Demography is Destiny. That’s the message that was conveyed loud and clear by the removal of the idol of Lord Ganesh from NIT Meghalaya. Jaintia Students Union (JSU) pressurized the authorities to remove the idol and claimed that the idol could lead to ‘communal tensions’ in the state.

According to the 2011 census, over 74% of the total population in Meghalaya are Christians. For all the sermons on secularism that are offered from pulpits, it is thrown down the drain the moment Hindus become a minority at a particular place. We can see it in Mizoram where Christian bodies demanded the removal of ‘Hindu Governor’ Kummanam Rajasekharan because “ours is a Christian state”. This is in stark similarity to what happened in NIT Meghalaya considering the mere existence of a Lord Ganesh idol was said to be an instigator. Mizoram has an 87% Christian population.

And of course, what happened in Jammu and Kashmir and what has been happening still doesn’t need any elaboration. Demography matters. We can only afford to ignore it at our own peril. Secularism can exist and flourish only when there’s a Hindu majority population to uphold these ideals. We have regularly seen that the intolerance of the Abrahamic religions does not permit secularism.

Despite the obvious, the sermons are only reserved for the Hindu community. While the intolerant sections of the minority communities hold a knife to the throat of Hindu traditions, the ‘esteemed’ intellectual elite tells Hindus that it is bigotry that makes them concerned about changing demography. The intolerant sections of the minority communities have perfected the art of playing the victim card while being the aggressor.

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There’s not a single state dominated by Abrahamic minorities where secularism is allowed to flourish. However, it is deemed bigotry if one dares to raise the issue. If the mere installation of an idol of Lord Ganesha could lead to ‘communal tensions’, we need to ask ourselves, what else could lead to ‘communal tensions’? Could it be that the expression of the Hindu faith in any manner might lead to ‘communal tensions’?

The manner in which the idol of Lord Ganesha was removed ought to concern us all. There was an explicit threat of violence that was cloaked under the garb of possible ‘communal tensions’. it again reinforces the idea that Demography is Destiny and the moment Hindus lose the demographic advantage, their traditions and culture and civilization will be under threat. As unfortunate as it may sound, it is a fact that we can no longer afford to ignore.