Savarkar’s thwarted ‘racial dream’ on Nepal | Manu S. Pillai

livemint.com - May 25 2018


Savarkar theorized an independent Nepal would emerge ‘as the Defender of the Hindu Faith and the commander of Hindu forces’, mobilizing ‘Hindu rifles’ to ‘spit fire and vengeance in defence of Hindu Honour’

by Manu S. Pillai

A portrait of Savarkar in the central hall of Parliament House. Photo: Hindustan Times

In November 1940, V.D. Savarkar—whose birth anniversary is on 28 May—presented a most fascinating proposition in a newspaper called the Khyber Mail. Authored under his usual pseudonym of “A Mahratta”, the architect of Hindutva went beyond his familiar arguments about “Hinduness” and nationalism here, highlighting instead a political framework in which these concepts could achieve fruition. Ostensibly, this was a rejoinder to a “spineless” statement by Mahatma Gandhi that the nizam of Hyderabad was a potential candidate for emperor of India.

But Savarkar’s “virile antidote” to Gandhi’s “inferiority complex” is not any less puzzling. The thrust of his argument painted India’s rajas (“defenders of Hindu faith and honour…the reserve forces of Hindudom”) and not the nizam as the road to the future. And if, he argued, Hindus in British territory and the princes joined forces, they could offer a sparkling alternative vision for India, establishing a nation that was a veritable “racial dream”.

Like much of Savarkar’s writing, this too features a good deal of anti-Muslim polemics. The “academical” view offered was that if it came to civil war, Hindu military camps would spring up in the princely states, from Udaipur and Gwalior in the north to Mysore and Travancore in the south. “There will not be left a trace of Muslim rule from the Seas in the South to the Jamuna in the North,” while in the Punjab Sikhs would keep at bay the Muslim tribes of the west. Independent Nepal would emerge “as the Defender of the Hindu Faith and the commander of Hindu forces”, mobilizing “Hindu rifles” to “spit fire and vengeance in defence of Hindu Honour”. Indeed, Nepal might even make “a bid for the Imperial throne of Hindusthan”. Its march into India would be reinforced, of course, by Hindus, and at the end of the day they would all together consecrate a Hindu rashtra with its own suzerain, ready to inherit “the Sceptre of Indian Empire” as it fell from colonial hands.

The Hindutva family of organizations understandably perceived a community of interests with the princely states. The latter were, as the scholar Manu Bhagavan observes, viewed as “portals to a pure, ancient past”, “sites of India’s imagined past of purity”, and “the foundation on which the future nation” could be launched. In 1944, in a letter to the ruler of Jaipur, in fact, Savarkar openly declared the Hindu Mahasabha’s policy of “standing by the Hindu states and defending their prestige, stability and power against the Congressites, the Communists, (and) the Moslems”. “Hindu states,” he concluded, “are centres of Hindu power” and naturally, therefore, would become instrumental in the realization of Hindu nationhood. Meanwhile, if not spirited support, the princes certainly provided a degree of encouragement—several Mahasabha meets were hosted in the states, including in highly advanced Mysore and Baroda, and the organization found ample support among the orthodox in princely territory.

What, however, were the chances of the princes uniting around Savarkar’s vision? They certainly did possess networks of blood and kinship that could, in theory, link them. Travancore in Kerala “belonged” to Lord Padmanabhaswamy—a deity whose idol was made of salagram stones from Nepal. The Maratha dynasty in Baroda shared political roots not only with the rulers of Indore and Gwalior in the centre and north but also with the descendants of Shivaji who survived in Tanjore, deep in Tamil country. Mysore, meanwhile, was ruled by Kannadigas, who eagerly sought Rajput brides. To this combination could also be added senior Indian statesmen of the time who thought the Congress vision of India a disaster, and were equally willing, therefore, to consider an alternative plan. As late as July 1947, for instance, the redoubtable Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer (who considered Gandhi a “dangerous sex maniac” and Jawaharlal Nehru “unstable”) was convinced that if power went to the Congress, “civil war…within six months” was inevitable, culminating in the division of India between “half a dozen principalities”—and Sir C.P. was considered “one of the cleverest men in India”.

In reality though, most Indian rajas were more interested in sustaining their decadent lifestyles and reaffirming loyalty to the Raj than in plotting grand designs for India’s future. Many of them were known not for their virile nationalism but for their boudoir passions. They certainly owned 40% of Indian territory, but over 454 of the 565-odd states were made of less than 1,000 sq. miles; only a few dozen had revenue over Rs10 lakh, and even fewer owned armies that truly deserved the name. The greatest of the states, Hyderabad, was inconveniently Islamic, while Kashmir, held by Dogra Rajputs, was majority-Muslim. Add to this mass agitations within the states, encouraged by the Congress, and the heady picture of brave princes rising to inaugurate an Age of Hindutva looked hopelessly remote.

In the end, history didn’t quite play out in the way Savarkar and his confederates theorized. Nehru proved perfectly stable, the Hindutva cause was damaged after Gandhi’s murder, and Sardar Patel integrated most principalities with the carrot of money and status. Despite obituaries and shrill prophecies of danger, India became a secular democracy, and not a Hindu rashtra. And, in perhaps what might have caused the father of Hindutva to recoil in horror, it was not the Nepali dynasty of Savarkar’s “academical” premise that soared to power in New Delhi. Instead, another family emerged to play a formidable role in shaping India’s destiny: one bearing those very names—Nehru and Gandhi—that he viewed with such intense antipathy. What Savarkar envisioned in 1940, then, was a “Future Emperor of India”; what India got in a decade instead was a people’s Constitution, defended by men and women who brooked no kings and shunned all empires.

{Medium Rare is a column on society, politics and history. Manu S. Pillai is the author of The Ivory Throne: Chronicles Of The House Of Travancore.}

India: Hindu nationalism could hinder modern development (Sujeev Shakya)

March 22, 2017

Sujeev Shakya

Hindu nationalism could hinder modern development

After Modi's state poll victory, Nepal and other neighboring countries must deal with India's expanded influence

Activists take part in a rally to support ethnic Madhesis and condemning killing protesters in Rajbiraj, during a demonstartion in Kathmandu, Nepal, March 9. © Reuters

On March 19, Nepal's Rastriya Prajatarntra Party, which represents former royalists in what used to be the world's only Hindu monarchy, offered an amendment to remove the word "secular" from the constitution. This came just two days after India's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party named Yogi Adityanath, a hard-line Hindu priest, as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh after a landslide victory in state elections.
Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state with 200 million people and would be the world's sixth largest country on its own. BJP did not field any Muslim candidates in a state where 20% of the population are Muslims, but decided to highlighted the appeal of Hinduism to consolidate power and prepare for national elections in 2019 in a sign that "populist democracy" is replacing "constitutional democracy."
Many Nepalis seem happy with the latest developments in India, which are keeping hopes alive that their country will reassert its Hindu identity, if not become a Hindu kingdom again. The question is how this development will affect relations with India.
Between September 2015 and February 2016, India imposed a blockade on Nepal ostensibly to protest the adoption of a constitution that ignored the demands of Nepal's ethnic Madhesi population, who live on the country's southern plains and have strong ties with India. The rise of Hindu nationalism, known as Hindutva, in a province bordering Nepal will almost certainly alter the future of Nepali politics and economics.
Nepal's Hindu kingdom lasted for 240 years, until 2008, but failed to deliver much apart from wealthy monarchs, a middle layer of rent-seekers and a majority of subjects mired in abject poverty. Hinduism promoted feudalism and a caste system that divided society and created yawning income inequality. Religious beliefs based on astrology and reincarnation governed people's lives, with the poverty of many blamed on cosmic fate rather than the actions of the government. Extreme wealth was seen as the reward for exemplary past lives rather than the product of corruption. This situation rejected the modern global trend toward meritocracy.

Rent-seekers benefit
The religious practices in Nepal -- as in India -- encourage rent-seeking rather than entrepreneurial pursuits. The upper caste benefits from these beliefs since they are seen as the intermediaries between the almighty and the common people, and thus serve in rent-seeking roles ranging from finding partners for arranged marriages to helping secure government services, including getting a driver's license or health care. It has resulted in what could be described as the "Hindu rate of growth," when it comes to Nepal.
The result is a social system based on nepotism and corruption, one where social status or wealth depends on exploitation that is sanctioned by religion. Those seen as divinely favored are selected not for their individual merit when it comes to business partnerships, for example. Corruption becomes acceptable in a society where bribing gods for favors is seen as normal. As a result, there is no social ostracization of the corrupt. Indeed, they get the best treatment at high-profile social events like weddings. It also explains why political leaders who have been imprisoned for corruption can then re-emerge to take key positions.
How will Hindutva affect India's relations with neighboring countries, many of which have different religious traditions? They include two large Islamic countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and three Buddhist countries, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Myanmar.
South Asian economic integration has been marred by political differences, and the addition of a religious dimension could worsen the problems. When the state tries to use religion to guide development, it can lead to political disaster, as demonstrated by European history and current developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

 

After Modi's state poll victory, Nepal and other neighboring countries must deal with India's expanded influence

The South Asian region could feel the effects of the impact of Hindutva on the Indian economy and business. Brands associated with the Hindutva movement, such as Patanjali, a packaged consumer goods company, are raking in billions of dollars in India and capturing an increased market share in Nepal. Is this the sort of company that will flourish and force neighboring countries into business relationships? One thing for sure: it will be interesting to watch the development of new economic models based on an age-old religion.

Sujeev Shakya, a Kathmandu-based author and entrepreneur, is chief executive of beed management and author of "Unleashing Nepal" (2013).

On New Identity Politics and the 2012 Collapse of Nepal's Constituent Assembly

Modern Asian Studies

 New Identity Politics and the 2012 Collapse of Nepal's Constituent Assembly: When the dominant becomes ‘other’ 

by KRISHNA P. ADHIKARI^a1 and DAVID N. GELLNER^a2

^a1 School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Email: krishna.adhikari@anthro.ox.ac.uk
^a2 School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Email: david.gellner@anthro.ox.ac.uk

Abstract

This article explores the politicization of ethnicity in Nepal since 1990. In particular it looks at how ideas of indigeneity have become increasingly powerful, leading to Nepal becoming the first and—to date—only Asian country to have signed International Labour Organization Convention number 169 (hereafter ILO 169). The rise of ethnic politics, and in particular the reactive rise of a new kind of ethnicity on the part of the ‘dominant’ groups—Bahuns (Brahmans) and Chhetris (Kshatriyas)—is the key to understanding why the first Constituent Assembly in Nepal ran out of time and collapsed at the end of May 2012. This collapse occurred after four years and four extensions of time, despite historic and unprecedentedly inclusive elections in April 2008 and a successful peace process that put an end to a ten-year civil war.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10190984&fileId=S0026749X15000438

 

Jan 2015 Propaganda Video by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti on efferts to get Nepal Declared a Hindu State

How Hindu activists in Nepal are trying to declare it Hindu Rashtra ? 

 

Nepali secularism has pronounced Hindu tilt (Prashant Jha)

Hindustan Times

Nepali secularism has pronounced Hindu tilt

Prashant Jha, Hindustan Times | Updated: Sep 16, 2015 14:33 IST

Hindu activists try to break through a restricted area near the parliament in Kathmandu during a protest rally demanding Nepal to be declared as a Hindu state in the new constitution. (Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar)

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If you believe in secularism, celebrate Nepal's constituent assembly's decision that the country would remain secular as envisaged by its interim constitution. But tone down your excitement, for this is a flawed and ambiguous secularism.

If you believe in the line of argument that 'Nepal was the only Hindu rashtra in the world and so should have remained one', it is time to accept you have lost the battle. At the same time, you don't have to be devastated - for Nepali secularism has a more than pronounced Hindu tilt.

The Hindu card

How did Nepal get here?

Nepal was a Hindu Kingdom - but this was not something divinely ordained, as much as the holy men sitting in Kathmandu's Pashupatinath or Varanasi's Vishwanath temples would like you to believe. It was only in 1962 that the Nepali monarch promulgated a constitution declaring the kingdom to be Hindu. This was a move inspired more by politics than faith.

King Mahendra had just taken over absolute power after dismissing an elected government. The democratic government of Jawaharlal Nehru in India was not too pleased. Mahendra decided to cultivate a conservative cultural constituency in India, and boost his legitimacy at home.

So he played the Hindu card. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), excited about the prospect of an asal Hindustan was saw some hope. I would know. My grandfather was a leading RSS light back then in Nepal and helped connect the Palace and the Sangh.

The triangular dynamic between the Palace, Delhi and Hindu right had its interesting moments. When the Sangh invited Mahendra to attend an event in India, the Congress government was furious and got the ambassador back in Kathmandu to convey its displeasure if the invite was accepted.

And for 44 years, status quo prevailed.

Whenever a monarch in Nepal faced a political crisis, he remembered that he was a Hindu king.

In the late 80s, King Birendra organised a World Hindu Conference, with the RSS-VHP lining up to declare him a World Hindu Emperor. But this could not keep down the democratic aspirations of the Nepali people who succeeded in restoring multiparty democracy in 1990.

This led to a new constitution but the commission to write the statute included palace representatives who insisted on the retention of the Hindu Kingdom as the official status for Nepal. Birendra continued the dalliance with Sangh, attending a mega VHP event in Haridwar before the royal massacre in 2001 obliterated him and his entire family.

His brother, Gyanendra, then took over and projected his Hindu identity even more aggressively. As he trampled on democratic space, VHP supremo Ashok Singhal came to Kathmandu to crown him the Vishwa Hindu Samrat in 2005.

The Hindu card, however, failed once again to douse democracy. The palace had to surrender power to the people.

Struggle for a modern order

This was when Nepal's political class decided it was time to jettison the overt religious identity of the state. There was a clear twofold trigger.

The first was the connection between the monarchy and the Hindu state. The two almost seemed inextricably linked and given the republican upsurge in the country, there was widespread public sanction to do away with the symbols of the old regime.

The second was an even more powerful argument. Nepal, contrary to myths peddled about its homogeneous Hindu character, was and is an extraordinarily diverse society. It has ethnic and religious minorities. Many janjatis, hill tribes, do not identify themselves as Hindus and a clear association of the state with a particular religion was not in tune with the aspiration to create a truly republican and democratic order which would respect minorities and treat citizens equally.

And so, Nepal has remained in this transitional secular state for eight years.

But this has not been easy.

The contestation

Nepali leaders did not take up the job of explaining the idea of secularism to citizens well. Unlike Nehru in India - who spoke about secularism at mass meetings, in his letters to chief ministers and in Parliament - Nepal's political elite went missing in action after introducing the concept. And this left room for doubts, misconceptions, and a lot of conceptual ambiguity.

Elements of the Hindu right went around claiming that secularism would result in cow slaughter at every street corner and yet others projected it to be 'anti-religion'. The Nepali translation, dharmanishpekshta, helped feed into this perception.

To suggest that secularism meant the Nepali state would turn anti-religion was far from the truth. Indeed, a criticism could be made that the state was still too closely associated with Hinduism than the spirit of secularism would allow. The president of the republic - in his capacity as the head of the state - attended Hindu religious functions, and replicated royal practices like giving blessings in the form of putting tika to citizens during Durga Puja.

This was disconcerting for what would happen if a Muslim - Muslims comprise 4% of the population - would become the head of state? Or if a member of another religious or ethnic group was at the helm of the state? Would be expected to do the same?

Yet others projected secularism to be a western import which was surreptitiously smuggled into the political discourse by western donors. There was also a widespread perception that there had been a proliferation of Christian missionary activity post secularism, and Hindus would be demographically marginalised.

A lot of this was, frankly, baseless.

Secularism was not a foreign agenda. It had been advocated by left parties in Nepal who were shaping the discourse in 2005-06 and it was also backed by the janjati activists.

Church activity may have increased - but the deformities and inequities within Hinduism had provided space and reason for people to convert. But irrespective of the debates on rationale for conversion, the 2011 census did not reveal any startling increase in Christian population, which hovered around 2% or less.

Many argued that it was a mistake to view the monarchy and Hindu character of the state together. Monarchy could be dumped, but Nepal could remain a Hindu Republic. This line was supported by key elements in the Sangh Parivar as well as new age gurus like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who has a following in Nepal.

This view ignored that the former monarch and his supporters, however, saw the agenda as intertwined. A return to a Hindu state would undoubtedly embolden royalists. But more importantly, this also ignored the heterogeneity within Nepal. The country had turned secular to respect the sentiments of its ethnic and religious groups and give them a sense of equal citizenship.

NDA's arrival and the Hindu tilt

Those seeking revival of the Hindu state were emboldened when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in New Delhi. In his capacity as party president, Rajnath Singh had clearly said that making Nepal secular was a mistake, others in the Sangh had let their unhappiness known and VHP's Singhal still went back to Nepal often and addressed meetings.

But the Indian establishment has been extremely careful.

Rather early on the BJP government seems to have decided that irrespective of its ideological proclivities, there would be no pressure at all from the state apparatus on Nepal to drop secularism. Neither the ministry of external affairs nor the intelligence apparatus was used. However, the RSS and BJP did convey to Nepali leaders they would prefer if secularism was dropped.

Over the past few months, there was a strong push to replace secularism with respecting the 'freedom of religion' in the constitution - even though many Nepali scholars pointed out these were different concepts. The effort failed but secularism was defined as the protection of sanatan dharma - the Hindu tilt is more than obvious - triggering criticism from ethnic leaders even as the Hindu right folks remain unhappy that the country's old status has disappeared, maybe forever.

Religion is a potent tool in South Asian politics. Nepal has done well in institutionalising secularism. But it must do more to get rid of the ambiguities around the idea, and keep the state away from dispensing patronage to only the dominant religion. India's Hindu groups would do well to follow the lead of the Narendra Modi government and keep away.

(The views expressed by the writer are personal. He tweets as @prashantktm.)

Nepal rejects Hindu nation calls; protesters, police clash (14 september 2015 : AP report)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Nepal-rejects-Hindu-nation-calls-protesters-police-clash/articleshow/48956988.cms

Nepal: ‘Institutionalise secularism’ (Kahmandu Post, 7 September 2015)

The Kathmandu Post

‘Institutionalise secularism’
- Post Report, Kathmandu

Sep 7, 2015- Several religious groups took out a rally in Kathmandu on Sunday demanding institutionalisation of secularism in the new constitution.
Religious communities belonging to Buddhism, Kirat, Islam, Christianity and Bon religions participated in the joint rally which began from Bhrikutimandap and ended near the Constituent Assembly in New Baneshwor. Thousands of people clad in their traditional attires took part in the demonstrations demanding inclusion of secularism as an eternity clause in the new constitution along with certain privileges for minority religions.
The Interim Constitution of 2007 and the preliminary draft of the constitution prepared by the Constituent Assembly both declare Nepal as a secular nation but several factions both within the CA and outside are demanding that Nepal be declared a Hindu nation.
Major parties on Saturday had redefined secularism in the draft constitution with an explanation in the annex that there will be religious and cultural freedom to all citizens and the state will promote ancient religions of the country, particularly Hinduism.
Addressing the gathering, general secretary of Federation of National Christian Nepal CB Gahatraj said that as the 2011 census shows that there are 10 religions practised in the country, secularism is essential to safeguard religious and cultural rights of the followers of these religions. Other religious leaders including Phupu Chhembe Sherpa, Diprendra Rai and Najaril Hussein along with lawmaker and chairman of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities Nagendra Kumal addressed the mass demanding a secular country.
RPP-N bats for Hindu nation
Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal organised a parallel demonstration in New Baneshwor on Sunday demanding that Nepal be declared a Hindu nation. Chairman Kamal Thapa along with supporters chanted slogans against the major parties and disapproved the draft constitution which states Nepal as secular.
Police personnel were deployed in the area fearing possible clash between the two groups of people. But both processions remained peaceful till the end.

Nepal’s revolution to demolish caste structures is dead (Gyanu Adhikari / scroll.in)

scroll.in - 18 August 2015


Nepal’s revolution to demolish caste structures is dead
The new constitution reverts power into the hands of upper caste men, leaving behind the marginalised like the Dalits and the indigenous.
Gyanu Adhikari


After years of gridlock, Nepal’s major political parties have advanced towards the adoption of a new federal constitution by agreeing to divide the country into six states. The country’s Information Minister announced that the agreement has “moved the constitution writing process a step forward”. But has it heralded any real shift from the past?

The defining feature of the political struggle in Nepal has always been the marginalised groups’ fight to change the character and structures of the state, which are designed to favour high caste men. These men, who comprise less than a third of population, have monopolised power to rule over a diverse country, on the back of security forces, for two and a half centuries.

Such was the resentment of the marginalised – the Dalits, the indigenous, women, Madhesis and the poorest – against the centralisation of power that it helped a Maoist rebellion, capitalising on those grievances, spread like wildfire in the late 1990s. For years, Nepal became a war zone with few “rules of war” observed by the warring sides, especially the government forces, until the Maoists laid down arms in 2006. During this time, over 15,000 died. More than 1,300 are still unaccounted for – “disappeared”, mostly at the hands of the then Royal Nepal Army.

When the peace agreement was eventually signed between the Maoist rebels and the government in 2006, they agreed to tackle the chronic sickness at the root of the Nepali state. They made this commitment:

In order to end discriminations based on class, ethnicity, language, gender, culture, religion and region and to address the problems of women, Dalit, indigenous people, ethnic minorities (Janajatis), Terai communities (Madhesis), oppressed, neglected and minority communities and the backward areas by deconstructing the current centralised and unitary structure, the state shall be restructured in an inclusive, democratic and forward looking manner.


Same power structure

How much of this promised “deconstruction” has taken place? Soon after the peace process began, the old constitution was replaced by an interim one, which required proportional representation of the marginalised groups in the parliament and which called for all state organs to be inclusive. Nepal elected a Constituent Assembly that abolished the monarchy which had guaranteed a high caste man at the centre of the centralised and unitary power structure.

But, from the ashes of the old, a new power structure was not born. The first Constituent Assembly expired without framing a constitution in 2012. The Maoists, the indigenous and the Madhesis – then dominant in the Assembly, now a minority – wanted to federate the country along identity lines, taking into consideration the homelands of the indigenous and the marginalised, their language and their culture. This was rejected by the Nepali Congress and its communist-in-name ally, the Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist Leninist. It was a victory of high-caste politics over the outsiders in the power structure.

The Maoists and Madhesis lost the elections for the second Constituent Assembly in 2013, and today, if all goes according to the major parties’ plans, Nepal will have a new constitution by September. This comes with a federal structure that divides the country into six states but with little autonomy, and no consideration to the homelands of the indigenous groups such as Tharu, Magars, Rais, Gurungs, and Limbus, and marginalised territories such as Karnali. As for the task of restructuring the state to make it more inclusive, the new constitution is unlikely to give political power to the excluded, except in a southern state comprising mostly of Madhesis.

Ominous signals

No wonder, then, that Nepal is once again engulfed in protests from the marginalised seeking greater space in the power structure. But the political winds do not favour them. The Maoists in the Constituent Assembly have capitulated to the status quo, and the prevailing mantra has gone from the liberation of the oppressed to “take what you can get”, whether it is in the constitution or the spoils of power.

The signals are ominous. Constitutional commitment to inclusion is ignored by the government and the Supreme Court, a bastion of conservatism (when the Judicial Council appointed 60 judges in July, it included no Dalits, one woman and six indigenous individuals; the rest were high-caste men). The draft constitution denies equal rights to women. The high-caste status quo that never accepted the agenda of inclusive democracy is unitedly throwing its might around, while change-seekers bicker in one hundred camps.

In Kathmandu, during demonstrations, menacing forces led by convicted politicians dancing with swords to rally for a Hindu state get police protection, while Dalits asking for rights get beaten up. The government is increasingly willing to use force to quell dissent – Dalits, Madhesis, and anti-federalists have been at the receiving end of batons and bullets in recent months.

At the end of the day, power will remain in the hands of high caste men for the foreseeable future. Constitution writing, a task aiming to reach for the highest ideals, has been reduced to petty quarrels over protecting one’s constituency in the next elections by any means necessary, including secretly changing the language of the draft constitution while with the typists. Nepal’s revolution, and the prospects of a liberal beacon emerging in the Himalayas, is over for now.

The writer is co-founder of recordnepal.com.

Rastrabadi Muslim Manch in favour Nepal as a Hindu state [Is it connected to Muslim Rashtriya Manch of the RSS?]

Banke Muslims for secularism

- Post Report

KATHMANDU, AUG 12 - The Muslim community in Banke district has refuted claims made by some members of their community who, according to recent media reports, had stated that Nepal should be a Hindu nation and that a majority of Islam followers adhered to that view.

In a press statement on Tuesday, the Banke Muslim Community said that they are in favour of secularism. The community also demanded that the new constitution should ensure the rights of every religion by adopting secularism. Meanwhile, Nepali Congress lawmaker Abdul Hamid Siddiqui said that it was wrong to declare that more than 80 percent Muslims in Nepalgunj wanted a Hindu state.

“Of course people can have individual views, but you can’t go about making such claims. This has angered religious leaders from the community,” he said.

UML lawmaker Junaid Ansari, who is also the general secretary of Nepal Ettihad Association, said that individual remarks should not be confused with institutional stance.

“Anyone is entitled to have individual view about religion, but institutionally Muslims across the country are in favour of a secular state,” he said.

A recent news report had quoted some of the members of the Nepalgunj-based Rastrabadi Muslim Manch claiming that 80 percent of the Muslims in Nepalgunj were in favour of seeing Nepal as a Hindu state.

Posted on: 2015-08-12 08:29

Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/08/12/national/banke-muslims-for-secularism/409324.html

Nepal: Federalism, republicanism and secularism

Nepali Times, 31 July - 6 Aug 2015 #769

Federalism, republicanism and secularism
Whatever the political compromise, Nepal's new constitution must stand on these three pillars of inclusive democracy

by Anurag Acharya

Last Tuesday, the controversial Hindu priest Kamalnayanacharya published an appeal in a mainstream Nepali paper calling on majority Hindus to launch a ‘religious war’ against secularism. A week later, Hindu groups continue to vandalise and obstruct life across the country, demanding that Nepal go back to being a theocratic state.

While the individual’s religious freedom comes under the ambit of fundamental rights guaranteed in the draft constitution, there is no basis for questioning the provision of declaring Nepal a secular state. In a democracy, defining the character of the State as secular ensures its neutrality in religious affairs, essential to maintaining communal harmony. India, which has a larger Muslim population than Pakistan, chose to be a secular republic. Because of its secular constitution, the country’s religious minorities are enjoying equal freedom, even under conservative right-wing governments.

The Sushil Koirala government’s tacit support of religious extremists risks an escalation of tensions. Here in Sunsari, the local police was sympathetic to the protestors demanding a Hindu state. The fact that lawmakers have been repeating public concern for religious freedom in the ongoing CA deliberations is proof that they haven’t done enough to convince their constituencies that a secular state can impartially protect and guarantee religious freedom for all. This has raised serious doubts about whether our own lawmakers fully appreciate the principle of secularism in a democracy, in the first place.

Last week’s feedback-gathering campaign also saw bitter clashes in the Tarai districts where locals protested against the draft constitution and burnt copies. Cadres affiliated to Madhes-based parties obstructed the feedback gathering process. UML leader Madhav Nepal was attacked in Rautahat, while protesters hurled stones at UCPN-M Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal who fled the scene. Similarly, an unidentified group lobbed a petrol bomb at Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat’s vehicle in Nuwakot.

These attacks are not acceptable, but they were expected. We were taking a dangerous gamble by trying to postpone federal demarcation in the draft constitution. Fed up with Kathmandu-centric politics and development, people had decisively called for Nepal to be declared a federal state from the streets during the Madhes movement, a demand that was incorporated in the Interim Constitution 2007 after 56 people lost their lives.

The last CA was dissolved precisely because the parties could not agree upon the number and boundary of the provinces. So, when the draft was tabled in the CA three weeks ago proposing to postpone the demarcation of provinces, Madhes-based parties protested once again. The protests inside the CA resonated with the local mood here in the Tarai, as thousands took to the streets. A week later, the situation remains fluid.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned police brutality during the crackdowns and instructed the government to take action against the guilty officers who used disproportionate force. The rights body has also taken exceptional note of serious flaws in the draft and submitted its written concern to the CA Chairman Subhas Nembang.

“We are worried that the draft has overlooked universal principles of human rights and our international commitments in some provisions including citizenship rights to women,” Commissioner Mohana Ansari told me this week.

Article 12 on citizenship limits women from passing down equal citizenship to their children. Similarly, article 24(2) allows the state to ‘regulate’ the media, a draconian clause that could be abused to suspend press freedom. Article 36(3) which guarantees right to free higher education for disabled and economically marginalised, has been limited by subjecting it to formulation of bylaws. There are similar limitations on the right to health, right to food, and rights of senior citizens, the homeless and the Dalits.

Nepal has already been embarrassed internationally for its mistreatment of refugees, so watering down fundamental rights could see the country plunge further in the global human rights index. "Fundamental rights must be stated clearly in the constitution because they come immediately into effect and the state cannot postpone them under any pretext," the NHRC says in its feedback to the CA.

There has been a deluge of such feedback in the past two weeks during the public consultation process. Still, hundreds of thousands of farmers reeling under a severe drought in the Tarai and those affected by the quake remained unaware of the proceedings. The best way to uphold their injured aspirations is by ensuring that Nepal’s new constitution adopts an inclusive democratic character in letter and in spirit.

Kudos to all the progressive politicians: ‘Secularism’ to go from Nepal constitution

The Hindu
KATHMANDU, July 27, 2015

‘Secularism’ to go from Nepal constitution

IANS

A majority of people wanted the word to be replaced by "Hindu" or "religious freedom," according to Nepal’s Constituent Assembly

In a major change, Nepal’s political parties have agreed to remove the word “secularism” from the new constitution.

Nepal was declared a secular country in 2007 after Nepal’s hardcore Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist joined mainstream politics after a decade-long insurgency that killed over 13,000 people.

The decision ended Nepal’s century-old identity as the world’s only Hindu kingdom. Over 80 per cent of Nepal’s population is Hindu.

People wanted it

The political parties were forced to take a U-turn after millions of people, in their suggestions and feedback on the new constitution, called for the removal of the word “secularism”.

A majority of people wanted “secularism” to be replaced by “Hindu” or “religious freedom,” according to Nepal’s Constituent Assembly that is now busy studying people’s views vis-à-vis the new constitution.

Nepal is on the verge of promulgating the new constitution.

It doesn’t fit: Prachanda

“The word secularism does not fit. So we are replacing it by another word,” UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda told the media on Monday.

“The word has irked people... It has hurt the sentiments of millions,” he said. “We must respect the verdict of the people.”

The Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist and the Madeshi-based political parties also wanted “secularism” to go.

Other feedbacks from people included a directly elected prime minister or president.

How ‘Hindu’ is ‘new’ Nepal? (Yubaraj Ghimire)

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/how-hindu-is-new-nepal/

(Indian Express - July 25, 2015)

How ‘Hindu’ is ‘new’ Nepal?

by Yubaraj Ghimire

A badly mismanaged transition phase in Nepal’s politics is coming to an end. But there is no clear exit from the disorder yet

Despite being called a “Hindu state” in the constitution since 1962 with a “Hindu monarch”, the old Nepal was a more liberal society, tolerant of all faiths, although with strict laws against conversion.

Nazma Khatoon, a member of the Constituent Assembly (CA), put on a riot helmet before she occupied a chair to solicit public opinion on the preliminary draft of the constitution on Tuesday. Khatoon took the necessary precaution as top leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Prachanda had faced public fury a day earlier, having to be rescued by security forces. People are divided on both the content of the draft as well as the manner in which public opinion is being solicited, with just 48 hours allotted to it.

An overwhelming majority wants Nepal declared a “Hindu” state. This deals a near-fatal blow to the radical agenda imposed by the forces that have come to power since April 2006. India had mediated a settlement between the Maoists and seven other parties, bringing them together against the direct rule of King Gyanendra. The euphoric parties had thereafter refused to seek a larger public debate on crucial issues and unilaterally declared, in a phased manner, that Nepal would be federal, secular and a republic. Due process was not followed when these radical changes were made. The international community, led by India, had readily endorsed these changes, little realising that the direct involvement of the people was the best guarantee for institutionalising the changes.

In fact, these nine years of change have been the most intolerant phase in Nepali politics, when anybody asking for democratic norms and respect for due process and dissenting voices was branded “regressive”. It was practically an eight-party dictatorship in Nepal, which had a brute majority in the CA and yet failed to deliver the constitution. A CA member having to wear a riot helmet shows the level of distrust between the people and their leaders. Public lack of trust in the constitutional draft is likewise growing in the same proportion.

Despite being called a “Hindu state” in the constitution since 1962 with a “Hindu monarch”, the old Nepal was a more liberal society, tolerant of all faiths, although with strict laws against conversion.

But the parties that assumed power in 2006, Nepal’s foreign donors, the international community and civil society appeared to be swayed by the argument that if Nepal had to become a republic, its “Hindu” identity must be done away with. The idea of secularism was never debated. Moreover, the West, international NGOs and some UN organs openly advocated the right to conversion as an integral part of secularism. Then British Ambassador Andrew Sparkes had to resign when the Nepal government reprimanded him for his open letter to CA members to lobby for the right to conversion. This episode had also demonstrated the unwarranted extent of engagement foreign diplomats had with the constitution-writing process, which fell squarely in the sovereign sphere of Nepal’s people. The international community had earlier extended its support also to “ethnic federalism”, which implied breaking Hindu groups into “ethnic units” to demarcate provinces. With Nepal’s political parties now completely discredited, Hindu groups, together constituting more than 85 per cent of the population, have become vocal in sharing their perception that they are being divided and persecuted. The “new and progressive” Nepal now needs to settle the question of religion and its role in politics, including constitution-writing.

The undue involvement of outside powers on the issue of secularism seems to have brought hitherto unorganised groups together, demanding the restoration of Nepal’s Hindu status. “Why are outsiders being allowed to speak their mind and extend monetary, diplomatic and political support to secularists, and why are we, the people of Nepal, not being allowed to have our say?” asked Kumar Regmi, a constitutional lawyer and member of the Nepali Congress, who has now joined the national campaign for a “Hindu” Nepal.

If the matter is taken to a referendum, the outcome is easily anticipated. Ignoring public sentiment, which has now been clearly articulated, will further discredit the failed constitutional process. This seems to be the end of a badly mismanaged radical phase in Nepali politics, but without a clear exit from the mess the actors, domestic and foreign, have created.

So what happened during Adityanath's Trip with right wingers to Nepal for Earthquake relief

Yogi Adityanath plans Nepal trip with team to reconstruct temples

HT Correspondents, Hindustan Times, Lucknow| Updated: May 04, 2015 00:37 IST

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP from Nepal-bordering Gorakhpur,Yogi Adityanath plans to lead a team of right wing organisations to Nepal to assist in the reconstruction of the temples that were damaged in the earthquake.

Adityanath, who is the head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, visited Sonauli town, which is on the border, on Saturday to oversee relief work done by his Gorakhnath temple trust. “Two teams sent by the Gorakhnath temple trust are carrying out relief and rehabilitation works in Kathmandu valley as well as the Gorkha district that was the epicentre of the earthquake. I visited some villages and assured all assistance to the quake victims. The inclement weather is playing villain in the relief work” he said.

The MP said that India has a cultural and religious bond with Nepal. “The temples and pagodas in the Bhaktapur area have been badly damaged. The Gorakhnath temple trust has a long association with Nepal and has built some of the temples as well. Once the situation turns normal we will hold talks with the Nepalese government for the reconstruction of the temples”, he said.

Adityanath said he had met officers of security agencies on the border and held discussions regarding measures being taken to check infiltration of the anti-national and anti-social elements into India after the earthquake. “The central intelligence agencies have already sounded an alert that anti-national elements might take advantage of the chaos in Nepal to enter India and engage in disruptive activities,” he said. [. . .]
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/yogi-adityanath-plans-nepal-trip-with-team-to-reconstruct-temples/article1-1343648.aspx

Nepal 2015 Earthquake: RSS relief work facing some problems

RSS relief efforts in Nepal face policy hurdle

Written by Shyamlal Yadav | New Delhi | Published on:May 1, 2015 3:53 am

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has launched relief work in quake-hit Nepal, is facing several obstacles in ensuring that help reaches those in need.

Nepal government’s provision that all relief money and material must be routed through Nepal government agencies has turned out to be a major hurdle.

While RSS is collecting donations for the relief work, the flow of this fund to their workers in Nepal is going to be affected by Nepal government’s policy.

Shyam Parande, one of those co-ordinating the relief work from Delhi, told The Indian Express: “Yes we are facing some problem. But we are in constant touch with Nepal authorities and our government to sort things out.”

RSS sah-sarkaryawah (joint general Secretary) Dattatreya Hosabale, who is in Nepal to monitor the relief work, on Tuesday met Nepal Prime Minister in this regard.

RSS leaders are also pursuing the matter through Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.

“Nepal government machinery is yet to reach several affected areas in interior of the country. Our work is getting affected because of their single window policy,” said an RSS functionary.

One of the dozen RSS pracharaks working in Nepal said, “We have to sort out the issue because Nepal government agencies require sufficient support to handle relief and rehabilitation work.”

Also, Nepal authorities did not allow blankets and tarpaulin to be sent by cargo. The RSS sent this material by the land route where authorities, they said, are “co-operative”. Most of its 15-truck material was sent to Nepal through its base camp at Raxaul in Bihar’s East Champaran district.

Senior RSS pracharak Subedar Singh, working in Dharm Jagran Samiti, is co-ordinating relief work from the Bihar. Singh, who was among the first to reach Nepal after the earthquake, told The Indian Express, “Government agencies are focusing on Kathmandu, but we have moved our swayamsevaks to rural areas where we have good access.”

Initially, there was a demand of doctors so RSS mobilised a team of around 20 doctors from Varanasi and an equal number from Haryana.

Later, they were informed of a need for medicines and other medical equipment. On Wednesday, medicines of around Rs 3 lakh were sent from Delhi.

The RSS has also asked pharmaceutical firms in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to donate medicines for the cause.

RSS operates in Nepal by the name of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh which, it claims, has over 150 shakhas across the country. Its other affiliates working in Nepal are Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Jan Kalyan Pratisthan and ABVP branch Pragyik Vidyarthi Parishad.

Sources from the organisation said while around 400 local workers have joined relief operations, around 200 have reached Nepal from India, particularly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand. RSS is also planning to launch yearlong rehabilitation work in the quake-hit country.

source URL: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/rss-relief-efforts-in-nepal-face-policy-hurdle/

Nepali earthquake April 2015: Senior RSS office bearer, Hosabele, to coordinating with Nepal RSS

Apr 27 2015 : The Economic Times (Kolkata)

Hosabele to Co-ordinate Relief Works Via Nepalese Wing of RSS

Nistula Hebbar

New Delhi:





Our HSS volunteers have started work, says Vaidya

Senior RSS office bearer, Dattatreya Hosabele, has left for Nepal to co-ordinate relief activities through the Nepalese wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( R S S ) , k n ow n a s t h e H i n d u Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS).“There have been conflicting re ports that RSS has sent off its people to Nepal for relief work, that is not true. Our volunteers of HSS have started work, but they are Nepalese.It is a foreign country and we need to co-ordinate with the government of Nepal for any relief work through the RSS,“ said Sangh's Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya.“Dattaji has gone to Nepal and he will co-ordinate what HSS needs to do, and whether it is alright with the government of Nepal, for us to send people from here,“ he added.
He said that RSS shakhas outside of India were nomenclatured as the HSS, and that some volunteers from the Nepal wing had distributed dry food and water to those left stranded by the earthquakes. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been fair ly prompt in rescue and relief works in the past and it forms an important part of its activities as an organsiation. According to BJP VicePresident Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, RSS began its activities in rescue work after the 1979 cyclone in Andhra Pradesh, and Morvi floods in Gujarat after the Macchu Dam burst its walls, also in the same year.

RSS outfit sewa Bharti appeals for Quake aid in Nepal

Sewa Bharati Appeals for Nepal EarthQuake Victims
http://www.sewabharathi.com/2015/04/sewabharati-appeals-for-nepalearthquake.html

China is passé, learn from Nepal (Jawed Naqvi)

http://www.dawn.com/news/1149671/china-is-passe-learn-from-nepal


ISLAMIC tradition advises Islam’s followers to travel to China to seek knowledge. India’s Hindus, particularly the ones combating the Hindutva juggernaut that seeks to turn the country into a theocratic state, need not go that far. They could arm themselves for the fight by simply taking a leaf from Nepal.

For the record, Nepal is a former Hindu kingdom, the globe’s only such, which recently became a secular democratic state. The journey took years of struggle in which blood was unfortunately shed on both sides. Nepal’s monarchs, who had claimed divinity as avatars of Lord Vishnu, have been firmly relegated to the dustbin of history, hopefully for all time to come.

So this is the given equation, an impoverished and landlocked Hindu kingdom pulls a rabbit out of the hat to become secular and democratic nation as a proud sovereign member in the comity of nations.

On the other hand, a secular democratic state created primarily by the Hindus of India, including Gandhi, is hurtling towards a theocratic order. The Nepal example could be useful for those liberal and leftist Indians that you may have been meeting over the past month in seminars and group discussions. The meetings usually aim to appreciate and applaud the scientific spirit that Jawaharlal Nehru strove to breathe into India’s moribund social arteries.

Nepal has shown, however, that Nehruvian dreams, though essential in many ways for India’s tryst with modernity, cannot be realised in seminar rooms alone. The once robust mass struggles against exploitation, inequality, superstition and institutionalised prejudice have either run aground or have been handed over to NGOs. India’s opposition has had more than six months to recover from its debilitating defeat at the hands of a right-wing upsurge it did not anticipate. It doesn’t have much more time to act.

There is no dearth of issues, primarily economic plunder of natural resources, that seek its urgent attention. These could become the opposition’s vehicle to revitalise democratic institutions at risk.
Modi has been wearing his religious zeal on his kurta, presenting copies of Hindu scriptures to every foreign leader he befriends.

Dozens of women died recently in Chhattisgarh, which is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, during what should have been routine sterilisation operations. An unacceptable number of old men and women were left blinded the other day in Punjab when their cataract operations went horribly wrong.

Another working woman was brutally raped in Delhi at the weekend, reviving memories of the horrific incident in a bus during Congress rule. All these are fresh events that took place in regions that are ruled directly or indirectly by the prime minister’s party. Discussing Nehru is necessary, particularly when Hindutva is challenging his legacy, but a more effective challenge can be thrown to his critics by organising for what promises to be a long and bitter struggle.

Organising for any battle needs an assessment of the adversary and perhaps an even greater grasp of one’s own strengths as well as weaknesses. There are easy conclusions and their counter-arguments that India is headed for a religion-led fascist state. Two models seem to fit or perhaps inspire Hindutva in the latter direction. In the way it seeks to penetrate and overwhelm state institutions as strategy it bears a canny resemblance to Gen Ziaul Haq’s fervent moves to Islamise Pakistan.

The right-wing religious Jamaat-i-Islami’s innate propensity for street violence coupled with its cadre-based discipline is reflected also in the various structural organs of Hindutva. Like the Jamaat, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mainly targets the country’s liberal identity, chiefly the Hindus be they communists or caste-based resistance leaders in places such as Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. Targeting religious minorities is a strategy at best, not the objective of this mission.

Another feature from the Zia era that underscores the likeness with the current political climate in India is the fact that Pakistan registered what was perhaps its highest economic growth during the first half of the military dictatorship that toppled the Bhutto government. As India’s respected economist Prof Prabhat Patnaik said during a lecture on Nehru’s centralised planning model last week, any emphasis on growth that doesn’t do due diligence for poverty alleviation is essentially fascist in character. The Indian obsession with growth has smacked of this tendency.

A second Hindutva model for India that comes to mind is a mishmash of Iran and Nepal. The endeavour is to strengthen the clergy à la Iran by chipping away at or the sudden dismantling of the state’s inbuilt secular foundations. Consolidation of this impulse could come with an authoritarian whip hand in the manner of the erstwhile monarchy in Nepal, which the RSS admired and supported.

Mr Modi has been wearing his religious zeal on his kurta, presenting copies of Hindu scriptures to every foreign leader he befriends. His foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, not hitherto known to be of a publicly religious deportment, seems to have fallen in line. She reportedly said in Delhi on Sunday the Bhagwad Gita should be made a national scripture. The opposition as always is being tested and so far only Mamata Banerjee has come out to openly slam the resolve.

A truly resounding snub to Mr Modi’s missionary zeal reportedly came from Nepal though. According to reports out of Kathmandu, Mr Modi cancelled a planned visit to the Ramjanaki temple in Nepal after a group of 22 Nepali parties officially protested. They opposed Mr Modi’s plans for religious propaganda.

Indeed, according to Nepali reports, a special procession from the Indian temple in Ayodhya had arrived overnight to celebrate the promised speech.

Noting that Mr Modi was the leader of a clearly Hindu party, Maoist leader Ramchandra Jha, who led the protest, was sanguine. “We asked the governments of Nepal and India to cancel this meeting and proposed that Modi speak at another, secular venue. We fought for years to have a secular federal republic.” Indian liberals should applaud Mr Jha for speaking up.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi.

Published in Dawn December 9th , 2014

India - Nepal: Modi avoids VHP's Ram Barat from Ayodhya to Janakpur (the RSS background governor of UP attends in ayodhya)

firstpost.com

PM in Nepal: Modi delivers VHP a subtle snub, sidesteps Ram Barat

by Chandrakant Naidu Nov 25, 2014 19:44 IST


Why did the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) keep its activists uninformed about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s polite snub over Ram Temple programme in Ayodhya? The VHP had hyped the possibility of Modi joining the Ram Barat that travels every five years from Ayodhya to Janakpur in Nepal.

This year’s barat is already on way to Janakpur. The VHP continued to capitalise on the prime minister’s anticipated participation through misleading announcements by different leaders despite clear indications of his unavailability. Over a fortnight ago the PMO had sent a regret note to VHP general secretary Champat Rai on his invitation to join the celebrations either at the beginning on 17 November or on the concluding day on 30 November. The VHP continued to play hide-and-seek till the PMO issued another announcement to set all speculation on the issue, to rest.

Even in Nepal people expectantly prepared for Modi’s Janakpur visit at the end of the SAARC summit. Sunday’s announcement by the PMO about the cancellation of the trip led to violent protests in that country. The Maoist government strove hard to avoid embarrassment before an important international event. While the Nepalese ministers are blaming each other for mishandling the Janakpur episode, Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) attributed Modi’s inability to visit there to “unavoidable domestic commitments”. Now he will travel only to Kathmandu to attend the Summit. "The Prime Minister deeply values the special relationship between India and Nepal and will always welcome every occasion to visit Nepal and interact with the leadership and the people of Nepal," Akbarrudin said, adding that the PM looks forward to an early opportunity to visit Janakpur, Lumbini, Muktinath.

During his last visit to Kathmandu, Modi had promised to include the three pilgrim towns in his itinerary. Modi’s maiden visit to Nepal as PM - first by an Indian PM in 17 years -- had a major impact on the local people. Nepal is now keen to add value to the SAARC summit by organising a Modi-Nawaz Sharif meeting. So, while the Hindutva issue gets side-lined a more vexing issue comes up on the agenda on the side-lines. Modi’s office has denied any such moves so far. But, the Nepalese are quite confident of bringing the leaders of the two key South Asian nations to engage in a dialogue.

The moderates are praising Modi for deftly handling the issue. The Ram Mandir Trust in Ayodhya along with VHP had been trying to rope in Modi since June last year. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik who threw propriety to winds and joined the programme in Ayodhya had heightened expectations saying Modi would find a solution to the vexing issue in five years. The VHP knows that unless Modi associates himself with the Ram Mandir project there would be no thrust to the programme. Even during the election campaign the VHP had wanted to visit Ayodhya and join the prayers like he did in Varanasi. Just to reset the tone the VHP is now warning that it would not wait for five years for a decision on the temple.

Modi has refrained from commenting on the construction of the temple at Ayodhya ever since he assumed office. He is aware of the legal and constitutional ramifications of joining a mission that aligns him with VHP’s activity.

Modi draws his political strength from the Sangh muscles. But, his priority is to scale new heights on international leadership chart. The need to make a mark in the international comity and to stay in the good books of global investors he will need to steer clear of inflammable issues like Ayodhya, especially since courts have not been able to find a legal solution to them so far.

Though there have been numerous instances of heads of government participating in Ram Barat the VHP’s keenness to get the prime minister to join the Ram Barat had acquired communal overtones. Both Mohan Bhagwat of the RSS and Ashok Singhal of VHP have described the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya as soul of BJP’s agenda.

Another reason that keeps Modi away from VHP’s activities is his opposition to Praveen Togadia, a former colleague in the Sangh Parivar since the early eighties. The two parted ways after the 2002 elections in Gujarat and Modi has kept Togadia supporters in check ever since and under pressure from the Supreme Court. Togadia and VHP have lost much of their clout in Gujarat. Togadia had also mocked Modi’s effort to woo Muslims through Sadbhavna yatras. Those keen to see Modi shedding his hawkish image will welcome his new-found secular avatar.

Modi in Nepal: Religion and Diplomacy

Indian Express

Modi in Nepal: Religion and Diplomacy
Written by C Raja Mohan | Posted: November 24, 2014 10:24 am | Updated: November 24, 2014 10:26 am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision not to travel to Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath, three important religious places in Nepal, and limit his visit this week to Kathmandu, which is hosting the South Asian summit, has disappointed many on either side of the border.

For some though it is a relief. Many liberals in Nepal and India have long been concerned that the victory of Narendra Modi in the last general elections might undermine India’s secular foundations, “saffronise” India’s foreign policy, project the Hindutva agenda into Nepal and empower the much despised royalists in that country.

Modi’s visit to the Pashupatinath temple during his visit to Kathmandu in August and the PM’s offer of prayers there led to much grumbling in Delhi and sections of the leftists in Nepal.

But Modi’s display of his religiosity in public was never an issue for the masses on either side of the border. They would expect all visitors, especially Hindus, to make sure they have a ‘darshan’ of Lord Pashupati.

Asia is a deeply religious place. Leaders from Pakistan and Bangladesh would never to miss an opportunity to visit Ajmer Sharif when they happen to be India. Visitors from East Asia make sure they go to Saranath. Political figures from far and near make a beeline for India’s god-men.

Indian spirituality has enjoyed a significant global market especially since the 1960s when the Beatles showed up at the door of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi. Today yoga is all the rage, in both the east and the west.

Does India’s constitutional commitment to secularism prevent an Indian prime minister from wearing his religiosity in public? Jawaharlal Nehru, the atheist, had no reason to visit religious places at home or abroad; but our first PM always celebrated the civilizational heritage of India and the world. The religiosity of his successors has spanned a wide range.

The canon of secularism does not ordain that political leaders be ‘areligious’. What it demands is a clear separation of personal beliefs in God and the formation of state policies.

India will have every reason to be concerned if Modi’s personal faith or the Hindu religious organizations associated with his political party, the BJP, begin to influence the nation’s foreign policy.

There is no evidence of that so far. By endorsing a republican constitution for Nepal and refusing to meet former King Gyanendra, Modi has dissociated himself from the presumed preferences of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and others.

Modi, however, is absolutely right in recognizing that cultural and spiritual bonds between India and Nepal provide a strong foundation for building an enduring partnership with Kathmandu.

Even more important, Modi is very conscious of the potential of the shared heritage in transforming the economic fortunes of the India-Nepal borderlands. This region hosts some of the world’s oldest religious sites, including the birthplace of Buddha in Lumbini as well as Ayodhya and Janakpur associated with the Ramayana.

Modi has long argued that tourism is an important means to promote economic growth and create jobs. Religious tourism, the PM has suggested, could be the basis for rapid economic growth on both sides of the Himalayas. The religious heritage of this region is of great interest not only to the people of the Subcontinent but also of the entire world.

Modi’s visit to Janakpur and Lumbini would have highlighted the importance of modernising trans-border connectivity, preserving the rich heritage, and turning the many ancient cities in the region into modern centres for pilgrimage and tourism.

Ideas for twinning cities, for example Ayodhya with Janakpur and Saranath with Lumbini were reportedly on Modi’s agenda. He can surely finalise some of these agreements during his visit to Kathmandu when he meets Nepal’s leadership on the margins of the South Asian summit.

The Foreign Office in Delhi has said Modi’s preoccupation with the election campaign in Jharkhand and Kashmir is the main reason for canceling the visits to Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath and that the PM will travel there at the earliest opportunity.

One hopes that by the time Modi gets to these places, India would have taken concrete steps towards the promotion of trans-border connectivity and tourism between the two countries.

(The writer is a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and a contributing editor for The Indian Express)
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/modi-in-nepal-religion-and-diplomacy/99/

Nepal: Hindu Far Right Mob Attacks Feminists Gathered to Discuss Women’s Security in Public Spaces

The Record (Kathmandu) 6 august 2014

Hindu mob attacks feminists gathered in a park to discuss women’s security in public spaces
The mob, calling the women “Christians”, vandalized their tent and threatened to decapitate all of them
by The Record Kathmandu Wednesday August 06, 2014

The feminist reading group Chaukath couldn’t have made its point clearer, in a more ironic way. Their discussion on women’s access and security at public spaces held in Ratna Park on Tuesday evening, August 5, was broken up when a mob comprising of a Hindu guru and his disciples attacked the women, calling them “Christians” and “whores”.

The mob, comprising of at least two hundred people, overwhelmingly male, tore and trampled upon a small, white tent the women had set on the side of Rani Pokhari pond. One brandished a trident. The mob was comprised of the followers of organizations calling for Nepal to be declared a Hindu state, including Baidik Sanatan Hindu Rastra Nepal, Sansthagat Samyukta Sangharsa Samiti, and Dharma Rakshak Bahini. At times, it was lead by “youth saint” Shree Shreeniwascharya.

The mob comprised of groups calling for a Hindu state. Photo: Usha TitikshuThe screaming mob encircled the reading group of about 12 gathered at the public park for more than an hour and chanted slogans in favour of a “Hindu Nepal”. Murder threats to decapitate and mutilate the participants filled the air. The Record’s reporter at the scene described the scene as surreal and intensely intimidating.

The women eventually abandoned the location, albeit reluctantly, after they were warned several times by the leaders of the mob to go away or face “anything that could happen, which could be murder.” The police at the scene, despite their efforts to quiet down to mob was unable to assure security to the women.

The group continued the discussions at the City Museum in Durbarmarg, where the guest speaker, Kalpana Viswanath, spoke about the importance of urban planning to make cities safe for women in New Delhi and other South Asian cities.

“Today’s event is a further proof that South Asian culture excludes women from public spaces,” Viswanath said, “We should never forget that everyday harassments of women needs to be fought along with crimes like rapes.”

The Deputy Superintended of Police Rajkumar Silwal, who told The Record that the mob became excited when it was told (falsely) that it was a meeting of Christians advocating killing cows.

“I was told that a group of Hindu was attacking a group of Christians. But when I got there, I found out that it was a rumor to incite violence. If the victims file complaints at the District Administration office naming those involved, we’ll jail the inciters,” he said.

Members of Chaukath repeatedly complained of being treated as a spectacle even before the Hindu mob attacked them.

“The park -- which should be a public space for all genders, classes and ethnicities -- is today a space mostly used by men. First, we became an spectacle, then victim,” said Kala Rai, a member of Chaukath, who thought the police, too, acted unequally by prodding them to leave.

“Out meeting wasn’t about religion, but even if it were, given that Nepal is a secular country, the public space belongs to all religions,” Rai added.

Later, at the City Museum, where the discussion continued until 9 p.m., Rai faced another predicament thousands of women in Kathmandu face everyday.

“It’s dark already, and I’m scared of going home after it gets dark,” she said, and sighed.

*

Update: At the request of a Chaukhat member who cited security fears, a photograph of the mob with a group member posted earlier has been taken down. Chaukath would also like to clarify the feminist collective is more than a reading group. You can read more about Chaukath here: https://www.facebook.com/chaukathnetwork.

Cover photo: Prajwal Tulachan. The face of fury targeted at the feminist group.
- See more at: http://recordnepal.com/wire/hindu-mob-attacks-feminists-gathered-park-discuss-women%E2%80%99s-security-public-spaces