Promoting Love or instilling Hate and Fear

Promoting Love or instilling Hate and Fear Ram Puniyani India’s anti colonial struggle was accompanied by various diverse social phenomenons. One major of this was the ‘Hindu-Muslim’ Unity, and the emergence of the overall identity of Indians amongst people of all religions. The national, anti-colonial stream promoted this and the best embodiment of this was Mahatma Gandhi, who took three bullets on his bare chest for striving for this. He wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched up thing but a union of hearts based upon a definite recognition of the indubitable proposition that Swaraj (self rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce. It cannot be based upon mutual fear. It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.” In contrast to this the streams basing their nationalism under the mask of religion not only kept aloof from anti colonial struggle but also sowed the seeds and nurtured the plants of Hate and divisiveness. Golwalkar, the second Sarsanghchalak of RSS, wrote, “German race pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic Races—the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.” - We, or Our Nationhood Defined (Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939). This set the tone for RSS to propagate hate against Muslims and Christians in India. This Hate was the marginal tendency for decades but has emerged as the dominating ‘social common sense’ leading to series of anti-Muslim violence, their intimidation, lynching and what not leading to the phenomenon of ghettoisation, and relegating them to secondary position in society. The process is still on and different RSS-BJP leaders have used all their ‘innovation’ to create more hatred, they have kept adding on to the catchy slogans to demonize the Muslims. ‘They can be identified by their clothes’, ‘Shamshan-Kabristhan’, series of Jihads ‘Vote jihad’ being probably the latest among them. There is a long list of these. To cap it all two of their top leaders have peaked this phenomenon in recent times. One of them is Giriraj Singh who is amongst those leading the pack of Hate promoters. Recently he stated, "If a Muslim/Ghuspetiya (infiltrator) slaps you once, everyone should come together and slap him 100 times....Keep a sword, spear and trident in the house, worship it and if someone comes, protect yourself from him..." One is incidentally reminded of the father of the nation who went on to say that if someone slaps you on one Cheek put forward the other cheek. The two ideologies of Gandhi’s Indian nationalism, amity and love are being totally countered by the ideology of Hindu Nationalism by provoking violence, and hate. The downslide of amity and rise of Hate have run parallel with the divisive politics of sectarian nationalism, particularly after demolition of Babri mosque, followed by series of divisive campaigns. With BJP coming to power at center, the various wings of RSS and foot soldiers of divisive nationalism have felt that now they can enjoy impunity to the fullest extent. Around this time another divisive leader Yogi Adityanath, the introducer of bulldozer (in)justice has also thrown up a phrase ‘Batenge to Katenge’, i.e. Hindus should remain united else they will be slaughtered. This slogan has various dimensions, and the peak organization of Hindu nationalism has approved it. “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday (October 26, 2024) backed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s controversial remark — ‘*batenge to katenge*’, claiming that Hindus ‘will be slaughtered if divided’ — with RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale saying that the slogan, calling for unity among Hindus, is the lifetime pledge of the Sangh.” This has multiple dimensions. One is that RSS strategists feel that the decline of BJP fortunes in last Lok Sabha elections was due to shift of dalit votes to the INDIA coalition which stood solidly with the concept of social justice and demanding the caste based census. The threat that if dalit-OBC go to INDIA coalition Hindus will be slaughtered! By whom? As per this slogan it will be by the Muslims. On the contrary they have been left in the lurch during the last 75 years. RSS combine may even prop up the non applicable example of plight of Hindus in Bangladesh after the uprising (2024). Pakistan is always an evergreen (pun intended) example of the worsening plight of Hindus there. We must unite as Indians were the central plank of the freedom movement. Indian was the core theme of our unity during anti colonial struggle and it gets reflected in our Constitution. Gandhi, the greatest Hindu of 20th Century, never called for unity as Hindus. Neither the likes of Maulana Azad, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan called for unity as Muslims. For BJP, which is not concerned about the welfare of ‘person standing last in line’, all its ideology, actions and utterances are contrary to what united India. It ridicules Rahul Gandhi’s (RG) call for ‘Mohabbat ki dukan’ (Shop of love) and questions as to why Rahul Gandhi does not meet RSS. Counter question is, why RSS wants to meet RG? RSS knows its politics is based on Hate (Muslims, Christians and those opposed to Hindu Nationalism), while RG is trying to put life back into the Indian National ethos of love and amity as underlined in our Constitution. Why should RG be interested in ideologues against whose ideology he is trying to raise his voice? If RSS wants to RG to meet RSS, it has to drastically change its ideology of division and adopt the values of Indian Constitution, the core of which is unity as Indians and fraternity between people irrespective of their religion. It is precisely for this reason that Nehru, Gandhi’s disciple, never gave importance to RSS, it is for this reason that Indira Gandhi refused to concede RSS Chief Balasaheb Deoras's request to meet her. RSS as per its character wants to derive its legitimacy even from those who oppose its politics .

Mohan Bhagwar: Dussera Speech

Restating the Agenda of Hindu Rashtra: RSS Chief sets the tone for BJP politics Ram Puniyani This 12th October 2024, the Vijayadashmi (Dussara), which is regarded as the foundation day of RSS, as is the practice of RSS Chief (Sarsanghchalak), Dr. Mohan Bhagwat gave a speech. This came in the background of his other significant speech in the aftermath of the slide down of BJP in 2024 General elections. In that speech he had targeted Narendra Modi. Modi had been claiming that he thinks he is non-biological, sent by God. As BJP slid down from 303 seats to 240, Bhagwat stated that “a Man wants to be superman, Then a Dev (deity) then a Bhagwan (God).” This was probably the first election where BJP claimed that it was earlier seeking the help of RSS as it was not that capable, now it is more capable. With this speech Bhagwat brought down the rising arrogance of Narendra Modi and RSS combine (called Sangh Parivar) became hyperactive in election in Haryana, and along with the helpful manipulations of Election Commission, BJP came to power, defying the perception of sure win of Congress party. Now in his Dussara speech he restated most of the policies of BJP, took on the states where the non BJP governments rule and outlined the deeper goals of RSS and the core of Hindutva politics, “Words like ‘Deep State’, ‘Wokeism’, ‘Cultural Marxist’ are enemies of all cultural traditions. Their modus operandi is first to bring educational institutions under their influence. They then try to destroy the thoughts, values and beliefs of the society. They then artificially create problems and inbuilt a feeling of victimhood in people. Then, they fan discontent, they make people aggressive, create an atmosphere of anarchy and instill fear and hatred towards the system, laws, governance in people. This makes it easy to establish one’s dominance over that country,” The less popular word wokeism is used in a derogatory way mostly by right wingers for “the behaviour and attitudes of people who are sensitive to social and political injustice” This is the core sentence of his talk. As such as the Hindu right wing has been dominating the social political scene RSS combine have adopted the modus operandi whereby through shakhas, schools like Sarswati Shishu Mandir, Ekal Vidyalays and word of mouth through its vast network it has influenced the social common sense which promotes conservatism, promotes caste and gender hierarchy. Lately through control of the media by sympathetic Corporate and IT cells of BJP the thinking of a large section of society is being shaped by Hindu nationalist discourse. Now what does wokeism do? It is the longing for a just society. It is against the discrimination on the grounds of caste, religion, color, language and supports the LGBT rights. These rights for equality of all beings are what pinch the Brahminical values, the core of Hindu nationalist politics. To slightly generalize it all the political tendencies parading themselves in the clothes of religion, Taliban, Muslim Brotherhood, politics in the name of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, Christian fundamentalism promote inequality. They do have different expressions depending on the local situations. In another way the founders of Hindu nationalist ideology eulogized Manusmriti for the same, as it subjugates dalits and women. RSS also regards Muslims and Christians as foreigners. And it did covertly support the genocide of Sikhs in 1984. Right wing politics regards wokeism as evil as it is this which looks forward to values of equality, the goal of the journey of social movements in a society. It is precisely for this that democracy is a deeper longing for most movements of the deprived. While the movements of dalits, women and LGBT are looked down upon by Hindu nationalists in India, Women are the major targets in Muslim majority countries where fundamentalist forces rule. As RSS combine is for substituting the values of equality with the values of ‘ancient Golden period’, the values of inequality. The word Wokeism is being used by RSS ideologues for movements and ideas promoting rights of the deprived. While internal dynamics between RSS and BJP is a parivar matter, the basic values of the two remain the same, despite the ego clashes. On most of the other issues as Bhagwat repeated what BJP is practicing. He criticized the non BJP ruling states, “Due to this, today Punjab, Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh on the north-western border of the country; Kerala, Tamil Nadu on the sea border; and the entire Purvanchal from Bihar to Manipur is disturbed,” The cat is out of the bag when he puts Ladhak and Manipur in the same category. Manipur has seen the worst type of violence against Kukis, and women in particular. The apathy of the BJP Government in the matter is more than disturbing. As far as Ladhak is concerned we have seen the best of the movements to protect the environment and demand for equal citizenship, as causes worthy for the struggle. And what a peaceful struggle it has been? The remarkable leadership of Sonam Wangchuk will be etched in the letters of gold. And how RSS progeny BJP has ignored the whole Ladhak movement, is a dark chapter of India’s contemporary history. His mention of R.G. Kar Medical college tragedy and keeping mum on the atrocities against women wrestlers, the rising atrocities on dalit girls is to say the least is most partisan. Once this gentlemen had proclaimed that rape happens in India (Urban) areas and not in Bharat (villages). Most of such cases in BJP ruled states have taken place in villages or small towns. A report released by the ministry of social justice and empowerment tells us” Uttar Pradesh with 12,287 reported cases, followed by Rajasthan with 8,651 and Madhya Pradesh with 7,732 cases of atrocities against Dalits in the year 2022 show a disturbing trend…) The gem from his speech comes when he asks the Hindus to unite and be strong, as the weak are not able to defend themselves. Are we all not united as Indians? Is there any problem in unity as Indians as per Indian Constitution? But to expect otherwise from Bhagwat will be illogical as their faith in Indian Constitution is also a mere show for electoral benefits.

Ahead of Elections :Cow as Rajyamata-Gomata:

Cow as Rajyamata: Savarkar as non-Vegetarian Ram Puniyani Cow has been playing an important emotive issue in Indian politics for the last three decades or so. Cow is propagated as a Holy animal. She has the status of mother for many and Hindu Nationalist politics has used this to the hilt in polarizing our society. Hindutva ideologue, Savarkar brought to fore the term Hindutva as ‘whole of Hinduness’ and not just Hindu religion. This was the premise on which RSS formulated its politics and the goal of Hindu nation, which it has been pursuing relentlessly from the last close to a century. Last three decades have been very beneficial for the RSS politics as the emotive issues raised by this organization are dominating the political scenario in the country. This came to the fore yet again recently (October 2024). On one hand the ruling coalition of Maharashtra led by BJP; declared Cow (only indigenous breed, called as Desi Gay in popular parlance) Rajyamata-Gomata (state mother- Cow mother). This surely has been done with an eye on forthcoming Maharashtra election. In Maharashtra as per popular perception BJP seems to be having not a very strong chance. In recently held Parliament elections it fared badly and since then it has resorted to such antics, which are polarizing to the core. As a matter of chance around the same time one Karnataka Minister made a statement that Savarkar, the father of Hindu nationalist ideology; was not against cow slaughter and did not regard Cow as sacred but a very useful animal, “At an event in Bengaluru organized to mark Gandhi Jayanti, Dinesh Gundu Rao claimed that Savarkar was not only a meat-eater, who consumed beef, but also propagated the practice publicly.” The Congress minister, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Savarkar, despite being a Brahmin, did not adhere to traditional dietary restrictions and was a modernist, “Savarkar was a Brahmin, but he ate beef and was a non-vegetarian. He did not oppose cow slaughter; in fact, he was quite a modernist on that topic." That Savarkar ate meat is well known. In one of the famous visits of Gandhi to Savarkar in London, when he was raising support for his work in South Africa, he visited Savarkar. Savarkar was preparing his dinner. He was frying prawns, and offered them to Gandhi who declined as he was a strict vegetarian. Savarkar also stated that Cow should not be worshipped. Author Vaibhav Purandare stated that, “Savarkar held the view that the cow is only a bullock’s mother, and while there is no record of him eating it, he was not averse to eating beef,” the writer of ‘Savarkar: The True Story of The Father of Hindutva’,… at the Bangalore Literature Festival. Purandare said that Savarkar’s position was rather complicated on the issue of cow protection as he was of the opinion that if one deliberately killed cows to spite Hindus then it was a problem…However, he believed that if it was just for the sake of eating because you like it, then it is okay,” added the writer. As far as Cow and holiness is concerned a lot has been written about the sacrifice of cows during Vedic period. Swami Vivekananda in his various writings points out that Cow was sacrificed in the Holy rituals and eating it was not taboo. “You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it.” [Vivekananda speaking at the Shakespeare Club, Pasadena, California, USA (2 February 1900) on the theme of ‘Buddhistic India’, cited in Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 3 (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1997), p. 536.] It is also to be noted that, “…it is corroborated by other research works sponsored by the Ramakrishna Mission established by Swami Vivekananda himself. One of these reads: “The Vedic Aryans, including the Brahmans, ate fish, meat and even beef. A distinguished guest was honored with beef served at a meal. Although the Vedic Aryans ate beef, milch cows were not killed. One of the words that designated cow was aghnya (what shall not be killed). But a guest was a goghna (one for whom a cow is killed). It is only bulls, barren cows and calves that were killed.”[C. Kunhan Raja, ‘Vedic Culture’, cited in the series, Suniti Kumar Chatterji and others (eds.), The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol 1 (Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission, 1993), 217.] Ambedkar’s studies also point in a similar direction, the historian of Ancient India Professor D. N. Jha, based on his scholarly work, Myth of Holy Cow points out that there are verses like Atho Annam via Gau (Cow is veritably food). It was the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism that Cow was later given the status of Mother, Holy etc. This was part of the resurgence of Brahminism and attack on Buddhism in India whereby Buddhism was wiped out from India. Later during the freedom movement as the Muslim and Hindu communal politics surged; the pig and cow were used by these political tendencies to strengthen themselves. Throwing pork in the mosque or beef in the temple was used to instigate communal violence which strengthened these divisive tendencies. Lately throwing beef in temples deliberately to provoke violence has also come to the fore. As the Cow slaughter ban has been brought to surface and starting from Akhlaq to Junaid to Rakbar Khan have been done to death on this issue, the fright among Muslim community is peaking. The phenomenon has been tormenting the minority community. Harsh Mander the well-known humanist has floated Caravan- a- Mohabbat to sooth the families of victims of lynching. It is only Muslims who are targeted, the other beef eaters in North Eastern states (Kiran Rijiju conceded he eats beef), Kerala and Goa have been spared. The Maharashtra Government has very cleverly called only ‘indigenous Cows’ as Rajyamata, and not the other cows. India is gradually peaking in beef export. Interestingly in author Vijay Trivedi’s Book on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Haar nahin Manunga, tells us that once when Vajpayee was eating beef in America (page 236) he was reminded about this by his table partner. Vajpayee smiled it away saying that any way it is not Indian Cow, so where is the problem?

Love Jihad Propaganda to the fore , Yet again

Love and Religious Boundaries: Love Jihad Ram Puniyani This 1st Oct a Barially Court gave life imprisonment to a Muslim man in case of a complaint of sexual assault. In the judgment the justice commented that it is a case of love Jihad, which the police have failed to present that way. The girl was a Hindu. During the court proceedings the girl did withdraw the complaint on the ground that she had to lodge the complaint under the pressure of Hindutva group. The Lordship will have none of it; probably the social propaganda was ruling his verdict. Judge Diwakar in his judgment commented sui generis that Muslim men target Hindu women to get married. The judgment went on, “In simple words, love jihad is the practice of Muslim men to convert women from non-Muslim communities to Islam by pretending to love them and marrying them. Illegal conversions through love jihad are carried out by some anarchist elements of a particular religion or are made to do so or are involved in a conspiracy… A huge amount of money is required for love jihad. Hence, the fact of foreign funding in love jihad cannot be ruled out…” Foreign funding in love jihad is a novel concept; wish the judge had named the country which is sending the money for this. While propaganda around love jihad was the first one in jihad series, now of course there are number of jihads which are popularized, land jihad, UPSC jihad, flood jihad, Corona Jihad amongst others. There are downright communal anchors which specialize in tabulating the types of jihad, if Muslims are in near or remote way to any happening. This is a classic case of trivial issues being magnified to demonize the religious community, which is regarded as belonging to ‘foreign religion’ and is targeted in covert and overt way to be presented as the ‘enemy other’. This creation of ‘enemy other’ lies at root of communal politics, Hindu Nationalist politics, which is dominating the social scenario in India. Propaganda about love jihad is not very old. Just a couple of decades earlier some Christian Bishops from Kerala started this calumny and it was picked up more intensely by Hindu nationalists. Since their propaganda machinery is well oiled from RSS Shakhas, to RSS run schools, sections of media, social media and a parallel social media with IT cell in particular. The propaganda that there is an organization funding the Muslim youth to lure Hindu girls was investigated and was found to be a hoax. Many things have been attributed as the purpose of love jihad. The first one is the demographic one. So far the major propaganda is that Muslims have ‘Four Wives twenty Children’ and they will overtake the Hindu population soon. The love jihad, conversion of Hindu girls through love jihad and producing children has been added on to it. Yet another aspect which has been added to it is that these girls are trained to be part of Islamic State for fighting for them. The core aim of love jihad propaganda has to be linked to the patriarchal values which accompany the nationalism in the name of religion. The phenomenon of rising atrocity on rape and increase in the incidents of rape runs parallel to the rise of communal politics. Teesta Setalvad points out, “Women of targeted communities are singled out as ‘symbols of honor’ of the communities when the horrors and bestiality of violence are unleashed on them. We saw this during the Partition-related violence, 1946–47; Nellie Assam, 1983; Delhi, 1984; Bombay, 1992–93; Gujarat, 2002; and most recently in Manipur, 2023… the reasons are sociological, historical and ideological. We must always remember that the BJP is ruled by the ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Mahasabha— extreme rightwing outfits that are based on a deep-rooted vision of not just a militarized faith but of a misogynist control of women and their sexuality.” One recalls here the reprimand by the Hindu Nationalism’s foremost ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Commenting a Shivaji’s noble act of returning the daughter in law of Kalyan governor (A Muslim) brought to him by his plundering army Savarkar criticizes Shivaji for not taking revenge but returning her with honor. In the wake of the rising chorus of ‘Love Jihad’, historian Charu Gupta stated this is a mechanism to control the lives of women, “The fake claim by the Hindu right that there is love jihad organization which is forcing the Hindu women to convert to Islam through false expression of love is similar to campaign in 1920 against alleged abductions, whether 1920 or 2009, Hindu patriarchal notions seem to be deeply entrenched in such campaigns, images of passive victimized Hindu women at the hands of inscrutable Muslim; abound and any possibility of women exercising their legitimate right to love and their right of choice is ignored.” It is in this light that one sees the intense activities of Bajrang Dal on occasions like Raksha Bandhan etc, when they go to Hindu households and tell the parents to keep a ‘watch’ on their daughters. The propaganda on the issue has caught up and is affecting different sections of society. There are many cases where the Muslim youth are attacked. Priyanka Todi and Rizwan Khan Story ended in tragic death of Rizwan Khan. Even the reverse of this sometimes becomes true at times when Ankit Bhandari is done to death by the relatives of the Muslim girl he was in love with. The case of Hadiya, Akhila Arunan, converted to Islam is very revealing. She converted to Islam due to interaction with Muslim friends. Later she married Shafik Jahan. Her father was given her custody by the court on the ground that she has been indoctrinated and will be recruited for ISIS work. She went up to Supreme Court where her testimony was heard and was restored with her husband. In Kerala many a Yoga centers have come up to convince the Hindu girls intending to marry a Muslim to bring her back to Hindu fold and abandon her love for the Muslin man. Many a girls have complained of force and blackmail being applied to them. The judgment mentioned above shows as to how this propaganda is affection out society overall, including the judges who are supposed to base their verdict on concrete evidence.

Rahul Gandhi’s Comments in America: True or Malicious?

Rahul Gandhi’s Comments in America: True or Malicious? Ram Puniyani On a recent visit to the United States of America, Rahul Gandhi (RG) had many interactions with the audiences. In one such meeting he asked one of the Sikhs sitting in the audience as to what his name is. He was talking about two poles of politics in India, hinting at the narrow sectarian politics becoming more assertive and aggressive in India. He told the audience that in India, "The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a 'kada' in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That's what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions," the Congress leader had said. Clearly the example of Sikhs was incidental and he was hinting at a broader trend of intimidation of religious minorities in India. Some Sikh and other leaders from BJP pounced on RG putting on him usual anti-national type labels, calling him divisive among others. The simple point of religious and cultural rights and practices of diverse sections of society was deliberately undermined in these criticisms. This occasion, yet again was used by the BJP to further attack RG, who has been a recipient of vitriol from BJP. RG in a tweet clarified his understanding of the vision of India, "As usual, the BJP is resorting to lies. They are desperate to silence me because they cannot stand the truth. But I will always speak up for the values that define India: our unity in diversity, equality, and love," Unmindful of the spirit of RG, Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in an article in Indian Express wrote that the only time Sikhs went through a crisis was the decade of 1980s, hinting to ethnic cleansing of Sikhs, in many places in the country, particularly in Delhi in 1984. He called RG’s attitude was like that of MA Jinnah, who was out to divide the country. He had not registered that it was the BJP Government which totally ignored the demands of farmers, many of them Sikhs for months before the anti farmer bills were withdrawn. Meanwhile the Sikhs participating in this massive protest were labeled as Khalistanis. As far a 1984 ethnic cleansing is concerned those leading the pogrom can never be pardoned. The Indian National Congress’s Manmohan Singh, who was Prime Minister for a decade, has apologized for the same and one expects that the guilty of the violence will be brought to book, as soon as possible. The lapse of decades in not punishing the guilty of 1984 crimes is highly condemnable. It is never realized that RSS-BJP did not come to protect the Sikh community which was being brutalized. On the contrary Shamsul Islam, major scholar on rise of fundamentalism in India, points out that RSS also colluded in this ghastly pogrom, “A crucial proof of this criminal collusion in the massacre of Sikhs is a document circulated by Nana Deshmukh, a prominent ideologue of the RSS (now deceased). Titled as ‘Moments of Soul Searching’ it was circulated by Deshmukh on November 8, 1984. (Added, it was also published in George Fernandes edited Hindi Magazine, Pratipask) This should help in unmasking a number of criminals involved in the massacre and rape of ordinary innocent Sikhs who had nothing to do with the killing of Indira Gandhi. This document may also throw light on where the cadres came from, who methodically organized the killing of Sikhs. Nana Deshmukh is seen outlining the justification of the massacre of the Sikh community in 1984.” On these comments against RG there is one more angle. Some Sikh Groups are seeing it as welcome recognition of their Sikh identity. K.Sudarshan. ex-RSS chief, in a statement, had said that Sikhism is a Panth (Sect) of Hinduism and that Khalsa was created to protect Hindus from Islam. In 2019 Mohan Bhawat said that India is a Hindu Nation. There was a strong protest against both these statements. These outpourings also show the RSS mindset. One knows that Sikhism is not just a sect but a religion in its own right; it has its founder, Guru Nanak Devji. Who said, Na Hum Hindu Na Hum Musalmman. (I am neither a Hindu nor a Muslim). Editorials in prominent Punjabi newspapers like Punjabi Tribune and Nawa Zamana criticized the statement of Bhagwat in strong terms. While the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which is a constituent of the NDA and has been an ally of BJP also gave strong reaction to the statement of Mr. Bhagwat. Giani Harpreet Singh, the acting Jathedar (head priest) of Akal Takht said that he believes the RSS’s actions will create divisions in the country. “The statements being made by RSS leaders are not in the country’s interests…” Contrary to the utterances that Sikhism is part of Hinduism, there is a book by Kahan Singh, ‘Hum Hindu Nahin’. (We are not Hindus) If we see Sikhism’s traditions, there is rich syncretism. The foundation of the Golden temple was laid by Miyan Mir. Baba Farid and other Sufi saints are respected along with Bhakti Saints like Kabir Raidas. Guru Granth Saheb, the Guru of Sikhs, has writings not only of Sikh Gurus but also of Sufi and Bhakti Saints. Its main focus is to shift away from the rigidities imposed by Maulanas and Brahminical teachings of caste and gender inequality. The religions originating from the Sub continent, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism all preach the equality of people and in a way are away from the caste and gender hierarchies. Many Sikh leaders try to join BJP merely for the sake of power, unmindful of the contradiction between humane values of Sikhism and the orthodoxies of Brahmism. As Ambedkar pointed out Brahmanism is the most dominant tendency within Hinduism. This is what led him to renounce Hinduism and embrace Buddhism. Sikhism as such flourished during the so called Muslim period of Indian History. Seeing the strong reaction of many Sikh organizations, now RSS is conceding that Sikhism is an independent religion. RG’s statement in no way is divisive and represents the values of Indian Constitution.

Secularism in Indian Context

Secularism: Indian Context? Ram Puniyani Indian freedom struggle was plural and strove towards secular and democratic values. This got reflected in our Constitution in its Preamble, which talks of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and social justice in most of the articles. Equality here stands for equality as citizens, irrespective of caste, gender and religion. Most of its clauses were based on Secular values. The word secular was not there in the preamble, but all the provisions make it secular in essence. While it was drafted by Dr. Ambedkar had participation of diverse political groups and was implemented on 26th January 1950. The Hindu nationalists stood to oppose it on the ground that the constitution did not reflect the age-old values inherent in our Holy Books, the hierarchy of caste and gender. RSS Organ Organiser on 19th 1949 wrote “But in our constitution there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing”. Hindu nationalists kept calling our secular democratic republic as Hindu Rashtra and it was core part of the training in the RSS Shakhas. The ruling establishment kept trying to pursue secular policies and affirmative action for religious minorities. After the Shah Bano fiasco and with the rise of the strength of the Right wing, they started calling the secular formations as Pseudo-Secular and used other derogatory words like Siculars were gay abandon. Lately there are voices opposing Indian Constitution, first Vajpayee regime constituted Venakatchaliah Commission to review Indian Constitution. The commission submitted its report but due to popular protests it was not taken up seriously. RSS’s K.Sudarshan in 2000, when he became the Sarsanghchalak stated that the Indian Constitution is based on Western values and should be replaced by one which is based on Indian Holy books. Change of Constitution became a plank for many BJP leaders, like Anantkumar Hegde openly started voicing that Indian Constitution needs to be changed. In the recently held General Election 2024, the slogan of 400 par (beyond) was linked with the aim of changing the Indian Constitution as well. One of the reasons for BJP getting a setback was that India alliance leaders put the Constitution book in their hands and said that their primary goal is to save the Indian Constitution. It is in this background that Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s statement that "Secularism is not a Bhartiya concept, it is a European concept, let it be there, let them be happy with it. How can India be away from Dharma? " T.N. governor said at the convocation of Hindu Dharma Vidya Peetham at Thiruvattar in Kanyakumari. He also tried to create a false binary between Nehru-Patel and Indira Gandhi. As per him the architects of Indian Constitution Nehru and Ambedkar did not want a secular Constitution, so the word was not there in the preamble of the Constitution. He goes on to say that since Indira Gandhi was insecure she brought in this word in the preamble. He is trying to show that Dharma which means religiously ordained duties and social organization into Varna-caste given in Hindu scriptures, particularly Manusmsriti, is different from religion. As such every religion has an aspect of moral preaching like Deen in Islam and Ethics in Christianity. So as per him secularism is opposed to Dharma. In a way he is right as Secularism stands for equality of all irrespective of Religion, caste and gender. Dharma in the Indian case upholds gross inequality. It seems the Governor seems to be ignorant of the fact that though the word secular was not there in the preamble, the whole Constitution is based on pluralism, secularism, diversity and quality of all religions. To say that it is a mere western value just shows where concept of secularism began. Surely it began with the industrial revolutions in the west along with elements of democracy and acceptance of plurality. It is in a way a modern concept, where industrialization; rise of Industrial class, working class and women’s longing for equality challenge the feudal authorities of Kings and Clergy alliance. Ravi reduces secularism merely to the struggle between the powers of Church (Clergy) and the King. Incidentally the organization of clergy and its relation to kings was very clear-cut in the west. In other places also there were parallels. In Hindu ethos there is Raja-Raj guru; in Islam we see Nawab- Shahi Imam. This duo of King (Feudal Lord) and organized religion ruled the roost in feudal society. In Colonial states, particularly India as there was colonialism, on one hand the secular-plural social groups like Industrialists, Workers, Women and educated classes came up due to introduction of Industries and modern education. Secularism was the seed, nurtured by these classes. The feudal classes were declining and threw up communal formations like Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS. They wanted to preserve the facade of ‘divinely ordained’ superiority under the garb of religion. In India, the widely prevalent Hinduism is presented not as religion but as dharma, to confuse the people. To sound as the preserver of Religion, meant actually to preserve social hierarchies of caste and gender. The main agenda of such forces is pre democratic power structures (One man one vote versus divine power of the King to rule, promoted by the clergy). Such forces do identify an enemy to consolidate themselves, like in India it is Muslims (And Christians) in many a gulf countries Women are targeted. Incidentally the organization ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ in that region also imposes that Secularism is the concept of West only. So while, Ravi has been criticized by many as unfit to remain as Governor with the present Constitution in place. So what has been his real motive? As per one leader it is an attempt to test the waters, whether those trying to remove secularism, to observe as to what will be the reaction to such an anti democratic norm in present times. Today the main challenge is not just the increasing spiral against religious minorities but also to preserve secular values which is the other side of the coin of democracy!

India: Communal clash at Dehradun railway station over interfaith relationship

Communal clash at Dehradun railway station over interfaith relationship

The confrontation escalated with objects being hurled and damage caused to parked trains.

Written by Avaneesh Mishra
Dehradun | Updated: September 27, 2024

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/communal-clash-at-dehradun-railway-station-over-interfaith-relationship-police-on-the-scene-9590156/?ref=hometop_hp