KERALA
‘Hindutva forces corroding basic features of our cultural life’
Academic stresses need to strengthen secular values
People
like Gauri Lankesh and M.M. Kalburgi were killed because they dared to
threaten the cultural values represented by the Hindutva forces,
academic Sunil P. Elayidom has said.
He was delivering a lecture on ‘Killing politics and dying democracy’ against the backdrop of the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, here on Thursday.
The event was organised by the Kozhikode Samskarika Vedi.
Mr. Elayidom said that Hindutva forces were corroding the basic features of our cultural life with their political ideology of alienating “the other”. This was happening because our national cultural values were not inclusive like our national political values.
“The political content of Indian nationalism was inclusive because it contained various streams of thoughts. But the cultural content was highly Brahminical and based on the Vedic culture,” he said.
Mr. Elayidom said that the values espoused by other philosophies such as Buddhists, Nyaya-Vaisheshikas, Charvakas were never part of the Indian national cultural life. The Sangh Parivar was using this opportunity to push through their cultural values. Any opposition to the Hindutva politics thus needed a revival of the various shades of Indian philosophy and culture, he suggested.
“We also need to strengthen our secular values. Indian secularism is not imported from the West, as being alleged by the Hindutva proponents. It evolved here itself as we had a culture of sharing and camaraderie,” he said.
Mr. Elayidom said it did not matter much who killed Gauri, but it was important who created an atmosphere conducive for her murder. She was one of those who valiantly fought against Hindutva and tried to puncture their cultural capital all through her life.
“Democracy dies when the number of people who only think of themselves and not of others rises. Killing of the other leads to the death of democracy and resurgence of fascism,” Mr. Elayidom said.
He was delivering a lecture on ‘Killing politics and dying democracy’ against the backdrop of the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, here on Thursday.
The event was organised by the Kozhikode Samskarika Vedi.
Mr. Elayidom said that Hindutva forces were corroding the basic features of our cultural life with their political ideology of alienating “the other”. This was happening because our national cultural values were not inclusive like our national political values.
“The political content of Indian nationalism was inclusive because it contained various streams of thoughts. But the cultural content was highly Brahminical and based on the Vedic culture,” he said.
Mr. Elayidom said that the values espoused by other philosophies such as Buddhists, Nyaya-Vaisheshikas, Charvakas were never part of the Indian national cultural life. The Sangh Parivar was using this opportunity to push through their cultural values. Any opposition to the Hindutva politics thus needed a revival of the various shades of Indian philosophy and culture, he suggested.
“We also need to strengthen our secular values. Indian secularism is not imported from the West, as being alleged by the Hindutva proponents. It evolved here itself as we had a culture of sharing and camaraderie,” he said.
Mr. Elayidom said it did not matter much who killed Gauri, but it was important who created an atmosphere conducive for her murder. She was one of those who valiantly fought against Hindutva and tried to puncture their cultural capital all through her life.
“Democracy dies when the number of people who only think of themselves and not of others rises. Killing of the other leads to the death of democracy and resurgence of fascism,” Mr. Elayidom said.
