by PTI.
Speaking about the BJP's defeat in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat where the Ram Mandir was built, Sen accused the ruling party of overshadowing the country's true identity.
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"... Building the Ram Temple spending so much money... to portray India as a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, which should not have happened in the country of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It shows an attempt to neglect India’s true identity, and it must change,” he said.
