Secularism ............... India Style
Noted historian John Keay in his book 'India: A History' writes about operation Bluestar and its larger impact on Secular fabric of India. He blames the Congress party squarely for the damage. The Congress party flirted with radical Sikh elements with an intention to harm the Akalies in politics of Punjab. After casual flirting they ignored the radicals and the rest is history. But the process did an irreversible damage to the secular fabric of India. Keay notes following for the period after peace in Punjab and 1984 riots: "But the damage to the India's proud boast of non-discriminating against any of its citizens on the grounds of religion remained. The nation's secularism had been compromised. In an atmosphere of heightened communal tension, any incident of religious conversion became headline news. Muslims closed ranks and increasingly looked to their coreligionists in Gulf for reassurance, Sikhs and Christians likewise cultivated their overseas connectio...