A matter of considerable concern and anxiety is the coming into being of numerous Senas and volunteer organisations in different parts of the country in a short period of three years or so. The latest count puts them around 60. An analysis of features that they share in common is interesting. The first is that they are usually founded upon a sense of grievance resulting from imbalances in economic development or inadequacy of employment opportunities or fear of domination, real or imagined, for one-group over another. The second is an aggressive cultural or group-consciousness leading to the placing of disproportionate emphasis on the well-being and recognition of one group even to the exclusion or rejection of the interests of the other groups. The third is the remarkably short period within which they have emerged as a perceptible factor in local politics or local group programme, because they forcefully articulate existing feeling of neglect, justified or unjustified. The fourth is the emphasis that some of them place on training, discipline and zealous propagation of their objects by deployment of their volunteers, frequent public meetings, poster campaigns, demonstrations and so on. Some of these Senas and their philosophy deserve severe condemnation, and there is urgent need for effective action to curb their activities.
The important question at this stage is not simply the quantitative increase in the number of incidents or the geographical spread of the tensions, or the causes and effects of regional animosities. The central question is how to create confidence and trust in the minority community — whether religious, linguistic or ethnic — with regard to the secular character of Indian polity and the earnestness of governmental and political institutions in making the ideals and rights enshrined in the Constitution a living reality for the common people. There has been failure to a certain extent on the part of the forces of secularism to assert themselves against communal forces. There are a number of causes and all of us, whether in political parties, or in Government or in towns and villages, will have to realise and discharge our responsibility to arrest the unhealthy trends. Particularly in the politics in a secular State, the effort should be to organise people for advancing causes, interests and ideas which are not the causes, interests and ideas of religious communities as such.
