Idea Of India In The Times Of Sectarian Nationalism
By Ram Puniyani, New Age Islam
25 January 2024
We Need The Ideology Which
Binds The Weaker Sections Of Society, The Dalits, Religious Minorities, Women,
Workers And Adivasis. They Have Many Common Values To Protect And That Is The ‘Idea
Of India’ Which Came With Freedom Movement.
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Satyapal Malik, the ex-Governor of many states stated that
the role of Pulwama and Balakot was very much there in the victory of Modi-BJP
in the previous 2019 General elections. He also predicted some other major
spectacle may happen before the 2024 elections. The hysteria created around the
temple consecration is a spectacle of high order. At the same time Suranya
Aiyer, a lawyer and author has undertaken a fast and penitence, calling it 72
hours of love and sorrow to fellow Muslims. She proclaims her pride in Mughal
heritage. One can see the creation of a stifling atmosphere of divisiveness
around, which sounds very intimidating.
As such temple inaugurations have also been occasions of
promoting communal harmony as a couple of instances will show. Mahatma Gandhi
while inaugurating Laxminarayan Temple (Birla Temple) in Delhi in 1939 had
stated,
“It must be the daily prayer
of every adherent of the Hindu faith…that every known religion of the world
should grow from day to day and should serve the whole of humanity…I hope that
these temples will serve to propagate the idea of equal respect for religions
and to make communal jealousies and strife; things of the past.”
More or less on similar lines Swami Vivekananda had earlier
stated, (1997)
“it is here in India that
Hindus have built and are still building churches for Christians and mosques
for Mohammedans.”
In his book ‘Lectures from Colombo to Almora’ we see Swamiji
stating “Nay more, to understand that not only should we be charitable, but
also positively helpful to each other, however different our religious ideas
and convictions may be. And that is exactly what we do in India as I have just
related to you… That is the thing to do.”
The present atmosphere is in total contrast to this as
reflected by the fast of Suranya. It is also reflected in the incidents where
cultural activists screening censor approved all time classic by Anand
Patwardhan, ‘Ram Ke Naam’ are being arrested and issued non bailable
arrest warrants. This happened in Hyderabad on 20th January.
Then there are claims by the likes of Prafulla Ketkar,
Editor of unofficial RSS mouthpiece Organiser claiming that “the Pran-Pratishtha
(consecration ceremony) of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya was not simply the culmination
of the decades-old Ram Janmabhoomi movement, but the beginning of a
“reconstruction of national consciousness”. This essentially means the whole
process of social change and the idea of India which accompanied the freedom
movement now stands to be negated and what can roughly called ‘Hindu India’ is
already there and multiple steps towards Hindu rashtra have been achieved by
the communal forces.
What accompanied the ‘Idea of India’ was a coming together
of different sections of society to fight the colonial powers, with the
aspirations of striving for Liberty Equality, Fraternity and Justice for all.
This massive movement had the overarching ‘Idea of India’, which culminated in
the values of Indian Constitution.
There were challenges to this idea of India, which were
rooted in the values of Kingdoms and what can be roughly called feudal society.
The core of these values which are being hailed by the forces creating hysteria
around temple consecration were/are the birth based hierarchies of caste, class
and gender. The roots of these lay in the Kings and landlords of different
religions and their ideologues who came forward as Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha
and RSS. While Muslim communal forces are implementing their idea of feudal
values in Pakistan, the Hindu communal forces are now rejoicing, in gradually
increasing intensity, now reaching its semi-peak with Ram Temple consecration.
The idea of India of freedom movement got manifested in the
values of Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar and Gandhi focusing on Liberty Equality and
Fraternity or friendship. Despite few differences with the father of Nation,
Subhash Chandra Bose was also firmly committed to this “idea of India’.
The elite landlord and Manusmiriti worshipping ideology was
the social base of Hindu Rashtra, Hindutva. These forces and this ideology have
grown stronger particularly during last four decades and are rejoicing the
sectarianism becoming stronger by the day. They are also giving narrow
projection of the temple consecration in contrast to what Gandhi and
Vivekananda stood. The sectarian nationalists are for the further deepening of
particular ‘civilizational values’ inherent in what can be called as Brahmanism
inherent in Manusmriti.
Those standing for doing away with the values of Manusmriti,
those integrating all into the umbrella of Indian-ness, those who have stood
together cutting across class, caste and gender are currently under different
types of intimidations of Hindu India, the parallel and opposite of Muslim
Pakistan are emerging.
The only ray of hope for ‘idea of India’ is the same classes
of society who ushered in the Idea of India during freedom movement to come
together. It is their collective movement; the overarching effort to undermine
the forces which gloat over the birth based hierarchical values in the name of
religion, those who uphold the Holy Scriptures in contrast to the Indian
Constitution. Their movements have been scattered. Their group interests may be
different but their interests in protecting the Indian Constitution and Idea of
India which emerged during freedom movements does need a collective expression,
cutting across the groups- party lines.
Many non sectarian parties do exist today. The predecessors
of many of these had fought the British colonial powers together despite their
differences. It is time that the social and political alliance of these
sections of society given primacy. As colonial rule was detrimental to the
interests of large sections of society, similarly those in power ruling through
polarization are also out to undermine the rights of weaker sections of
society. This is abundantly clear during the last ten years or so.
Hysteria cannot be combated by hysteria. We need the
ideology which binds the weaker sections of society, the Dalits, religious
minorities, women, workers and Adivasis. They have many common values to
protect and that is the ‘Idea of India’ which came with freedom movement. Can
Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra be the first step in building such a common platform,
can the Yatra succeed in doing this is the question baying us all?
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Ram
Puniyani is president, Centre of Study of Society and Secularism and has
written several books including Communal Politics: Facts Versus Myths (Sage,
2003), Deconstructing Terrorist Violence (Sage 2015), Indian Nationalism versus
Hindu Nationalism (Pharos 2014) and Caste and Communalism (Olive 2013).
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/idea-india-sectarian-nationalism/d/131586
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