Amartya Sen says polls show India is not a ‘Hindu Rashtra’

KOLKATA: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Wednesday asserted that the recent results of the Indian Lok Sabha polls point to the fact that India is not a “Hindu nation”.

Sen, who arrived in Kolkata from the US in the evening, also expressed displeasure with continuing to imprison people “without trial” under the new system.

“The election results reflect that India is not a ‘Hindu nation’,” Sen told a Bengali news channel at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

“We always hope to see change with every election. Some of the things that happened earlier (during the BJP-led Central government) like jailing people without trial and widening the gap between rich and poor are still continuing. This has to stop,” he said.

The noted economist said there was a need for political tolerance, especially since India is a secular country with a secular constitution.

“I don’t think the idea of ​​turning India into a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ is appropriate,” said 90-year-old Sen.

He also opined that the new federal cabinet was a “copy of the previous cabinet.”

“Ministers continue to hold similar posts. Despite some personnel changes, those who are politically powerful still have power,” he said.

Sen recalled that during his childhood, when India was under British rule, people were imprisoned without trial.

“When I was young, many of my uncles and cousins ​​were jailed without trial. We wanted India to be free from this. Congress is also to blame as this did not stop. It did not change the situation… But this has become more of a reality under the current government,” the Nobel laureate said.

On the BJP’s loss of the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat despite building the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Sen said an attempt was made to obscure the true identity of the country.

“The Ram temple was built at great expense to portray India as a ‘Hindu nation’ but this cannot happen in the country of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It is an attempt to ignore India’s true identity and it must change,” he said.

Sen also said unemployment is rising in India and areas like primary education and basic health care are being neglected.