New Delhi, Feb 27.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea to set up a committee under the Home Ministry to rename Indian cities and roads, with observations that “history cannot be selectively erased”, nor a “particular community be harassed over the past”.
“Hinduism is a great religion. Don’t belittle it,” Justice K.M. Joseph observed. The other judge on the bench Justice B.V. Nagarathna insisted that “Hinduism was a way of life and not a religion”.
The country is secular, she said. Justice Joseph also said that the courts were a secular forum just as the Home Ministry and were bound by the Constitution to uphold the rights of all sections of society.
Don’t we have other problems, rather than embarking on this exercise, Justice Nagarathna asked. Justice Joseph asked: “What do you want to achieve by this? This will only spread disharmony,” he said. This is also against the principle of fraternity enshrined in the Constitution, he said.
“You can’t have the country on the boil,” Justice Joseph said.
“After the adoption of the Constitution we are a secular country. You can’t be pointing fingers at any community. We can’t remain tied to the past. We are wedded to rule of law and constitutionalism. It is important that the country moves forward,” he said.
Justice Nagarathna said that India has always assimilated invaders and friends alike. “We have always lived together. The divide and rule policy of the British led to a schism in the society. Let’s not break it up again.”
Justice Joseph said that the courts cannot be made an instrument or “tool to wreak havoc” before dismissing the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay who claimed that Vedic names and Hindus have disappeared from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Hindus have become a minority in 200 of the country’s 750 districts, he claimed. Upadhyay also claimed that the tolerant nature of Hinduism has seen it disappear from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Justice Joseph quoted from S. Radhakrishnan’s exposition of Hinduism to argue that “Hinduism is the greatest of religions. Do not belittle it. Don’t narrow its views. Let future generations see it.” Justice Nagarathna said: “There is no bigotry in Hinduism.”
The court’s observations come amidst a renaming spree by the central and several state governments. Many old cities with Mughal names have been changed in the recent past. The most recent was the renaming of the Mughal gardens to Amrit Udyan.
Allahabad has been renamed as Prayagraj and so has Mughalsarai.
