Editorial
Breach of faith
The word, 'purification', has many rather
unpleasant resonances. It suggests, straightaway, the notion of
impurity. It is unfortunate that the prime minister of India, Narendra
Modi, decided to invoke the idea of purification in a speech delivered
to the national council of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He did this by
way of the writings and beliefs of Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the
principal ideologues of the BJP and the entire
sangh parivar.
Upadhyaya, and Mr Modi quoted him with approval and aplomb, believed
that Muslims in India were in need of cleansing and purification. They
were unclean because, even though they were originally Indians, they had
been polluted by Islam. The Muslims in whose veins ran, according to
K.S. Sudarshan, another ideologue, the blood of Ram and Krishna, had to
be cleansed so that they could reclaim their Hindu origin. The obvious,
and dangerous, implication of such beliefs is that it sees a very large
section of the Indian population as being 'impure', and further sees the
faith to which they subscribe to be a polluting agent. It is ironic
that Mr Modi was using Upadhyaya's arguments with the purpose of showing
that the BJP and the sangh parivar do not treat minorities as inferior
entities. Upadhyaya's views, in fact, have the opposite effect. They
reinforce the idea that the
sangh parivar and the BJP have a deep-seated prejudice against the Muslim community.
Mr Modi's reiteration of the beliefs of Upadhyaya does not come as a
surprise. All his life, he has been a loyal and devout member of the
sangh parivar.
A prejudiced view of the Muslim community is an integral part of the
mindset of all sanghis. Many would argue that it is part of their DNA.
It should also be remembered that Mr Modi was speaking at the BJP
national council, and so to the converted he said what the converted
wanted to hear. What he overlooked, willingly or otherwise, is that
since he is the elected prime minister of India, his identity as a loyal
member of the
sangh parivar has become secondary.
Mr Modi's primary, and most important, identity is that he is the prime minister of India and, therefore, he represents
all
Indians, irrespective of creed. By speaking about the minorities
through the words and ideology of Upadhyaya, Mr Modi no doubt won
applause and support from his party members - it was, indeed, music to
their ears. But to a wider audience, his words were appalling. As the
prime minister of India, Mr Modi cannot view Indians through the filter
of purity and impurity. India has no such filter.
