The Frank Interview of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat to Panchjanya and Organiser: 1,000-Year War, Consequent Natural Aggression Of Hindus, Muslim Supremacism, LGBTQ, Et Al
By
Ashok Sharma for New Age Islam
21 January
2023
It Is A Fact That Despite So Many Centuries Of
Rule By Muslim Rulers In Different Parts Of India, It Did Not Become A Muslim Majority
Country. This Fact Has Been Ignored By Mr. Bhagwat.
-----
RSS
chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat
-----
The
interview of RSS chief Shri Mohan Bhagwat to Panchjanya and Organiser
has been widely reported in the media. He has tried to be very frank and candid
in his replies. He has also given the background of some of his thoughts.
First of
all, his reference to what he calls the ongoing "1,000 year-war." It
does not include all migrations which have been chronicled in Indian history
and have not been denied by RSS so far. The invasion of Alexander has been
mentioned by him even though very few Greeks may have stayed back in India.
Moreover, there are many historians who have speculated that the Chitpavan
Brahmins (who dominate the RSS) may also be of foreign origin (probably, Jewish
like Beni Israeli or from the area of old Palestine). Then the arrival of Huns,
Kushans, Bactrians, Scythians (Sakas or Shakas) cannot be ignored as they did
rule parts of the Northern Indian sub-continent.
Islam
arrived in India very early through Arab traders. Kerala, Lakshadweep and some
other parts of South India were the first to see the spread of Islam. In
Malabar, the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam.
All this happened in the 7th Century itself and there were no attacks on the
Indian sub-continent by any Muslim rulers till then. According to the legend of
Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 CE at Kodungallur
in Kerala by the last ruler of Chera Dynasty, who converted to Islam during the
lifetime of the Prophet. During 8th Century AD, a preacher from Basra, Malik
Deenar propagated Islam in South India. Similarly, there is evidence of Arab
and Persian Muslims settling along Gujarat and Konkan coast around 8th Century.
The invasion of Sindh by Mohd. ibn al-Qasim who set up the first Muslim rule in
India by defeating the Brahmin Sindhi ruler Raja Dahir brought the Islamic
political presence to India. Later, Mahmud of Ghazni overran north western
parts of India with his swift cavalry and ferocious power in the beginning of
11th Century. However, the first major Muslim empire (the Delhi Sultanate) was
established by Ghurids (Ghorids) and their slaves in the early 13th Century
only.
When Shri
Bhagwat speaks about the 1,000 year old war, he indicates that the war started
even before the Islamic rule started in parts of India. It seems that according
to him this war started with the attacks of Mahmud of Ghazni who is known to
have destroyed and looted Somnath temple. This may have left a permanent scar
on the Hindu psyche. We are not going to debate about the means deployed for
the spread of Islam in India and the main reasons for the conversion of the
local population into Islam as there will be different views and explanations.
However, it is a fact that despite so many centuries of rule by Muslim rulers
in different parts of India, it did not become a Muslim majority country. This
fact has been ignored by Mr. Bhagwat.
As for
conversions by force or otherwise, Mr. Bhagwat forgets about the conversion of
India into Buddhism and later, reconversion into Hinduism to the extent that
Buddhism almost disappeared from India. Can we ignore the actions of
Pushyamitra Shung who is supposed to have killed so many Buddhist monks?
Disappearance of Buddhism from India needs deeper study and research. Was it
also a war from within? In addition, what happened to other ancient Indian
religions or faiths including Shramanik traditions like Ajivikas ? How were the
Charvaks or Lokayats treated? Even now, many tribes in India have their own
religions and protest against their inclusion in Hinduism. Many Dalit and
Mulnivasi thinkers say that various gods worshipped by Hindus had killed local
tribal leaders who were termed Rakshasas (demons). Many Dalit/Adivasi thinkers
claim that they are the original inhabitants of India who were enslaved by the
Aryans arriving from outside. The caste system is also explained through this
process by them.
There has
been a bigger war within Indian Society for thousands of years. Those who
glorify or defend Manusmriti cannot deny that Shudras were always treated as
outcasts. They did not have even the basic rights like others. Can our RSS
friends claim that casteism was a product of colonialism or Islamic rule? Were
they treated as equals before the foreign invaders arrived in India? If so,
then why do the Manusmriti of Manu and the Arthashastra of Chanakya have
different rules for them? Manusmriti is easily available on the internet and
one can read it to find the contempt it has for the Shudras. They were
subjected to sub-human treatment which was justified by scriptures. The
respective RSS Chiefs have been silent on the caste prejudices and atrocities
still prevalent widely.
Why only
conversion to the religions of non-Indian origin is treated as unwelcome?
Conversion to Sikhism had taken place only a few centuries ago. Was it also
part of this war within? In fact, efforts are being made to include Sikhs in
the larger agenda of Hindutva. Most conversions from Hinduism now are taking
place into Buddhism. The Sangh Parivar had been relatively silent on such
conversions. However, after the episode involving the AAP Minister Rajendra Pal
Gautam in Delhi, the conversion into Buddhism has also come under lens. As the
Dalits are adopting Buddhism and Christianity in modern times due to upper
caste oppression, why does the RSS ignore the fact that many have converted to
Islam because of India’s caste system.
If Islam
and Christianity came to India from outside, Buddhism from India also travelled
abroad to the extent that many countries in the East became Buddhist. Many of
these countries have a significant number of Buddhists. Should Buddhism in
these countries also be treated as being part of some sinister plan especially
when India officially feels proud of this legacy and projects it as India’s
soft power?
Most
countries are witnessing a new churning in their social and religious lives.
The number of non-religious and atheist populations is rising exponentially.
There are countries where the majority population does not believe in any
religion or God. The percentage of such population is rapidly rising in India
too. Will Sangh Parivar force them to believe in God and religion? Will there
be blasphemy laws in India like some Islamic countries which will punish the
apostates?
In any
case, the religious conversions in India are a tiny percentage and the hype
created around it is unwarranted. India is likely to see an increasing number
of people unsubscribing to their respective religions and becoming rational or
atheists.
The
comments of Shri Mohan Bhagwat on LGBTQ are a welcome development. Even though
in a guarded manner, he has accepted that such people have a right to live
normally. It is unfortunate that the Section 377 of the IPC (a Victorian
legacy) was never repealed by any elected Government and had to be struck down
by the Supreme Court after 71 years of Independence due to the persistent
efforts of activists.
The problem
of population explosion in India is the main reason for our backwardness and
poverty. The resources are limited and the expectations are high. However, the
RSS has always tried to make it a communal issue. It is true that some
communities have higher birth rates and do not practice family planning as
vigorously as others. This includes some sections from all religious
denominations. Some have cultural reasons whereas some others cite religious
grounds. Poverty and educational backwardness are the main obstacles. There
will always be some religious fanatics who will preach against family planning.
One can also find some Catholics against family planning despite having a
better educational level. It is unfortunate that Muslims score poorly on the
parameters of education and economic welfare and are more likely to fall prey
to such unscientific arguments. Poor sections among Hindus like Dalits, OBCs
and Tribals are more likely to have higher fertility rates for similar reasons.
Hence, the solution lies in the economic and educational uplift of these
communities along with development of rational thinking and scientific temper.
Mr. S. Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner has written a book ‘The
Population Myth’ which has dealt with this issue in detail. Islamic countries
like Bangladesh and Iran have achieved low fertility rates without any punitive
measures. In fact, the low fertility rate has become a problem in Iran.
Population imbalance due to infiltration is irrelevant now. Bangladesh was
blamed for this. However, in recent years, they are performing better than
India in economic development, exports and human development indices. Their per
capita income has already surpassed that of India.
Shri
Bhagwat says that India was divided after the British left. Even the hundreds
of years of Islamic aggressions could not divide India. It remained united
(Akhand). It seems that he does not recognize that the concept of a Nation
State is very recent. India was a sub-continent and not a Nation State.
Different parts of India were ruled by different Kings at different times. This
sub-continent had many cultures, many languages and many religious traditions.
However, it had some common religious practices, philosophies and beliefs
developed through interactions among various ethnic groups over several
centuries. Different regions continued with their languages, cultures, food
habits, dress, deities and religious practices too. As we know of India today,
it was rarely ruled by a central authority. Even if there were such occasions,
many parts were left out or the local satraps/kings just paid their obeisance
to the winning Samrat occasionally. If the Akhand Bharat was a Nation, then the
entire Europe or the entire Arabia should have also become one Nation each. It
was only during the freedom movement that the concept of the modern Indian
Nationhood was born. Otherwise, we could have ended up with many small Kingdoms
fighting with each other in this sub-continent.
As for the
aggressiveness of Muslims and their Supremacist view, one can only say that all
Muslims were not rulers. The ruling class was very small. Majority of them were
poor peasants, workers and artisans. It is unlikely that they can be held
responsible for the injustices done by Muslim rulers during the rule of Muslim
Kings/Sultans. There is no evidence to suggest that the Hindu rulers were
significantly more benign than Muslim rulers towards their subjects. Both taxed
the poor populations under their control and spent money on luxuries and wars.
It is foolish to think that some Muslim leaders would claim that they had ruled
this country and needed to revive their lost glory. In fact, most Indian
Muslims and their leaders identify themselves with other similarly
disadvantaged groups. They are seeking to put up a joint front with other
underprivileged sections of Indian society.
At the same time, one cannot deny that many
Islamists do have a Supremacist viewpoint. None of the Islamic countries gives
equal rights to non-Muslims. Indonesia was cited as an example of pluralism but
the process of Islamization has picked up and the Indonesian Parliament has
passed a new Criminal Code in December 2022, which seriously violates
international human rights law & standards, the rights of women, religious
minorities, and LGBT people, and undermines rights to freedom of speech and
association. Increasingly, the laws are being made Sharia compliant. In
Malaysia, only the Muslims can claim to be of Malay (Bhumiputra) status and
this is the reason that even non-Muslim Malays had to declare themselves as
Muslims (all Malays have to be Muslim and cannot convert to another religion)
and this is how Malaysia was made a Muslim majority country. Religious
fanaticism of Arab countries, Iran, many Muslim majority countries of Africa
and Pakistan etc. is already well known. Even the countries of Central Asia and
Eastern Europe which under the Soviet influence had become secular, are
witnessing Islamic resurgence. It is a general belief that the Muslims want
secularism and democracy when they are in a minority, but as soon as they
become a majority, they declare an Islamic country and snatch away the rights
of minorities. Muslim majority areas in non-Muslim countries are always found
to have separatist movements and try to create a Muslim majority country of
their own. Russia and China have also witnessed such movements. The latest
example is the Philippines where the only Muslim majority island Mindanao has
to be granted autonomy by 2025 so that it can have a Muslim Government of its
own. Many Muslims also refuse to assimilate and they do not respect the
traditions and culture of the countries which give them shelter. Many Muslim
refugees migrating to Europe do not accept the local cultures and create
problems for the very people who gave them shelter. Some refugees from Syria,
Afghanistan & Iraq etc. have been found attacking local women in Europe for
not dressing properly. The general thinking is that if you come to our country,
live as per our traditions. When we come to your country, please change
yourself to accommodate our traditions and avoid doing anything which is
perceived by us as improper. This is a Supremacist view and needs a rethink by
Islamic scholars.
During the
Syrian/Iraq crisis, no refugees were accepted by any Arab Country even though
they import manpower from other countries. Millions of refugees have been
accepted by European countries and Canada etc. which also gave them financial
assistance to settle down. What has Saudi Arabia done? Saudis have provided
money for the building of mosques and Madrasas. Saudis promised to construct
more than 200 mosques in Europe alone. One can see the refugee ladies in
European super markets in burqas and hijabs accompanied by several children and
carrying shopping-carts full of consumer goods, courtesy of the social welfare
system of these countries. However, they are still found criticizing European
culture with contempt in their conversations. This certainly generates Islamophobia.
The Muslim contemporary thinkers must work towards moderation of Islamist ideas
and induction of rational thoughts.
The
Hindutva ideology as defended by Shri Mohan Bhagwat has wide support not only
among the voters of BJP but also among those who do not support BJP. It is
surprising that the Sangh Parivar has been able to inculcate a persecution
complex among a large section of Hindus which is not limited to the so-called
upper castes. Many OBCs and some Dalit castes are also celebrating their new-found
identity as is manifested in their increased participation in religious
celebrations and rituals. The biggest victim is the development of rational
thinking and scientific temper included in the Fundamental Duties of Indian
Constitution. Here, there is a need to learn from our neighbouring countries.
Till the late 1980s, Pakistan had higher per capita income than India, stronger
currency, better availability of goods and health services for its population.
However, due to more emphasis on religion in politics in subsequent years
leading to the Talibanisation of the society, Pakistan is now among the worst
performers in South Asia. On the other hand, Bangladesh was able to achieve
higher per capita income, increased employment, women empowerment, booming exports
and higher human development indices under a relatively secular Government of
Sheikh Hasina Wajed. This is not to say that the majority community should shun
its religion or lose its identity. They may remain proud Hindus. But,
unnecessary emphasis on identity and perceived threats on account of a
non-existent war will not take them anywhere. The idea of the perpetual war for
1,000 years is a regressive one as it diverts our attention from the real
issues and wants to keep us busy in the concepts of "foreign aggressions,
foreign influence and foreign conspiracies". All communities should unite
to demand better governance, jobs, social security and better life. This is
possible only through scientific temper, rationalism and secularism.
---
Mr.
Ashok Sharma is an IFS (Retd.). He was our Ambassador in several countries. He
is now a social activist. He contributed
this article exclusively to NewAgeIslam.com.
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